Lira (stanza)
The lira is a stanza form . This form, in which the number of verses and the rhyme scheme are precisely specified, came into Spanish literature from Italy in the 16th century. It consists of five verses with a typical sequence of seven and eleven syllables :
- x 7 x 11 x 7 x 7 x 11
Their rhyme scheme is usually [aBabB](lower case letters are short verses). Sometimes the lira can have six lines, connected by three rhymes:[aBaBcC].
example
En una noche oscura,
con ansias, en amores inflamada,
¡oh dichosa ventura !,
salí sin ser notada,
estando ya mi casa sosegada;
A oscuras y segura,
por la secreta escala disfrazada,
(¡oh dichosa ventura!)
A oscuras y en celada,
estando ya mi casa sosegada.
En la noche dichosa,
en secreto, que nadie me veía,
ni yo miraba cosa,
sin otra luz ni guía
sino la que en el corazón ardía.
Translation of these stanzas into German (by Melchior von Diepenbrock ):
The dark night
In a very dark night,
When my loving heart was all glowing with fervor,
O happy hour!
Finally, with a quiet step,
I my hut, sunken deeply in peace.
In the secure shelter of the dark
the secret ladder was soon climbed;
O happy hour!
Veiled and deeply secretive
I went and left the hut in peace.
O blessed of nights,
As I courageously climbed the dark path,
As no look spied me,
No light determined the step,
As that which glowed in my inner breast.
These are the first stanzas of the famous mystical poem " La noche oscura " by Juan de la Cruz , which was written around the middle of the 16th century.
The rhythm of this stanza form has been compared by connoisseurs with that of a pavane . The lira is given a special zest by the two silver eleven (in the second and fifth verse), which carry the poem forward like a wave hitting the shore. The content of the statement is condensed in the fifth line; it is the end point of the stanza.