The copla de arte mayor is a Spanish verse form. It's an 8-line stanza rhyming abbaacca. Each line is of 12 syllables, with a specific metre. The stresses are on syllables 2, 5, 8 and 11 i.e. it is in amphibrachic tetrameter. Please either see my guide to metre and metric feet, or follow this example:
Incontinent, ugly, destructive and smelly,
The troll is a loathsome and pitiful creature.
It lacks any pleasant or positive feature.
There’s hate in its heart and there’s bile in its belly.
You never should feed it – no, not on your Nelly!
It isn’t a candidate for conservation;
The world would improve with its elimination.
Let’s boot out the troll – go on, give it some welly!
I recently encountered a particularly unpleasant troll that took its pleasure from being abusive about other people's poems. I feel better now, thank you.
Later: We have discovered that the troll was also a serial plagiarist.
Back to Verse Forms home page.
© Bob Newman 2008. All rights reserved.
This page last updated 20/04/2008