Propaladia, Madrid, 1573, 18mo, f. 222.
[480] There is a good deal of art in Naharro’s verse. The “Hymenea,” for instance, is written in twelve-line stanzas; the eleventh being a pie quebrado, or broken line. The “Jacinta” is in twelve-line stanzas, without the pie quebrado. The “Calamita” is in quintillas, connected by the pie quebrado. The “Aquilana” is in quartetas, connected in the same way; and so on. But the number of feet in each of his lines is not always exact, nor are the rhymes always good, though, on the whole, a harmonious result is generally produced.
[481] He partly apologizes for this in his Preface to the Reader, by saying that Italian words are introduced into the comedias because of the audiences in Italy. This will do, as far as the Italian is concerned; but what is to be said for the other languages that are used? In the Introyto to the “Serafina,” he makes a jest of the whole, telling the audience,—
But you must all keep wide awake,
Or else in vain you’ll undertake
To comprehend the differing speech,
Which here is quite distinct for each;—
Four languages, as you will hear,
Castilian with Valencian clear,
And Latin and Italian too;—