Décimas: 3 Characteristics of a Décima Poem

Décima poems—also called la décima, décima espinela, or simply espinela—are poetic verses or song lyrics consisting of a single four-line stanza followed by four 10-line stanzas with eight syllables per line. The rhyme scheme of each 10-line stanzas follows the pattern ABBAACCDDC. The nature of a décima can be philosophical, religious, lyrical, political, satirical, critical, or humorous.

Décimas are popular in Latin America, where musicians often improvise song forms of décimas, and different countries have developed their own individual melodies, tones, and instrumentation. Since this form developed in Spanish-speaking countries, the English term “octosyllabic” in reference to the eight-syllable lines can be misleading. In Spanish, the final accent of each line falls on the seventh syllable, resulting in “octosyllabic” lines sometimes only having seven syllables, or even occasionally having nine.

Décimas have their origins in Spain and Latin America, with many Spanish-speaking countries developing their own variations on the poetic verse over time.

• Origins of the term: The Spanish term décima dates back to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and it is not related to the Roman goddess Decima (one of the three Parcae, or Fates, in Roman mythology, whose Greek equivalent was Lachesis). A décima is sometimes considered a type of canto, a lyrical poem often sung to musical accompaniment. The word “canto” comes from the Italian word for “song.”
• Revival in the sixteenth century: Spanish poet, novelist, and musician Vicente Espinel revived the poetic form of the décima in the sixteenth century. With Espinel considered one of the most significant creatives of the Siglo de Oro (the Spanish Golden Age), the word “espinela” came to be a synonym for décima. The structure of a décima might derive from a similar poetic verse, the Spanish glosa, which also employs eight-syllable lines.
• Association with satire: In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, décimas became popular with those known as decimeros or decimistas (creatives who write or improvise décimas), who used them to criticize a target of satire, challenging the individual to respond with a décima of their own. These challenges often led to song duels (called payadas in parts of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) that tested wit and originality. Information about the authorship of a country’s traditional décimas can be unreliable since generation to generation might sing décimas, meaning people pass them down in ways that do not necessarily preserve details about the original author or composer.
• Regional variations: Different Latin American countries have developed their own intricacies in the craft of writing décimas. For example, Puerto Rican décimas have their roots in medieval Spanish ballads and are similar to other local forms called the aguinaldo or decimilla. Traditional jíbaro singers performing Puerto Rican décimas might insert a kind of lyrical scat between the stanzas.

While décima poems can vary slightly in format and widely in subject, they generally share a few characteristics:

1. 1. Rhyming scheme: The rhyme scheme in the 10-line stanzas should follow ABBAACCDDC, with a pause between the fourth and fifth lines, represented by either a colon, semicolon, or period.
2. 2. Multiple stanzas: The most common form of décima, prevalent in Puerto Rico and Ecuador, consists of 44 lines—an opening quatrain (also called a declamation) of four lines, followed by four 10-line stanzas. The poet repeats each line from the opening quatrain later in the poem. A less common variation of the décima comprises 12-line stanzas and follows the rhyme scheme ABBAACCDDCXD, with the “X” line not rhyming.
3. 3. Eight syllables per line: Décima poems have approximately eight syllables per line, with the seventh syllable of every line stressed. The latter charge may be easier to accomplish with a poem in Spanish than one in English. In English, a line might end with an emphasized syllable, resulting in a line only seven syllables long.

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