La adivinanza (mexicana). Forma y función a partir de su estructura

Abstract

The riddle is a lyric genre which belongs to the art of knowledge and entertaining. It stands out as a verbal and mental challenge that has lasted for years. Its traditional form is an octosyllabic quatrain, with assonance or crossed consonant rhyme. The use of simile, metaphor, metonymy, allegory, analogy, and the linguistic breakdown is frequent in this kind of poetry. Its structure is not attached to the canons; on the contrary, it’s a free genre that creates its own rules. Like the proverb, it belongs to the group of recited texts. Its characteristics are: brevity, autonomy, rhyme, alliteration and parallelism. Its structure is based on syntax and rhetoric which transforms riddles into word games, a lesson or a punishment, an enigma and a true delight of traditional lyrics