Décima
Quick answer: The decima is a Spanish ten-line stanza of eight-syllable lines rhyming abbaaccddc, still improvised across Latin America. Learn its rules and uses.
A décima is a Spanish stanza of ten octosyllabic lines, and in its classic form, the espinela, it rhymes abbaaccddc. The name simply means a tenth, for the ten lines. Codified in the sixteenth century and credited to the poet and musician Vicente Espinel, the décima became one of the most durable forms in the Spanish language: tight enough to discipline an argument, roomy enough to complete one, and singable enough to survive outside books entirely.
That last quality is the remarkable part. Across Latin America the décima is still a living oral form: improvised in song duels in Cuba and Puerto Rico, sung in Chile and Peru, composed by farmers, taxi drivers and champions of repentismo who build correct espinelas in real time before an audience.
How It Works
Ten lines of eight syllables follow the rhyme map abbaaccddc, which splits naturally into two movements: an abba opening that poses a situation, and a pivot at line five where the argument turns toward its close. Convention places a pause after line four, so the stanza breathes like a question and its answer.
A compressed original illustration of the opening turn, in English: 'My father kept a broken clock (a) / and wound it every night the same, (b) / as if the winding were the aim (b) / and time a door he would not knock.' (a) The full form would continue through the aaccddc sequence to a clinching final line.
Where You Will See It
Golden Age masters used the décima freely: Calderón de la Barca set some of the most famous speeches of Spanish drama in it, including the great meditation on life and dreams in La vida es sueño. In the twentieth century the Chilean folk artist Violeta Parra wrote her autobiography in verse as a book of décimas, and Cuban and Puerto Rican decimistas keep the improvised tradition on stage and radio. The form crossed languages too; contemporary poets in English borrow the espinela when they want a stanza with an argumentative spine.
How to Use It in Your Own Poems
In English, keep the ten lines and the rhyme scheme but let the syllable count settle at eight as a target rather than a law, or work in iambic tetrameter, which gives a similar weight. Treat lines one to four as the setup and line ten as a verdict the whole stanza has been secretly working toward; decimistas call a strong close essential, and contest judges scoring structure feel exactly the same way. One perfect décima is a complete poem, and a chain of them will hold a narrative.
What poets can take from this
- Sketch your final line first; the décima is an argument that must land.
- Honour the pause after line four, letting the stanza turn like a sonnet in miniature.
- Choose rhyme sounds with plenty of English options before committing to the abbaaccddc map.
- Read the stanza aloud for pace; eight-syllable lines should trot, not march.
- Try improvising one on a walk, phone in pocket; the oral tradition is the best teacher of fluency.
Try it yourself
Write a single espinela (ten lines, roughly eight syllables each, rhyming abbaaccddc) that defends an unpopular opinion you actually hold, saving your best line for line ten.
Questions
What is the difference between a décima and an espinela?
Décima strictly means any ten-line stanza, while the espinela is the specific classic pattern, octosyllabic lines rhyming abbaaccddc, named after Vicente Espinel. In practice the words are often used interchangeably.
Is the décima still used today?
Very much so. It remains the backbone of improvised sung poetry across Latin America, from Cuban punto to Chilean canto a lo poeta, and UNESCO has recognised related improvisation traditions as cultural heritage.
How do improvisers manage such a hard form in real time?
Training and formula: decimistas internalise the rhyme map until it feels like grammar, keep stores of rhyme families ready, and think toward the tenth line from the moment a topic is called.
By the Writory editorial team, reviewed by working poets. Updated July 2026.
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