Espinella

An espinella is an octosylabic, ten line stanza with a rhyme scheme of "abba:accddc". It is of Spanish origin, supposedly invented by Vicente Espinel (1550-1624), although found as early as 1510.

Also Known As

"décima"
"décima espinella"

Examples

"Juyzio hallado y trobado"
"La vida es sueño"

References

Clark, Dorothy Clotelle. "espinela." "The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics." Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press,1993.
Cuddon, J. A. "A Dictionary of Literary Terms" New York: Penguin, 1979.