s: were in him two poets, Góngora the Good and Góngora the


s: Bad. He began by writing odes in the manner of Herrera and


s: _romances_ and _villancicos_ which are among the clearest


s: and best. They did not bring their author fame, however,


s: and he seems deliberately to have adopted the involved


s: metaphoric style to which Marini gave his name in Italy.


s: Góngora is merely the Spanish representative of the


s: movement, which also produced Euphuism in England and


s: _préciosité_ in France. But he surpassed all previous


s: writers in the extreme to which he carried the method, and


s: his _Soledades_ and _Polifemo_ are simply unintelligible


s: for the inversions and strained metaphors with which they


s: His influence was enormous. Gongorism, or _culteranismo_,


s: as it was called at the time, swept the minor poets


s: with it, and even those who fought the movement most


s: vigorously, like Lope and Quevedo, were not wholly free


s: from the contagion. The second generation of dramatists


s: was strongly affected. Yet there are few lyric poets worth


s: mentioning among Góngora's disciples for the reason that


s: such a pernicious system meant certain ruin to those who


s: lacked the master's talent. The most important names are


s: the Count of Villamediana (1580-1622), a satirist whose


s: sharp tongue caused his assassination, and Paravicino y


s: Obviously, such an innovation could not pass without


s: opposition from clear-sighted men. LOPE DE VEGA


s: (1562-1635) attacked it whenever opportunity offered, and


s: here. He wrote over 300 sonnets, many excellent eclogues,


s: epistles, and, in more popular styles, glosses,


s: _letrillas, villancicos, romances_, etc. Lope more than


s: any other poet of his time kept his ear close to the


s: people, and his light poems are full of the delicious


s: The other principal opponent of Gongorism was Francisco


s: GÓMEZ DE QUEVEDO Y VILLEGAS (1580-1645), whose wit and


s: independence made him formidable. In 1631 he published


s: the poems of Luis de León and Francisco de la Torre as a


s: protest against the baleful mannerism in vogue. But he


s: himself adopted a hardly less disagreeable style, called


s: conceptism, which is supposed to have been invented by


s: Alonso de Ledesma (1552-1623). It consists in a strained


s: search for unusual thoughts which entails forced


s: paradoxes, antitheses and epigrams. This system, combined


s: with local allusions, double meanings and current slang,


s: in which Quevedo delighted, makes his poems often


s: extremely difficult of comprehension. His _romances de


s: jaques_, written in thieves' jargon, are famous in Spain.


s: Quevedo wrote too much and carelessly and tried to cover


s: too many fields, but at his best his caustic wit and


s: There were not lacking poets who kept themselves free from


s: taint of _culteranismo_, though they did not join in


s: the fight against it. The brothers Argensola (LUPERCIO


s: Horace and other classics as well as to Italy for their


s: inspiration. Their pure and dignified sonnets, odes and


s: mainly for his excellent translation of Tasso's _Aminta_.


s: He too succumbed to Gongorism at times. The few poems of


s: Francisco de RIOJA (1586?-1659) are famous for the purity


s: of their style and their tender melancholy tone. A little


s: apart is Esteban Manuel de VILLEGAS (1589-1669), an


s: admirer of the Argensolas, "en versos cortos divino,


s: insufrible en los mayores," who is known for his attempts


s: in Latin meters and his successful imitations of Anacreon


s: The lyrics of CALDERÓN (1600-1681) are to be found mostly


s: in his _comedias_ and _autos_. There are passages which


s: display great gifts in the realm of pure poetry, but


s: too often they are marred by the impertinent metaphors


s: His name closes the most brilliant era of Spanish letters.


s: The decline of literature followed close upon that of the


s: political power of Spain. The splendid empire of Charles


s: V had sunk, from causes inherent in the policies of that


s: over-ambitious monarch, through the somber bigotry of


s: Philip II, the ineptitude of Philip III, the frivolity of


s: Philip IV, to the imbecility of Charles II; and the death


s: of the last of the Hapsburg rulers in 1700 left Spain in


s: a deplorably enfeebled condition physically and


s: intellectually. The War of the Succession (1701-1714)


s: exhausted her internal strength still more, and the final


s: acknowledgment of Philip V (reigned 1701-1746) brought


s: hardly any blessing but that of peace. Under these


s: circumstances poetry could not thrive; and in truth the


s: eighteenth century in Spain is an age devoted more to the


s: discussion of the principles of literature than to the


s: French taste, following the principles formulated by


s: Boileau, prevailed almost entirely. The history of Spanish


s: poetry in the eighteenth century is a history of the


s: struggle between these two forces and ends in the triumph


s: The effects of Gongorism lasted long in Spain, which, with


s: its innate propensity to bombast, was more fertile soil


s: for it than other nations. Innumerable poetasters of the


s: early eighteenth century enjoyed fame in their day and


s: some possessed talent; but the obscure and trivial style


s: of the age from which they could not free themselves


s: deprived them of any chance of enduring fame. One may


s: mention, as the least unworthy, Gabriel Álvarez de Toledo


s: Some one has said that the poetry of Spain, with the


s: exception of the _romances_ and the drama of the _siglo


s: de oro_, has always drawn its inspiration from some other


s: country. Add to the exceptions the medieval epic and the


s: statement would be close to the truth. First Provence


s: through the medium of Galicia; then Italy and with it


s: ancient Rome; and lastly France and England, on more than


s: one occasion, have molded Spanish poetry. The power of


s: the French classical literature, soon dominant in Europe,


s: could not long be stayed by the Pyrenees; and Pope,


s: Thomson and Young were also much admired. Philip V, a


s: Frenchman, did not endeavor to crush the native spirit in


s: his new home, but his influence could not but be felt. He


s: established a Spanish Academy on the model of the French


s: It was some time before the reaction, based on common


s: sense and confined to the intellectuals, could take deep


s: root, and, as was natural, it went too far and condemned


s: and the _Poética_ of Ignacio de Luzán, published in


s: the same year, struck the first powerful blows. Luzán


s: (1702-1754) followed in general the precepts of Boileau,


s: though he was able to praise some of the good points in


s: the Spanish tradition. His own poems are frigid. The


s: _Sátira contra los malos escritores de su tiempo_ (1742)


s: of Jorge Pitillas (pseudonym of José Gerardo de Hervás, d.


