Cuaderna Via (frame way) is a strict, syllabic stanzaic form that dominated most of the serious Spanish poetry for the 13th and 14th centuries until the 15th. The Cuaderna Via introduced syllabic verse into Castillian poetry.
One of the earliest known Spanish poets to utilize the form was Gonzalo de Berceo 1190-1264.

This stanzaic form is known for its rigidity of form: syllables are counted carefully. In addition to the rigid meter, only true rhyme is allowed. The defining features of the Cuaderna Via are:
stanzaic, written in any number of mono-rhymed quatrains.
syllabic, 14 syllable lines divided into hemistiches of 7 syllables each, often broken by caesura. There is no wiggle room in syllable count.
mono-rhymed. The rhyme must be true rhyme, no slant rhyme, assonance or consonance.
Rhyme scheme aaaa, bbbb etc.

Some might contend that 'again' is not a true rhyme, but in the part of the world I come from it is pronounced 'a gain'.

Glossary note: Mr Whippy was - and perhaps still is - a popular vendor of soft-serve ice-cream.

Image courtesy of http://www.groundedlibertarian.com

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