Royal Octave and Gongorine Syntax. Regarding The Eighth Wonder and Without a Second Miracle (c. 1680) by Francisco de Castro

Abstract

I hope to call attention to the formal and syntactic innovations present in several octavas or eight-line strophes of La octava maravilla y sin segundo milagro by Fransisco de Castro. The poem was written between 1675 and 1687 and published posthumously in México in 1729. Because of limited space, I will only examine the three types of octavas that appear most often in the poem: 4 + 4, 6 + 2 and 8. At the same time, I will indicate the techniques of Góngora´s poetry that Castro imitates, which if one ignores, can lead to hasty syntactical organizations and biased interpretations.