s: critics who, unable to compose meritorious plays or


s: verse themselves, cut to pieces the great figures of the


s: Needless to say, the Gallicizers were vigorously opposed,


s: but so poor were the original productions of the defenders


s: of the national manner that their side was necessarily the


s: losing one. Vicente García de la Huerta (1734-1787) was


s: its most vehement partisan, but he is remembered only for


s: Thus it is seen that during a century of social and


s: industrial depression Spain did not produce a poet worthy


s: of the name. The condition of the nation was sensibly


s: bettered under Charles III (reigned 1759-1788) who did


s: what was possible to reorganize the state and curb the


s: stifling domination of the Roman Church and its agents


s: (1675-1764) labored faithfully to inoculate Spain, far


s: behind the rest of Europe, with an inkling of recent


s: scientific discoveries. And the budding prosperity,


s: however deceitful it proved, was reflected in a more


s: Nicolás FERNÁNDEZ DE MORATÍN (1737-1780) followed the


s: French rules in theory and wrote a few mediocre plays in


s: accordance with them; but he showed that at heart he was a


s: good poet and a good Spaniard by his ode _Á Pedro


s: Romero, torero insigne_, some _romances_ and his famous


s: _quintillas_, the _Fiesta de toros en Madrid_. Other


s: followers of the French, in a genre not, strictly


s: speaking, lyric at all, were the two fabulists, Samaniego


s: and Iriarte. F. María de SAMANIEGO (1745-1801) gave to the


s: traditional stock of apologues, as developed by Phaedrus,


s: Lokmân and La Fontaine, a permanent and popular Castilian


s: personage who spent much time in literary polemics, wrote


s: original fables (_Fábulas literarias_, 1781) directed not


s: against the foibles of mankind in general, but against the


s: The best work which was done under the classical French


s: influence, however, is to be found in the writers of the


s: so-called Salamancan school, which was properly not a


s: school at all. The poets who are thus classed together,


s: Valdés, Cienfuegos, Iglesias, were personal friends thrown


s: together in the university or town of Salamanca, but they


s: were not subjected to a uniform literary training and


s: possessed no similarity of style or aim as did the men of


s: José de CADALSO (1741-1782), a dashing soldier of great


s: personal charm killed at the siege of Gibraltar, is


s: sometimes credited with founding the school of Salamanca.


s: He was a friend of most of the important writers of his


s: time and composed interesting prose satires; his verse


s: (_Noches lúgubres_, etc.) is not remarkable. FRAY DIEGO


s: León and imitated him in paraphrases of the Psalms. The


s: volume of his verse is small but unsurpassed in surety of


s: taste and evenness of finish. The _Murciélago alevoso_ has


s: passed into many editions and become a favorite in Spain.


s: The pure and commanding figure of JOVELLANOS (1744-1811)


s: dominated the whole group which listened to his advice


s: with respect. It was not always sure, for he led Diego


s: González and Meléndez Valdés astray by persuading them to


s: attempt philosophical poetry instead of the lighter sort


s: for which they were fitted. He was in fact a greater man


s: than poet, but his satires and _Epístola al duque de


s: Juan MELÉNDEZ VALDÉS (1754-1817) was on the contrary a


s: greater poet than man. Brilliant from the first, he was


s: petted by Cadalso and Jovellanos who strove to develop his


s: talent. In 1780 he won a prize offered by the Academy for


s: an eclogue. In 1784 his comedy _Las bodas de Camacho_, on


s: a subject suggested by Jovellanos (from an episode in _Don


s: Quijote_, II, 19-21), won a prize offered by the city of


s: Madrid, but failed on the stage. His first volume of poems


s: was published in 1785; later editions appeared in 1797 and


s: of the invasion in 1808, incurred great popular odium and


s: died in France. He is the most fluent, imaginative poet of


s: the eighteenth century and is especially successful in the


s: pastoral and anacreontic styles. Fresh descriptions of


s: nature, enchanting pictures of love, form an oasis in


s: an age of studied reasonableness. His language has been


s: criticized for its Gallicisms. José IGLESIAS DE LA CASA


s: (1748-1791), a native of Salamanca and a priest, wrote


s: in the graver forms. Nicasio ÁLVAREZ DE CIENFUEGOS


s: (1764-1809) passes as a disciple of Meléndez; he was a


s: passionate, uneven writer whose undisciplined thought and


s: habit of coining words lead to obscurity. Politically he


s: opposed the French with unyielding vigor, barely escaped


s: execution at their hands and died in exile. The verse of


s: Cienfuegos prepared the way for Quintana. Differing


s: from him in clarity and polish are Fr. Sánchez Barbero


s: One curious result of rationalistic doctrines was the


s: "prosaism" into which it led many minor versifiers. These


s: poetasters, afraid of overstepping the limits of


s: good sense, tabooed all imagination and described in


s: deliberately prosy lines the most commonplace events. The


s: movement reached its height at the beginning of the reign


s: of Charles IV (1788-1808) and produced such efforts as


s: a poem to the gout, a nature-poem depicting barn-yard


s: sounds, and even Iriarte's _La música_ (1780), in which


s: one may read in carefully constructed _silvas_ the


s: definition of diatonic and chromatic scales.


