Chapter I: PAUSES.—Of these there are three kinds

(1) the _pausa mayor_, or chief pause, ending the strophe;

(2) the _pausa media_, or pause of moderate duration, separating the larger symmetrical parts of a strophe;

(3) the _pausa menor_, or slight pause, separating one verse from another.

The _pausa mayor_ generally coincides with the end of a sentence, or at least (as in sonnets, octaves, etc.) with that of the larger members or clauses of a sentence. The _pausa media_ is more varied in its distribution, since perfect symmetry and continual uniformity would make the metre monotonous. The _pausa menor_ should generally coincide with a break in the thought, but _enjambement_, or the violent carrying over of the thought from one line to another, is not unknown; cf. p. 97, l. 14.