Formal trends in children’s poetry in Spanish in the 21st century

Metrics can be understood as a configuration of phonic and linguistic elements in such a way that the poem acquires a regular, systematic rhythm (Beristáin, 2006, p. 332; Quilis, 1975, p. 13). There are two important categories: arte menor and arte mayor. The first one englobes poems consisting of verses with eight syllables or less. During the 20th century, this was the most usual form of writing children’s poetry:

We may assume that kids are more attracted to short stanzas composed of arte menor verses and, among them, hexasyllabic and octosyllabic verses. The musicality and easy pronunciation of these verses in a single voice emission are among the reasons for these preferences. Stanzas do not need to be isosyllabic. The seguidilla is one of the most pleasant stanzas. And variations in metrics, prevalent in popular poetry, are valid as long as the compositions are presided by the rhythm and serve as a support for the game. (Cervera, 1991, p. 93).

Amongst the most popular arte menor metrics forms in the context of children’s poetry we can find: the copla (Baehr, 1997, p. 245), the romance, the seguidilla (Baehr, 1997, p. 248; Luján-Atienza, 2016, p. 44), the haiku (de-la-Fuente-Ballesteros, 2009; Hernández-Esquivel, 2012) and pie quebrado verses. Arte mayor is also used, although to a much lesser extent.

In contrast to metrics poetry, there is no pre-established number of syllables for the verses in free-verse poetry. Jaimes-Freyre (2012) defines it as the arbitrary mix of verses with different prosodic periods and even the combination of sentences without any regular rhythm (p. 114). It appeared at the end of the 19th century in the works of authors such as Gustave Kahn, Jules Laforgue, Emile Verhaeren, and Walt Whitman, where it fulfilled a need for expression (Utrera-Torremocha, 2003, p. 303). Understanding free verse as a homogenous, unified poetic form would be a mistake since its nourishing theories are very varied (Paraíso, 1985; Utrera-Torremocha, 2003, 2010). For example, some authors link it to a non-syllabic accent metrics, while Whitman links it to biblical verses and Borges to prose. We may understand the free verse as a search for a personal, inner rhythm instead of a pre-established one. In other words, every poet creates it, following the flow of their feeling, reflecting the range and intensity of their expressive drive in every line and the totality of the work (Paraíso, 1985, p. 55).

According to Paraíso (1985, p. 389), it is possible to classify free verse into two large groups. The first one is based on phonic rhythms, including clause-free poetry, rhyming free verse, and free verse based on metrics tradition. The latter is the most important type and can be defined as every poem that, for its rhythmic morphology, reminds of other forms of Hispanic metrics heritage (Paraíso, 1985, p. 395). It is important to highlight several subtypes within the category of free verse with a traditional base, such as free silvas and songs. The second group is based on the rhythm of thought, i.e., on reiterating one or many semantic elements, such as enumerations, anaphora, or metaphors (Paraíso, 1985, p. 389). These texts include an accumulation of images, a widespread phenomenon in avant-garde poems. It is essential to point out that this dichotomy [between phonic rhythm and rhythm of thought] does not mean exclusion. It only means the greater predominance or the greater perceptibility of one or another element (Paraíso, 1985, p. 390).

Free verse was the characteristic form of 20^th century poetry (Paraíso, 1985, p. 13). Nevertheless, the case of children’s poetry was quite different, since its use of free verse during that period was rather scarce. In fact, only recently, after an article by Córdova (2021) was published, the tradition of free verse in children’s poetry started to be rescued from oblivion. This is because, for a long time, children’s poetry was considered to be fundamentally oral, so several authors claimed that free verse was not appropriate for it. For example, Luján-Atienza (2016) wrote that the existence of truly free verse seems to go against the characterization that we have been doing of a fundamentally musical, sound-based poetry (p. 59). This started changing at the end of the 20th century and the turn of the 21st (Bajour, 2013; Munita, 2013). At this time, the writer Fran Alonso (2002) asked himself why the access to free verse was still denied to young readers. A few years later, García-Montero (2015) suggested that children are capable of writing verses without rhyme or metrics, i.e., free verse (p. 115). Gradually, free verse has increased its importance in children’s poetry.

As for prose poetry, Utrera-Torremocha (1999) writes that within modern literature, the need was born for finding a language to renew lyrical conventions, which some poets found obsolete. Therefore, it should be understood as a negation of the primacy of verse as the only possible vehicle for poetry (p. 11). Baudelaire can take the credit of writing the first remarkable examples of prose poetry since this author had the goal of creating prose poetry born from the soul, without rhythm or rhyme, which would express the waving movement of dreams but also the tremors of modern consciousness (Utrera-Torremocha, 1999, p. 21). If free verse was barely used in children’s poetry during the 20^th century, the use of prose poetry was even scarcer. Most of the texts that analyze children’s poetry in this period wonder why free verse was so rarely used (Bajour, 2013; Flor-Ada, 1990; Herrera-Rojas, 2017; Luján-Atienza, 2016; Sotomayor, 2002), but don’t even mention prose poetry. The only exception is the recent article by Córdova (2021), but the author does not deepen the analysis of this poetic trend.