s: Early in the nineteenth century the armies of Napoleon


s: invaded Spain. There ensued a fierce struggle for the


s: mastery of the Peninsula, in which the latent strength and


s: brought with them many new ideas which, together with the


s: sharpness of the conflict, served to awaken the Spanish


s: people from their torpor and to give them a new


s: realization of national consciousness. During this period


s: of stress and strife two poets, Quintana and Gallego,


s: urged on and encouraged their fellow countrymen with


s: Manuel José QUINTANA (1772-1857) had preëminently the


s: "gift of martial music," and great was the influence


s: of his odes _Al armamento de las provincias contra los


s: franceses_ and _Á España después de la revolución de


s: marzo_. He also strengthened the patriotism of his people


s: by his prose _Vidas de españoles célebres_ (begun in


s: Pizarro and others of their kind. In part a follower


s: of the French philosophers of the eighteenth century,


s: Quintana sang also of humanity and progress, as in his ode


s: on the invention of printing. In politics Quintana was a


s: liberal; in religious beliefs, a materialist. Campoamor


s: has said of Quintana that he sang not of faith or


s: pleasures, but of duties. His enemies have accused him


s: of stirring the colonies to revolt by his bitter sarcasm


s: directed at past and contemporaneous Spanish rulers, but


s: this is doubtless an exaggeration. It may be said that


s: except in his best patriotic poems his verses lack lyric


s: merit and his ideas are wanting in insight and depth; but


s: his sincerity of purpose was in the main beyond question


s: and he occasionally gave expression to striking boldness


s: of thought and exaltation of feeling. In technique


s: Quintana was a follower of the Salamancan school.


s: The cleric Juan Nicasio GALLEGO (1777-1853) rivaled


s: Quintana as a writer of patriotic verses. A liberal in


s: the servile Spanish rulers. He is best known by the ode


s: _El dos de mayo_, in which he exults over the rising of


s: the Spanish against the French on the second of May,


s: English; and the elegy _Á la muerte de la duquesa de


s: Frías_ in which he shows that he is capable of deep


s: feeling. Gallego was a close friend of Quintana, whose


s: salon in Madrid he frequented. Gallego wrote little, but


s: his works are more correct in language and style than


s: those of Quintana. It is interesting that although the


s: writings of these two poets evince a profound dislike and


s: distrust of the French, yet both were in their art largely


s: dominated by the influence of French neo-classicism. This


s: is but another illustration of the relative conservatism


s: In the year 1793 there had been formed in Seville by a


s: group of young writers an Academia de Letras Humanas to


s: foster the cultivation of letters. The members of this


s: academy were admirers of Herrera, the Spanish Petrarchist


s: and patriotic poet of the sixteenth century, and they


s: strove for a continuation of the tradition of the earlier


s: Sevillan group. The more important writers of the later


s: Sevillan school were Arjona, Blanco, Lista and Reinoso.


s: Manuel María de ARJONA (1771-1820), a priest well read in


s: the Greek and Latin classics, was an imitator of Horace.


s: José María BLANCO (1775-1841), known in the history of


s: English literature as Blanco White, spent much time in


s: England and wrote in English as well as in Castilian.


s: Ordained a Catholic priest he later became an Unitarian.


s: The best-known and most influential writer of the group


s: like Arjona an admirer and imitator of Horace; but his


s: ideas lacked depth. His best-known poem is probably a


s: religious one, _Á la muerte de Jesús,_ which abounds in


s: true poetic feeling. Lista exerted great influence as a


s: teacher and his _Lecciones de literatura española_ did


s: much to stimulate the study of Spanish letters. Félix José


s: REINOSO (1772-1814), also a priest, imitated Milton in


s: _octava rima_. As a whole the influence of the Sevillan


s: school was healthful. By insisting upon purity of diction


s: and regularity in versification, the members of the school


s: helped somewhat to restrain the license and improve the


s: bad taste prevailing in the Spanish literature of the


s: time. The Catalonian Manuel de CABANYES (1808-1833)


s: remained unaffected by the warring literary schools and


s: followed with passionate enthusiasm the precepts of the


s: In the third decade of the nineteenth century romanticism,


s: with its revolt against the restrictions of classicism,


s: with its free play of imagination and emotion, and with


s: lyricism as its predominant note, flowed freely into Spain


s: from England and France. Spain had remained preëminently


s: the home of romanticism when France and England had


s: turned to classicism, and only in the second half of the


s: eighteenth century had Spanish writers given to classicism


s: a reception that was at the best lukewarm. Now romanticism


s: was welcomed back with open arms, and Spanish writers


s: turned eagerly for inspiration not only to Chateaubriand,


s: Victor Hugo and Byron, but also to Lope de Vega and


s: Calderón. Spain has always worshiped the past, for Spain


s: In 1830 a club known as the Parnasillo was formed in


s: Madrid to spread the new literary theories, much as the


s: Cénacle had done in Paris. The members of the Parnasillo


s: met in a wretched little café to avoid public attention.


s: Here were to be found Bretón de los Herreros, Estébanez


s: Vega, Espronceda and Larra. The influence of Spanish epic


s: and dramatic poetry had been important in stimulating the


s: growth of romanticism in England, Germany and France. In


s: England, Robert Southey translated into English the


s: poem and the chronicle of the Cid and Sir Walter Scott


s: published his Vision of Don Roderick; in Germany, Herder's


s: translation of some of the Cid _romances_ and the Schlegel


s: brothers' metrical version of Calderón's dramas had called


s: attention to the merit of the earlier Spanish literature;


