Before entering fully into the meaning of the term heptasyllable, we are going to proceed to know its etymological origin. In this case, we can emphasize that it is a word that derives from Greek and is the result of the sum of two lexical components of said language:
-The word “hepta”, which can be translated as “seven”.
-The noun “syllabe”, which is synonymous with “syllable”.
The adjective heptasyllable is used to describe something that has seven syllables . It can also be used as a noun to refer to the verse with said number of syllables.
A heptasyllable, therefore, is a verse of seven syllables . Depending on the tradition or style, it can be combined with a pentasyllable (five syllables) or with a hendecasyllable (eleven syllables), giving rise to different types of stanzas.
An example of a seven-syllable verse is the following: “Expired god and rapacious one.” As can be seen, this verse by the Spanish Luis de Góngora , which is part of a poem known as “Leave me in peace, love tyrant” or “Ciego que points y atinas” , has seven syllables: “Ca-du-co dios y ra -peace" .
Generally, the hemistichs of Alexandrian verses are also heptasyllabic. Hemistichs are the halves or fragments of a verse. Since the Alexandrian language consists of fourteen syllables, it is common for each hemistich to have seven syllables (that is, to be a heptasyllable).
Let's look at the case of the Alexandrian "The pearl of your dreams is a hysteric" , a verse included in the poem "To Colón" by the Nicaraguan Rubén Darío . It has fourteen syllables ( "The pearl of your dreams is a his-té-ri-ca" ) and can be divided into two hemistichs ( "The pearl of your dreams / is a hysterical" ). If we analyze each hemistich, we will notice that they are seven-syllable verses ( "The pearl of your dreams / is a his-té-ri-ca" ).
In addition to all the above, we have to emphasize that in Spanish literature the first texts that were presented with heptasyllables were fundamentally two: “Disputa del alma y del cuerpo”, a work that dates back to the 12th century and was discovered in a codex of 1201 of the Monastery of Oña, and “Auto of the Three Wise Men”. This last work is of Toledo origin, it is also dated to the 12th century and it should be noted that it is considered the first theatrical work in all of Spanish literature.
It is also important to emphasize that heptasyllables had a few centuries in which their use declined significantly, as was the case between the 14th and 15th centuries. However, shortly after, with the rise of the Renaissance, they "recovered" again and achieved great relevance. Precisely the latter was contributed by the fact that great writers of that time chose to put them into practice.
Although there were several figures who made them “fashionable” again, illustrious writers such as Lope de Vega or Góngora stood out especially. As the centuries passed, they would also become elements widely used by authors such as Lorca.