The syneresis is a linguistic-metric resource that facilitates the union of two vowels in a single sound within the same word, despite the fact that they form a hiatus. To achieve this effect it is necessary for the person who declaims or recites to decrease the intensity of the voice just in the weak vowel of the word, thereby transforming the hiatus into an "artificial diphthong".
Syneresis (also known as sinicesis) is commonly used in the poetic realm to decrease the number of syllables in verses and thus adjust it to the meter of certain poetic forms. A clear example of the poetic forms that use this resource is represented by tenths, sonnets and quatrains, especially if they are for musical purposes..
Another important aspect to keep in mind is that syneresis does not require any special grammatical sign to indicate that it is present in a phrase or verse. However, previously some authors dispensed with the accents to refer that there was a syneresis. For example, instead of "had", they wrote "habia".
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There are many examples, and the purpose of these is to suppress a hiatus to adjust the verses to a certain metric.
- Mediterraneanneo: this word, if the author so decides, can present syneresis in the two syllables "neo”, Forming a single syllabic block. It is common that it rhymes with words like "contemporary" and that the latter is given the same application.
- Eatestuary: this termination is one of the most popular as far as the application of syneresis is concerned. For obvious reasons, the hiatus that is suppressed is in the syllables "estuary”. Rhymes with a significant number of words, such as: Maria, would sing, there was or would be, to name a few.
Other simple examples would be: Poeta, you bring, aerocket, Ah orra, orcéano empeoraba, poeyes, to name one.
Below are a series of sentences where words are applied to which syneresis can be applied.
- The poeHe was walking quietly, assuming his life and his Ah orra down the street.
- The aethe ship spent the whole day flying over the Parisian sky hoping to land, but it was impossible.
- The situation empeoraba with the passing of the days, nobody knew what was what realmind passed.
Syneresis has been present in Hispanic literary creation since the 16th and 17th centuries, in full growth of Spanish poetics. It is common to see this resource in the verses of Garcilaso de la Vega, Luis de Góngora and Agustín Moreto, among many other greats. It is also seen in the works of little-known poets of the time.
It is necessary to remember that syneresis seeks to transform the hiatuses into diphthongs, in order to achieve ideal metrics within a verse. The verses that are too long are known as “hypermetric”, and it is to these that the rhetorical figure is applied to reduce their size in this way..
An interesting fact about the use of syneresis in the 16th and 17th centuries is that some authors did not place the tilde in the weak vowels of the hiatuses to indicate that the resource was applied there. For example, instead of writing “lovesestuary", They placed" lovesestuary”, So the word did not lose its intonation, but it should be pronounced more gently.
Here are a number of examples of syneresis in the verses of well-known 16th and 17th century writers.
- "Beautiful nymphs, that in the River metidas… ”, (verse from the author's Sonnet XI).
In this case syneresis is present in the word "river", allowing the verse to go from dodecasyllable (twelve syllables) to hendecasyllable (eleven syllables). With this, Garcilaso managed to fulfill the proposed metric for his sonnet.
- "... they ponian the thimble
and I put the needle.
I loved all of them well,
with all yougirl good fortune ... ".
In this interesting fragment of "Now that I'm slowly", written by Luis de Góngora in 1588, we can see the elimination of the accent in the words "ponian"And" yougirl”. The objective of the poet was clear, to indicate to the declaimer to lower the intensity of the voice at those points.
By doing this, Góngora also guaranteed that those verses would remain seven syllables and comply with the meter required for his stanzas..
It is important to note that if these verses are written in an original way, it is worth mentioning that the Castilian grammar rules suggested by Nebrija already existed at that time..
- "I, Inés, had wished ...".
This particular case responds to a play by Moreto, called The cute don Diego. The verse should be octosyllable to adjust to the metric of the stanzas of the piece, but if a study is made of it, it can be seen that it is eneasyllable. "YoI / nés / ha / bí / a / de / se / a / do", nine sounds are counted.
Let us remember that between the "o" of "I" and "I" of "Ines" a synalepha is formed. In this example, two synereses can occur, one in “había”, And the other in“ debedo". Of course, the actors and declaimers of the time were already used to such occurrences, so they applied what was best for them..
- "Without the rivercio to seed the morning ... ".
This fragment belongs to the work The Diana, of the mentioned author. It should be a hendecasyllable to fit the correct metric, however it is a dodecasyllable. But when applying the logic of syneresis in "rocio", This hiatus is lost and there is, therefore, what is called an" artificial diphthong ".
The application of syneresis in sentences or verses is more common than you think. In fact, many speakers at different times applied it in their speeches to adjust the metric in the sentences and thus reach the public in a better way..
The practice was also normal in Ancient Greece. Speakers of the stature of Pericles, and even Homer himself, applied it to better reach the masses. In Spain it was commonly applied even by kings, Alfonso X the Wise being a clear example of this. The objective in all cases was to improve the oratory.
- "The wise man mustestuary protect well your heart from the truncated paths ".
- "BringI take that chair to sit down for a while "
- "Emplea wisely your knowledge and they will make you have a quiet life ".
Today there are poetic forms that have endured over time and have taken root in the cultures of many countries. If we have to talk about one of the most popular poetic forms, of course this would be the tenth spinel, devised by Vicente Espinel. It is a stanza of ten verses of minor art (octosyllables) that rhymes abbaaccddc.
The appearance of this poetic form, like all those that used rhyme, had no other reason than to facilitate the emission of a speech. The rhythm given by the meter and the sonority provided by the rhyme made these poetic forms invaluable resources for speakers..
Obviously, in these poems, syneresis has been applied in hundreds of cases, as well as the rest of linguistic resources to achieve their greater expressiveness..
As said, syneresis tends to be used in the 10th spinel, and these stanzas are often applied by both poets and popular singers. In fact, there are musical genres whose base is the 10th spinel. For example, on Margarita Island, Nueva Esparta state, Venezuela, there are several musical forms that use the tenth.
The Margarita bagpipe is one of the most popular musical forms in that region, based on the tenth spinel. Next, an example of this poetic form with the application of syneresis.
"Very early the day
with the water herons, etéareas,
voices of salt, souls aerial,
that dance grays of alegria.
My soul goes further
contemplating the firmament,
and I'm happy with her,
pleasantly in love,
and is that walking with her by the side
separates me from torment ".
In this example the syneresis is evidenced in the first quatrain of the stanza, and precisely in the endings of each verse: “day"," Etéareas ", "aerial " and "alegría ". As you can see, in the case of “day"," Etéareas"And" alegria”Only a hiatus is suppressed for the octosyllable metric to be given. However, in the case of “aerial " there is a double deletion.
The fourth verse of the stanza has ten syllables, but if it is sung by softening the accents in the word “aerial " then it is possible to carry eight syllables.
Although in this example the use of syneresis is exaggerated, if possible its application in popular song. However, achieving the perfect intonation of this type of verses requires the voice and experience of expert singers..
In Nueva Esparta there is a wide list of good intoners, among them Jennifer Moya, Lucienne Sanabria, Aurelena Cabrera, Miguel Serra and Ángel Marino Ramírez, among others..
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