s: and in France, Abel Hugo translated into French the


s: _Romancero_ and his brother Victor made Spanish subjects


s: popular with _Hernani_ and _Ruy Blas_ and the _Légendes


s: des siècles_. But Spain, under the despotism of Ferdinand


s: VII, the "Tyrant of Literature," remained apparently


s: indifferent or even hostile to its own wonderful


s: creations, and clung outwardly to French


s: neo-classicism. Böhl von Faber, the German consul at


s: Cadiz, who was influenced by the Schlegel brothers,


s: had early called attention to the merit of the Spanish


s: literature of the Golden Age and had even had some of


s: Ferdinand VII died and the romantic movement was hastened


s: by the home-coming of a number of men who had fled the


s: despotism of the monarch and had spent some time in


s: England and France, where they had come into contact with


s: the romanticists of those countries. Prominent amongst


s: these were Martínez de la Rosa, Antonio Alcalá Galiano,


s: In this period of transition one of the first prominent


s: men of letters to show the effects of romanticism was


s: Francisco MARTÍNEZ DE LA ROSA (1787-1862). Among his


s: earlier writings are a _Poética_ and several odes in honor


s: of the heroes of the War of Independence against the


s: French. After his exile in Paris he returned home imbued


s: with romanticism, and his two plays, _Conjuración de


s: been given in French at Paris in 1830), mark the first


s: public triumph of romanticism in Spain. But Martínez de


s: la Rosa lacked force and originality and his works merely


s: paved the way for the greater triumph of the Duke of


s: liberal noble, insured the definite triumph of romanticism


s: in Spain by the successful performance of his drama


s: _Don Álvaro_ (1835). At first a follower of Moratín and


s: Quintana, he turned, after several years of exile in


s: England, the Isle of Malta and France, to the new romantic


s: school, and casting off all classical restraints


s: soon became the acknowledged leader of the Spanish


s: romanticists. Among his better works are the lyric _Al


s: faro de Malta_, the legendary narrative poem _El moro


s: expósito_ and his _Romances históricos_. The _Romances_


s: are more sober in tone and less fantastic,--and it should


s: Rivas settled quietly into the place of director of the


s: Spanish Academy, which post he held till his death.


s: José de ESPRONCEDA (1808-1842) was preëminently a


s: disciple of Byron, with Byron's mingling of pessimism and


s: aspiration, and like him in revolt against the established


s: order of things in politics and social organization. His


s: passionate outpourings, his brilliant imagery and the


s: music of his verse give to Espronceda a first place


s: amongst the Spanish lyrical poets of the nineteenth


s: century. Some of his shorter lyrics (e.g. _Canto á


s: Teresa_) are inspired by his one-time passion for Teresa


s: with whom after her marriage to another he eloped from


s: London to Paris. The poet's best known longer works are


s: the _Diablo mundo_ and the _Estudiante de Salamanca_,


s: which are largely made up of detached lyrics in which the


s: subjective note is strikingly prominent. Espronceda was


s: one of those fortunate few who shine in the world of


s: letters although they work little. Both in lyric mastery


s: and in his spirit of revolt, Espronceda holds the place in


s: Spanish literature that is held in English by Byron. He


s: is the chief Spanish exponent of a great revolutionary


s: movement that swept over the world of letters in the first


s: José ZORRILLA (1817-1893) first won fame by the reading


s: of an elegy at the burial of Larra. Zorrilla was a most


s: prolific and spontaneous writer of verses, much of which


s: is unfinished in form and deficient in philosophical


s: insight. But in spite of his carelessness and shallowness


s: he rivaled Espronceda in popularity. His verses are not


s: seldom melodramatic or childish, but they are rich in


s: to wander. His versions of old Spanish legends are


s: doubtless his most enduring work and their appeal to


s: Spanish patriotism is not less potent to-day than when


s: they were written. Zorrilla's dramatic works were


s: successful on the stage by reason of their primitive


s: vigor, especially _Don Juan Tenorio_, _El Zapatero y el


s: rey_ and _Traidor, inconfeso y mártir_. This "fantastic


s: and legendary poet" went to Mexico in 1854 and he remained


s: there several years. After that date he wrote little and


s: Gertrudis Gómez de AVELLANEDA (1814-1873) was born in Cuba


s: but spent most of her life in Spain. Avellaneda was a


s: graceful writer of lyrics in which there was feeling and


s: melody but little depth of thought. With her the moving


s: impulse was love, both human and divine. Her first volume


s: of poems (1841) probably contains her best work. Her


s: novels _Sab_ and _Espatolino_ were popular in their day


s: but are now fallen into oblivion. Some of her plays,


s: especially _Baltasar_ and _Munio_, do not lack merit.


s: Avellaneda is recognized as the foremost poet amongst the


s: Two of the most successful dramatists of this period,


s: García Gutiérrez and Hartzenbusch, were also lyric poets.


s: Antonio GARCÍA GUTIÉRREZ (1813-1884), the author of _El


s: trovador_, published two volumes of mediocre verses.


s: Juan Eugenio HARTZENBUSCH (1806-1880) was, like Fernán


s: Caballero, the child of a German father and a Spanish


s: mother. Though an eminent scholar and critic, he did not


s: hesitate in his _Amantes de Teruel_ to play to the popular


s: passion for sentimentality. He produced some lyric verse


s: of worth. Manuel BRETÓN DE LOS HERREROS (1796-1873) was


s: expression. He delighted in holding up to ridicule the


s: excesses of romanticism. Mention should be made here of


s: two poets who had been, like Espronceda, pupils of Alberto


s: Lista. The eclectic poet MARQUÉS DE MOLINS (Mariano Roca


s: de Togores: 1812-1889) wrote passively in all the literary


s: genres of his time. VENTURA DE LA VEGA (1807-1865) was


s: born in Argentina, but came to Spain at an early age. He


s: was a well-balanced, cautious writer of mediocre verses


s: that are rather neo-classic than romantic.


s: A marked reaction against the grandiose exaggerations of


s: later romanticism appears in the works of José SELGAS


s: sentimental verses. At one time his poetry was highly


s: praised and widely read, but for the most part it is


s: to-day censured as severely as it was once praised. Among


s: the contemporaries of Selgas were the writer of simple


s: verses and one-time popular tales, Antonio de TRUEBA


s: cuatro estaciones_ and _El ciego de Buenavista_. Somewhat


s: of the tradition of the Sevillan school persisted in the


s: verses of Manuel CAÑETE and Narciso CAMPILLO (1838-1900)


s: and in those of the poet and literary critic José AMADOR


s: The Sevillan Gustavo Adolfo BÉCQUER (1836-1870) wrote


s: perhaps the most highly polished Spanish verse of the


s: nineteenth century. His _Rimas_ are charged with true


s: poetic fancy and the sweetest melody, but the many


s: inversions of word-order that were used to attain to


s: perfection of metrical form detract not a little from


s: their charm. His writings are contained in three small


s: volumes in which are found, together with the _Rimas_, a


s: dreamy prose is often compared to that of Hoffmann and his


s: verses to those of Heine, although it is doubtful if he


s: was largely influenced by either of these German writers.


