Ovillejo

An ovillejo is an old Spanish poem that's a bit like a fun riddle! Miguel de Cervantes, a famous writer, popularised this form around 1547-1616. 

The guidelines:

• A 10-line poem
• A 4-stanza poem. The first three stanzas are a rhyming couplet. The first line of each stanza has 8-10 syllables, and the second line has 3-4 syllables. 
• The fourth stanza is a quatrain (4-line stanza) that follows the rhyming scheme: cddc
• The tricky part is that the 10th line has 8-10 syllables and is composed of the words from all line 2s.

• In other words: 

  • Line 1: a rhyme in 8-10 syllables
  • Line 2: a rhyme in 3-4 syllables
  • Line 3: b rhyme in 8-10 syllables
  • Line 4: b rhyme in 3-4 syllables
  • Line 5: c rhyme in 8-10 syllables
  • Line 6: c rhyme in 3-4 syllables
  • Line 7: c rhyme in 8-10 syllables
  • Line 8: d rhyme in 8-10 syllables
  • Line 9: d rhyme in 8-10 syllables
  • Line 10: c rhyme in 8-10 syllables: (Line 2) (Line 4) and (Line 6)

   

  Note: As part of the challenge, we refrained from adding a sample poem. So, please go through the guidelines properly and plan your poem accordingly.

Remember:

• Write an Ovillejo on any topic considering the above-mentioned guidelines.
• Login to your profile on our website and draft your poem.
• From the drop down under Prompts choose “#PenMuse-76″ (Check 'Memberships' to see if you are already subscribed to the event)
• Attach a cover image for your story in LANDSCAPE with the dimensions: 1200px X 675px. Please use pixabay.com, pexels.com or unsplash.com to source lovely covers in jpg or png. In case your story has a cover of poor quality, is watermarked, or is a graphic image, it will delay the publishing process.
• Allow your story to be admin approved within 24-48 hours.
• If you wish to check syllables, then please click this syllable counter here.

 Rules:

• The submitted poem must have a title (Keep it simple with no punctuation marks; all words more than 3 letters must be capitalised)
• There is no limit to the number of entries you may submit-though only the first submitted poem will be qualified for contention.
• Previously published or plagiarised works will not be considered for contention.
• Poems found to have been shared on another platform or blog before the declaration of results stand disqualified from the event, and the writer of such content stands to be disqualified for the next Penmancy event.
• AI-generated content will not be recognised; neither highlighted nor mentioned during the result announcement.
• In case a poem is received after the submission deadline, it shall be considered as a guest entry and shall not qualify for the event.
• Entries that don’t follow rules will be published and shared on the page and group but are disqualified for winning.

Winning criteria:

• The winner will be chosen on the basis of the judges’ scores (out of 10)
  • creativity/content and originality, [12 points]
  • coherence of form and structure (harmony of words, presentation), [12 points]
  • clarity of imagery and language/grammar, [10 points]
  • emotional impact, [10 points]
  • topic/relevance to the theme, [6 points]
• The entries adjudged through this process shall be binding. No scores will be shared with the participants.
• The entries adjudged by a panel of judges and event organisers shall be binding. Judges’ scores to be deemed final and may not be contested. Final scores are not disclosed to the participants.
• All writers are required to read and comment on 5 poems other than their own and encourage their fellow writers with valuable and constructive inputs. Comments like “nice”, “good work”, “brilliant piece”, etc. do not provide the necessary critique and are not helpful for anyone.

Timelines:

• The last date of submission is July 20, 2025
• Winners shall be announced on July 27, 2025
• The announcement of winners may be postponed or preponed depending on the number of entries received.

P.s.-The event does not have any book giveaway associated with it.