The silva is a form of verse which was used by Lope de Vega in increasing quantity from about 1620. Though it never rose to take a place among the most popular meters, Lope used as many as 259 lines of silvas in La Noche de San Juan (Acad. N., VIII), of 1631, and 255 lines in Las bizarrías de Belisa (Acad. N., XI), of 1634. This represents respectively 8.5 and 9.3 per cent of the total number of lines in the play. Among plays of less certain date, La boba para los ostros y discreta para sí has 315 lines of silvas, or 11.1 per cent of the play in that meter, while Más pueden celos que amor has 304 lines of silvas, representing 11.4 per cent of the total number of lines. This trend towards a freer use of silvas in the drama was likewise reflected in the works of other writers.