s: Bécquer sings primarily of idealized human love. His


s: material life was wretched and it would seem that his


s: spirit took flight into an enchanted land of its own


s: creation. Most human beings love to forget at times their


s: sordid surroundings and wander in dreamland; hence the


s: enduring popularity of Bécquer's works and especially of


s: the _Rimas_. Bécquer has been widely imitated throughout


s: the Spanish-speaking world, but with little success. In


s: this connection it should be noted that the Spanish poets


s: who have most influenced the Spanish literature of the


s: nineteenth century, both in the Peninsula and in


s: America, are the Tyrtaean poet Quintana, the two leading


s: romanticists Espronceda and Zorrilla and the mystic


s: Like most writers in Latin lands, Juan VALERA y Alcalá


s: Galiano (1824-1905) and Marcelino MENÉNDEZ Y PELAYO


s: (1856-1912) began their literary career with a volume or


s: two of lyric verses. Valera's verses have perfect metrical


s: form and evince high scholarship, but they are too learned


s: to be popular. The lyrics of Menéndez y Pelayo have also


s: more merit in form than in inspiration and are lacking in


s: human interest. Both authors turned soon to more congenial


s: work: Valera became the most versatile and polished of all


s: nineteenth century Spanish writers of essays and novels;


s: and Menéndez y Pelayo became Spain's greatest scholar in


s: literary history. The popular novelist, Pedro Antonio de


s: ALARCÓN (1833-1891), wrote lyrics in which there is a


s: nineteenth century was Ramón de CAMPOAMOR y Campoosorio


s: (1817-1901) who is recognized as the initiator in Spain


s: of a new type of verse in his _Doloras_ and _Pequeños


s: poemas_. The _doloras_ are, for the most part, metrical


s: fables or epigrams, dramatic or anecdotal in form, in


s: which the author unites lightness of touch with depth


s: of feeling. The _pequeño poema_ is merely an enlarged


s: _dolora_. Campoamor disliked Byron and he disliked still


s: more the sonorous emptiness that is characteristic of too


s: much Spanish poetry. In philosophy he revered Thomas


s: à Kempis; in form he aimed at conciseness and directness


s: rather than at artistic perfection. His poetry lacks


s: enthusiasm and coloring, but it has dramatic interest.


s: I, p. lv) says: "Al fin españoles somos, y á tal profusión


s: de luz y á tal estrépito de palabras sonoras no hay entre


s: The poets Manuel del PALACIO (1832-1895) and Federico


s: BALART (1831-1905), though quite unlike in genius, won the


s: esteem of their contemporaries. Palacio wrote excellent


s: sonnets and epigrams. In his _Leyendas y poemas_ he proved


s: his mastery of Spanish diction; he had, moreover, the


s: saving grace of humor which was so noticeably lacking in


s: Zorrilla's legends. The poet and literary critic, Balart,


s: achieved fame with his _Dolores_, in which he mourns with


s: sincere grief the death of his beloved wife. Mention


s: should also be made of the following poets who deserve


s: recognition in this brief review of the history of Spanish


s: lyric poetry: Vicente Wenceslao QUEROL (1836-1889), a


s: Valencian, whose _El eclipse, Cartas á María_, and _La


s: fiesta de Venus_, evince a remarkable technical skill


s: have delicate feeling and lively imagination; Emilio


s: FERRARI (b. 1853), the author of _Abelardo é Hipatia_


s: and _Aspiración_; the pessimistic poets, Joaquín María de


s: BARTRINA (1850-1880) and Gabino TEJADO; Salvador RUEDA (b.


s: de la vendimia_; and the poet and dramatist, Eduardo


s: After the death of Campoamor in the first year of the


s: twentieth century, the title of _doyen_ of Spanish


s: letters fell by universal acclaim to Gaspar NÚÑEZ DE ARCE


s: (1834-1903). Núñez de Arce was a lyric poet, a dramatist


s: and a writer of polemics, but first of all a man


s: of action. With him the solution of political and


s: sociological problems was all-important, and his literary


s: writings were mostly the expression of his sociological


s: and political views. Núñez de Arce is best known for his


s: _Gritos del combate_ (1875), in which he sings of liberty


s: but opposes anarchy with energy and courage. As a satirist


s: he attacks the excesses of radicalism as well as the vices


s: and foibles common to mankind. As a poet he is neither


s: original nor imaginative, and often his ideas are unduly


s: limited; but he writes with a manly vigor that is rare


s: amongst Spanish lyric poets, most of whom have given first


s: Valera says humorously, in _Florilegio de poesías


s: «Está el poeta tan enojado contra la sociedad, contra


s: nuestra descarriada civilización y contra los crímenes y


s: maldades de ahora, y nos pinta tan perverso, tan vicioso


s: y tan infeliz al hombre de nuestros días, atormentado por


s: dudas, remordimientos, codicias y otras viles pasiones,


s: que, á mi ver, lejos de avergonzarse este hombre de


s: descender del mono, debiera ser el mono quien se


s: outpouring of lyricism, which infused itself into prose


s: as well as verse. When this movement had exhausted itself


s: there came by inevitable reaction a period of materialism,


s: when realism succeeded romanticism and prose fiction


s: largely replaced verse. And now sociological and


s: pseudo-scientific writings threaten the very existence of


s: idealistic literature. And yet through it all there has


s: been no dearth of poets. Browning in England and Campoamor


s: in Spain, like many before them, have given metrical form


s: to the expression of their philosophical views. And other


s: poets, who had an intuitive aversion to science, have


s: taken refuge in pure idealism and have created worlds


s: after their own liking. To-day prose is recognized as


s: the best medium for the promulgation of scientific or


s: political teachings, and those who are by nature poets are


s: turning to art for art's sake. Poetry is less didactic


s: than formerly, and it is none the less beautiful and


s: The _Notes_ to this volume contain historical sketches of


s: the literatures of Argentina (p. 279), Colombia (p. 285),


s: and Venezuela (p. 315). It is to be regretted that lack of


s: space has excluded an account of the literatures of other


s: Spanish-American countries, and especially of Chile and


s: Spanish versification is subject to the following general


s: (1) There must be a harmonious flow of syllables, in which


s: primary syllabic stress. Thus, _en nuestra vida_ has


s: primary stress on _vi-_, and secondary stress on _nues-_.]


