Poetry other variations of "shi" poetry, generally either a four line (quatrain, or "jueju") or else an eight line poem is normal; either way with the even numbered lines rhyming. The line length is scanned by according number of characters (according to the convention that one character equals one syllable), and are predominantly either five or seven characters long, with a caesura before the final three syllables. The lines are generally end-stopped, considered as a series of couplets, and exhibit verbal parallelism as a key poetic device. The "old style" verse ("gushi") is less formally strict than the "jintishi", or regulated
Viriato Trágico (poem) The poem, like many other epic works of 17th-century Portuguese literature, is written in ottava rima ("oitava rima" in Portuguese). This eight-line stanza of Italian origin is composed of hendecasyllabic lines rhymed "abababcc". The form was introduced into epic poetry by Giovanni Boccaccio in the 14th century. Soon it became very popular in Italy. In the beginning of the 16th century Francisco de Sá de Miranda, returning home from a stay in Italy, imported it into Portuguese poetry. This stanza was chosen by Luís de Camões for his "Lusiads". Many other poets used this form in the 17th century, including