Zéjeles appeared around the tenth century in Moorish
Spain as part of a movement looking for freedom from the classical forms of the day. The zéjel tended to be a lighter form, like the English limerick.
Eight syllable lines are common, but others have been used. It can have any number of verses.
The first strophe is known as the cabeza, and it introduces the theme of the poem. (aa)
The mudanza is the monorhymed tercet that begins each of the subsequent strophes. (bbb)
The vuelta (repetition) is one or more lines rhyming with the cabeza. (a)
This form is known to Arabs as zahal.