s: (2) Verse must be divided into phrases, each of which can


s: be uttered easily as one breath-group. The phrases are


s: normally of not less than four nor more than eight


s: syllables, with a rhythmic accent on the next to the last


s: syllable of each phrase. Phrases of a fixed number of


s: syllables must recur at regular intervals. There may or


s: may not be a pause at the end of the phrase.


s: there may be two unstressed syllables, after the rhythmic


s: (_a_) In the n-syllable binary line the phrases may recur


s: at irregular intervals. In lines with regular ternary


s: movement phrasing is largely replaced by rhythmic


s: (3) There must be rime of final syllables, or final


s: (_a_) In some metrical arrangements of foreign origin the


s: rimes recur at irregular intervals, or there is no rime


s: at all. See the _silva_ and _versos sueltos_ under


s: Whether normal Spanish verse has, or ever had, binary


s: movement, with the occasional substitution of a "troche"


s: for an "iambic," or vice-versa, is in dispute. That is,


s: whether in Spanish verse, with the usual movement, (1)


s: the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables is


s: ya muestra en esperanza el fruto cierto,


s: is there regular rhythmic pulsation, much less marked


s: than in English verse, doubtless,--but still an easily


s: discernible alternation of stressed and unstressed


s: syllables? If so, there must be secondary stress on _es-_.


s: Or is _ya muestra en esperanza_ one block, and _el fruto


s: cierto_ another, with no rhythmic stresses except those on


s: in which there is regular ternary movement throughout.


s: These are treated separately. Cf. p. lxx.]


s: The truth seems to be that symmetry of phrases (the


s: balancing of large blocks of syllables) is an essential


s: and important part of modern Spanish versification; but


s: that, in musical verse of the ordinary type, there is


s: also a subtle and varied binary movement, while in some


s: recitative verse (notably the dramatic _romance_ verse)


s: the binary movement is almost or quite negligible.


s: by arbitrarily assuming three contiguous atonic syllables


s: to be equal to-[/-]-(with secondary stress on the middle


s: syllable), gave the following results (cf. _Romanic


s: Common syllabic arrangements of 8-syllable lines:


s: in class (2); and 191 in class (3). The remaining lines


s: did not belong to any one of these three classes.


s: Common syllabic arrangements of 11-syllable lines:


s: Of 402 lines, 216 (slightly more than one-half) were in


s: remaining lines did not belong to any one of these


s: three classes. Note that, in these arrangements of the


s: Some poets have used at times a quite regular binary


s: movement in Spanish verse; but they have had few or no


s: followers, as the effect was too monotonous to please the


s: The Colombian poet, José Eusebio Caro, wrote much verse


s: thus, under the influence of the English poets.


s: On the other hand, some recent "decadent" poets have


s: written verses in which the principle of symmetry of


s: phrases, or of a fixed number of syllables, is abandoned,


s: and rhythm and rime are considered sufficient to make the


s: lines musical. Thus, Leopoldo Lugones (born 1875?), of


s: Argentina, in verses which he calls «_libres_» (cf.


s: _Lunario sentimental_, Buenos Aires, 1909):


s: Imprimiste en nuestro polvo tu sandalia,


s: No alabaré el litúrgico furor de tus orgías


s: Noches sentimentales de _mises_ en Italia.


s: This is largely a harking back to primitive conditions,


s: for in the oldest Castilian narrative verse the rule of


s: "counted syllables" apparently did not prevail. Cf. the


s: _Cantar de mío Cid_, where there is great irregularity in


s: predominate, many are found with seven or nine syllables,


s: and some with even fewer or more. The adoption of the rule


s: of "counted syllables" in Spanish may have been due to one


s: or more of several causes: to the influence of medieval


s: Latin rhythmic songs; to French influence; or merely


s: to the development in the Spanish people of a feeling for


s: Other poets of to-day write verses in which the line


s: contains a fixed number of syllables or any multiple of


s: Desde la escalera de la nave todo Nueva York abarcan


s: de un vistazo: muelles, río, casas, puentes...


s: y que salva á muchos de contribuyentes, pobres, perseguidos,


s: Spanish poets have often tried to write verses in


s: classical meters with the substitution of stress for


s: quantity. Thus, Villegas in the following hexameters:


s: Seis veces el verde soto coronó su cabeza


s: de nardo, de amarillo trebol, de morada viöla,


s: en tanto que el pecho frío de mi casta Licoris


s: These lines are quoted by Eugenio Mele, in _La poesia


s: José Eusebio Caro wrote similar hexameters, and, strange


s: ¡Céfiro rápido lánzate! ¡rápido empújame y vivo!


s: ¡Más redondas mis velas pon: del proscrito á los lados,


s: haz que tus silbos susurren dulces y dulces suspiren!


s: ¡Haz que pronto del patrio suelo se aleje mi barco!


s: The number of these direct imitations is large; but few


s: succeeded. They are, at best, foreign to the spirit of


s: In singing Spanish verses two facts are of especial


s: interest: that, where the rules of prosody require


s: synalepha, hiatus sometimes occurs (especially in opera),


s: (Ledesma, _Cancionero salmantino_, p. 53)


s: And that musical accents do not necessarily coincide with


s: syllabic stresses, even at the end of a phrase. Thus,


s: In most modern Spanish verse there is a fixed number of


s: syllables in a line up to and including the last stressed


s: syllable. In counting these syllables consideration


s: In order to have the correct number of syllables, poets


s: sometimes (1) shorten a word or (2) shift the accent:


s: (1) ¿Ya qué mi puro _espirtu_ sucias carnes...