Visual poetry can be defined as poetry where graph elements act as signifiers in the poem (de-Cózar, 1991). In other words, the poetic message depends not only on linguistic components but also on visual ones. These works have a long history that can be traced back to antiquity (Giovine-Yáñez, 2018; Zárate, 1976). It was Mallarmé who, by the end of the 19th century, introduced visual poetry into high literature. In his poem Un coup de dés, he explored the changing function of language in light of the appearance of new media, such as newspapers and publicity (Prohm, 2004, p. 2). This was an innovative work, for Mallarmé placed the words and the verses in different places on the page —left, right, center, top, bottom— and he used different font sizes and styles, creating a poetic of space, where the disposition of the page became a vital element of the poem’s meaning (Prohm, 2004, p. 4). This way of placing the verses in different positions has been called active blanks (Giovine-Yáñez, 2018, p. 8). By doing this, Mallarmé laid the basis for the foundation of modern visual poetry through the intensive formal quest led by avant-garde authors such as Apollinaire and Marinetti (Bohn, 2001, p. 19). During the 20th and the 21st centuries, visual poetry had an extensive expansion, covering several literary movements, from Apollinaire’s calligrammes and Marinetti’s words-in-freedom to Mexican stridentism (Giovine-Yáñez, 2018) and concrete poetry (Aguilar, 1999).

Undoubtedly, visual poetry and childhood have a strong link. Didactic activities often invite children to combine text and images, both when reading and engaged in creative tasks (García-Carcedo, 2001; Santiago-Ruiz, 2020). Hence it is not surprising that, in the 21st century, visual elements are often present in children’s poetry. It is nevertheless important to establish a distinction. Neira-Piñeiro (2012), following the category of children’s picturebooks, traditionally applied to narrative, refers to the books for children we are dealing with as lyric picturebooks. Although children’s picturebooks and lyric picturebooks are very similar objects, both usually having beautiful double-page illustrations, it is important to highlight a fundamental difference. As many authors have pointed out, the text and the image work together in a specific sequence within the children’s picturebook to convey meaning (Moebius, 1986; Nikolajeva & Scott, 2000; Santiago-Ruiz, 2021). This is not necessarily the case in the so-called lyric picturebooks. These could have their images modified or removed without changing the sense of the text. The illustrations for the books I analyzed for this paper were created after the texts were finished. It is important to highlight this fact, for all of the books that constitute my corpus are lyric picturebooks, but not all of them fall in the category of visual poetry.

Figure 1 shows a graph for the frequency of verses of n syllables. The analyzed corpus shows that the most used verses have eight syllables or less. This can be explained from a rhythmic perspective, for children’s poetry tends to rely on brief verses to make the texts livelier through a shorter rhythmic period. As shown in figure 1, some types of verses are much more common than others. The most used verses, in decreasing order, are the following: heptasyllabic, octosyllabic, pentasyllabic, and hendecasyllabic.

Although some authors have argued that octosyllabic verses are the most common type of verse in children’s poetry (Herrera-Rojas, 2017, p. 350; Munita, 2013, p. 110), this is not the case for this corpus, where heptasyllabic verses are predominant. Octosyllabic verses are only dominant in the metrics category (figure 2), while seven-syllable verses are the most common within the free verse category (figure 3). What is the reason for this preference for heptasyllabic verses? Two possible explanations come to mind. The first is that a shorter verse can produce briefer and merrier verses. The second one is that poets put a great effort into introducing formal innovations, as we will see in detail. Heptasyllabic verses seem to be a way of staying close to tradition and simultaneously reinventing it.

Figures 2 and 3 respectively show the frequency of verses with n syllables in the metrics and free verse categories. As expected, in the metrics category (figure 2) there is an extensive use of octosyllabic, pentasyllabic, heptasyllabic and hendecasyllabic verses. In contrast, the amount of verse sizes within the free verse category (figure 3) is much more homogenous, but not completely random, for there is a predominance of heptasyllabic and pentasyllabic verses. This can be explained by the fact that free verse is closely linked to metrics tradition, and also strives to create a phonic rhythm (Paraíso, 1985; Utrera-Torremocha, 2003, p. 333).

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

These figures show that hendecasyllabic verses are the most common representatives of arte mayor. It might seem strange to find them in children’s poetry, but their presence is not only due to their use in classical forms such as sonnets and single hendecasyllabic verses. They are also prevalent in the free verse category, as figure 3 shows. This is yet another proof of the close relationship between free verse and classical forms.

For figure 4, I made a graph with information about the length of the texts in every book of poems. The length of the poems that form the corpus varies from one to forty-four verses. The average is 11.53, the median is 10 and the mode is 5. The poems with 16 or less verses constitute 75% of the corpus. These numbers show that there is a preference for shorter texts.