s: (Zorrilla, _Don Juan Tenorio_, primeraa parte, III, 6)


s: (Lope de Vega, _El mejor alcalde el rey_, II)


s: Note the artificial separation of lines in some dramatic


s: (Calderón, _El José de las mujeres_, II)


s: (Calderón, _No hay burlas con el amor_, III)]


s: Within a word two or three contiguous vowels usually


s: combine to form a diphthong or a triphthong respectively


s: (this is called "syneresis"): _bai|le, rey, oi|go,


s: ciu|dad, cui|da|do, es|tu|diar, es|tu|diáis, dien|te,


s: lim|pio, gra|cio|so, muy, bien, pue|de, buey_, etc.


s: (_a_) A stressed "weak" vowel (_i, u_) may not combine


s: with a "strong" vowel (_a, e, o_) to form a diphthong:


s: vowel receives the accent mark. Some Spanish-American


s: poets have sinned grievously, by reason of their local


s: pronunciation, in diphthongizing a strong vowel with a


s: following stressed weak vowel, as _maiz, a|taud, oi|do_,


s: (Calderón, _No hay burlas con el amor_, III)


s: Cf. also _rendíos_, etc., where the _o_ of _os_ combines


s: (_b_) _uá, uó_, are usually disyllabic, except after _c,


s: Juan_, etc. Syneresis may occur: _sua|ve_.


s: (_c_) _úi_ is usually disyllabic, except in _muy:


s: (_d_) Two unstressed strong vowels, if they follow the


s: stress, regularly form a diphthong; but if they precede


s: they may form a diphthong or they may be dissyllabic,


s: El | tiem|po en|tre | sus | plie|gues | r=o|e=|do|res.


s: rules for syllabication that obtain in prose. Thus, in


s: _empíreo_ the _í_ receives the accent mark, since it is


s: held to be in the antepenultimate syllable, but in verse


s: (_e_) Two strong vowels, if one is stressed, are usually


s: ¿Dón|de | fue|ron | tus | hé|roes | es|for|za|dos,


s: Syneresis is rare, but may occur,--except in _éa_, _éo_


s: and _óa_,--provided the second vowel does not receive a


s: C=ae=n | es|ta|llan|do | de | los | fuer|tes | gon|ces.


s: Cual | na|ve | r=ea=l | en | triun|fo em|pa|ve|sa|da.


s: (_f_) In some words vowels that would normally form a


s: diphthong are usually disyllabic by analogy with other


s: forms derived from the same stem: _fi|é_, _fi|ó_ (cf.


s: Syneresis is rare, but possible, as in _brio|so_ for


s: (_g_) Prefixes, except _a_-, usually form separate


s: but _aho|gar_. If the syllable after _a_-is stressed,


s: By poetic license vowels that normally form one syllable


s: may often be dissolved into separate syllables (this is


s: called "dieresis") at the will of the poet: _glo|rio|so_


s: in dieresis of two weak vowels, or of strong and weak


s: vowels where the strong vowel is stressed.]


s: But dieresis is impossible if the diphthong is _ie_ or


s: _ue_ from Latin _[e]_ and _[o]_ respectively, as in


s: The final vowel or diphthong of one word and the initial


s: vowel or diphthong of an immediately following word in the


s: same line usually combine to form one syllable (this is


s: Cuan|do | re|cuer|do | la | pie|dad | sin|ce|ra


s: En|tra|b=a e=n | nues|tras | vie|jas | ca|te|dra|les.


s: words is called synalepha, while the union of vowels


s: within a word is called syneresis. But synalepha may occur


s: in combinations of vowels in which syneresis would be


s: impossible. Compare _te|ní|a_ and _ca|no|a_ with:


s: The vowels of three words may thus combine if the middle


s: (_a_) Hiatus (i.e. the final vowel of one word and the


s: initial vowel of the immediately following word form


s: separate syllables) is caused by the interposition of a


s: Note that, similarly, the vowels of three words may not


s: combine, if the middle word is _y, é_ (or _he_), _ó_ (or


s: Que | la al|ma | no|che | ó el | bri|llan|te | di|a.


s: And in all such expressions as: _o|cio|so é |


s: Si he es|cu|cha|do | cuan|do ha|bla|bas.


s: (Calderón, _No hay burlas con el amor_, III)


s: In modern Spanish, _h_, being silent, has no effect,


s: but in older Spanish, _h_ for Latin _f_, being then


s: Hiatus was common in Old Spanish, except when the first


s: of two words was the definite article, a personal


s: pronoun-object or the preposition _de_; or when the vowels


s: (_b_) Hiatus is usual when the initial vowel of the second


s: word has a strong accent (usually the rhythmic accent at


s: Pues | en | fin | me | de|jó | una (Calderón).


s: Ta|les | fue|ron | ya | és|tos | cual | her|mo|so (Herrera).


s: Tal | de | lo | al|to | tem|pes|tad | des|he|cha (Maury).


s: No hay | pla|ce|res | en | su | al | ma.


s: Cuan|do | po|bre | de | a|ños | y | pe|sa|res


s: Por|que es | pa|ra el | ser | que | a|ma.


s: would bring together two stressed syllables as in _gigante


s: But synalepha is possible (especially of _de o-_):


s: To|do e|le|va|ba | mi á|ni|mo in|tran|qui|lo.