The shortest poems, i.e., those with only one verse, are only two: “B”, from Rutinero, and “Toma la luna por los cuernos”, from Lunática. It is worth mentioning that the latter is also a calligramme. One of the longest poems is “Pero hay días”, from Lunática, with 43 verses. The longest poems are “Un ojo demasiado inquieto”, “Peligro en el salón de clase”, “Una madrugada tenebrosa”, and “Historia de la perla mutante”. They are all from the book Max and are composed of eleven coplas, i.e., they have a total of 44 verses each.

Figure 4

Free verse is the most common trend, for it represents 69% of the analyzed corpus. On the other hand, 23% represents a substantial decrease for metrics, especially if we take consider it was almost omnipresent in past decades. Prose poetry’s apparition with 8% is noteworthy. As figure 5 shows, the latter is limited to certain books, such as Huellas, Luci, Lunática, and Seta. It might seem like a rather low number, but it is more used than sonnets, romances, and even coplas. This means prose has become an important trend in contemporary children’s poetry.

Figure 5

Metrics is mainly found in the books Max, Espejos, and Cielo (figure 5). Some poems with metrics can be found in the other books, but they only make sporadic appearances. Some classical forms are used in the corpus. Take for instance “La luna empieza a salir”, from Espejos, which is a ten-line stanza: or “El oso bipolar”, from Max, which is a sonnet. Nevertheless, the poets show a clear tendency towards a quest for innovation. They often make modifications to classical metrics schemes, especially by reducing the number of syllables. This trend can be seen in the poem “En la noche,” from Tigres, which revisits the copla, a folk metrics scheme that is very popular in children’s poetry, transforming it through the use of tetrasyllabic verses:

Arte mayor is very scarce in this corpus, only represented by two sonnets and five single hendecasyllabic verses. There are also a few poems with extravagant metrics forms, such as “La chica clorofila”, from Max, which is made of hendecasyllabic four-line stanzas following an ABAB-ABBA rhyme and grouped in pairs that work as a refrain. Most of the arte mayor poems from the corpus can be found in Max.

As shown in Paraiso’s book (1985), the free verse category has incredible diversity. This corpus is no exception, so it is impossible to encompass in a few lines all the different free verse types found in the books. I would nevertheless like to highlight two significant trends. The first one points to the fact that many of these poems are closely linked to orality since they follow a precise rhythm that makes them appropriate for declaiming and singing. An example of this is “Mamboretá”, from Ema, which is a free silva, a form that is characterized by verses of 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 14 syllables (Baehr, 1997, p. 383). Due to its use of alliterations, rhymes and long pentasyllabic verse sequences, “Mamboretá” has an intense phonic materiality. Its first verses are the following:

The poems that include any kind of visual poetry make up 24% of the corpus. Figure 7 shows the number of visual pieces in each book. The typography category, i.e., the one covering texts that make use of larger font sizes, changes of color, italics, crossed-out letters, and similar resources, includes 31 poems. An example of this is “Ilógica lunática,” from Lunática, where the letter ‘i’ is crossed out in the title, alluding to a deep sense of the seeming senselessness. In “Galopa un caballo,” from Espejos, the letter ‘c’ is larger than the others, insinuating a horse’s belly. “De puño y letra”, from Luci, uses typography that resembles handwriting, just as the title suggests.

Figure 7

The active blanks category includes 34 texts. In some occurrences, this visual resource only consists of one or two verses that do not follow the arrangement of the others; in these cases, the blank space is used to mark important lines or help create rhythm. An example of this is “Ema regresa,” from Ema, where, by the end of the poem, three verses form an enumeration, signaled through a slight indentation to the right. In other cases, blank spaces intertwine with the central topic of the poem. For example, in “Canta la lluvia,” from Brilla, the arrangement of the stanzas resembles a group of jumping frogs.

Some works resort to uncommon visual effects. In Espejos there are texts such as “Detrás de estos ojos,” which is written from right to left, with all the letters backward, so that, to read it correctly, one has to use a mirror. In “Fiesta de aterrizaje,” from Luci, a line invites flies to land on it. It is important to highlight that, also in Luci, the texts “Cacería” and “Cuadro sinóptico” arrange the words so that it is impossible to identify the way they should be read: the visual poetry disrupts the structure itself of the verse or prose.

The corpus includes 34 calligrammes. Most of them are in Huellas, which is wholly composed of calligrammes of texts in metrics, prose, and free verse. Works like “Tengo un problema con los relojes,” from Espejos, that draws the picture of an hourglass; “Lunática destorlongada,” from Lunática, written in the shape of a spiral that imitates the spins and somersaults of the main character; and “Escondidas II,” from Seta, that resembles a smile that hides the bacteria mentioned in the poem, are also worth mentioning.