s: And synalepha is the rule, if stress on the initial


s: If the vowels are the same, they usually combine into one:


s: In estimating the number of syllables in a Spanish


s: verse-line one final unstressed syllable after the last


s: stressed syllable is counted whether it be present or not;


s: or, if there be two unstressed syllables at the end of


s: the line, only one is counted. Thus the following are


s: considered 8-syllable lines although, in fact, one line


s: has nine syllables and another has only seven:


s: syllable is called _agudo_; a word with one syllable after


s: the stress is called _grave_ or _llano_; one with two


s: syllables after the stress, _esdrújulo: farol, pluma,


s: This system of counting syllables obtains in Spanish


s: because there is one and only one unstressed syllable at


s: the end of most verse-lines. It would, perhaps, be more


s: logical to stop the count with the last stressed syllable,


s: as the French do. For instance, a Spanish 11-syllable


s: line would be called a "feminine" 10-syllable line by the


s: French; but the French language has only one vowel (_e_)


s: that may occur in a final unstressed syllable, while in


s: Spanish there are several (_a, e, o,_ rarely _i, u_).


s: Spanish poetry may be in rimed verse or in blank verse.


s: (1) Rimed verse may have "consonance," in which there is


s: rime of the last stressed vowel and of any consonants and


s: vowels that may follow in the line, as in:


s: In a diphthong consisting of a strong and a weak vowel


s: the weak vowel may be disregarded in rime. Cf. above:


s: _prudencia, conciencia; corazón, canción; igual, rival_.


s: (2) Or rimed verse may have "assonance," in which there


s: is rime of the last accented vowel and of any final vowel


s: that may follow in the line, but not of consonants.


s: but it occurs in some household rimes; e. g.:


s: What shall little Tommy Tucker have for his supper?


s: Here the assonance is _ú-er_ (final unstressed _-er_ in


s: standard present-day English represents vocalic _r_).]


s: Assonance of alternate lines is the usual rime of the


s: lines of approximately sixteen syllables, and every line


s: The following rules for assonance should be noted:


s: _(a)_ In modern Spanish a word stressed on the final


s: syllable may not assonate with one stressed on a syllable


s: epic, _á_ could assonate with _á-a._ In singing these


s: old verses every line was probably made to end in an


s: unstressed vowel by adding paragogic _e_ to a final


s: stressed syllable. Thus, _son_ was sung as _sone, dar_ as


s: as in _cruza, cúpula (ú-a), bañe, márgenes, árabes (á-e)._


s: _(c)_ In stressed diphthongs and triphthongs only the


s: vowels receiving the stress assonate, as in _vale, aire


s: (á-e), cabellos, suelo (é-o), envolviendo, aposento (é-o),


s: guardias, alta (á-a), pleito, siento (é-o), mucho, triunfo


s: _(d)_ In unstressed diphthongs and triphthongs only the


s: strong vowels assonate, as in _turba, lluvia (ú-a),


s: licencia, quisierais (é-a), pido, continuo (í-o)_.


s: Similarly, _e_ or _o_, before another strong vowel, is


s: disregarded in an unstressed diphthong, as in _modo,


s: _(e)_ In final unstressed syllables, _i_ and _u_ (not in


s: diphthongs) assonate with _e_ and _o_, respectively, as


s: in _verde, débil (é-e), amante, fácil (á-e), líquido,


s: (3) In Spanish blank verse (_versos sueltos, libres,


s: blancos_) there is usually no rime; or if there be rime


s: it is merely incidental. Blank verse usually consists of


s: Blank verse is little used in Spanish. It occurs chiefly


s: in serious satirical or philosophical poems. But separate


s: _versos sueltos_ are introduced into some varieties of


s: compositions, such as the _romance, seguidilla, silva_,


s: absence of rime, in imitation of classic Greek and Latin


s: verse. They came into Spain by way of Italy during the


s: Renaissance movement. Abjured by the romanticists, they


s: were restored to favor by Núñez de Arce.]


s: ordinary Spanish verse from that with regular ternary


s: In modern Spanish this verse is commonly found in lines of


s: seven, eight or eleven syllables. It may occur in lines


s: of any length; but in lines of five or six syllables the


s: binary and ternary movements are generally mingled. In


s: syllables were common, and lines of 6+6, or of nine,


s: syllables were then, as now, also occasionally used.


s: best treated as half-lines, with inner rime (_versos


s: The most popular measure, and the one of most importance


s: in the history of Spanish verse, is the 8+8-syllable line


s: of the old _romances_, which was later divided into two


s: the drama and in popular songs. This line usually has


s: only one rhythmic accent, which falls on the seventh


s: accent on the last stressed syllable of a phrase and not


s: syllabic stresses that may occur within a phrase.]


s: Rarely 8-syllable lines are written with a fixed accent on


s: the third syllable (cf. p. 51, l. 10 f.). There is then


s: sometimes _pie quebrado_ in alternate lines, as in:


s: Next to the popular 8-syllable line the most important


s: measure in modern Spanish verse is that of eleven


s: syllables, with binary movement, which came to Spain from


s: Italy in the fifteenth century, and was generally accepted


s: by the writers of the Siglo de Oro. This 11-syllable line,


s: though of foreign origin, has held the boards as the chief


s: erudite measure in Spanish verse for four centuries, and


s: taken all in all it is the noblest metrical form for


s: serious poems in modern Spanish. A striking peculiarity


s: of the line is its flexibility. It is not divided into


s: hemistichs as were its predecessors, the 14-syllable


s: Alexandrine and the 12-syllable _arte mayor_ verse; but


s: it consists of two phrases and the position of the inner


s: A well constructed line of this type has a rhythmic accent


s: on the sixth syllable, or a rhythmic accent on the fourth


s: syllable (usually with syllabic stress on the eighth),


s: beside the necessary accent in the tenth position.


s: Generally the inner accent falls on the sixth syllable


s: approximately twice as often as on the fourth.


s: Y con diversas flòres va esparcièndo... (León)


s: Y para envejecèrse florecièron... (Calderón)


s: Cuna y sepùlcro en un botón hallàron... (Calderón)


s: Se mira al mùndo á nuestros pies tendìdo... (Zorrilla)


s: Logically, the close of the first phrase should coincide


s: with the end of the word that receives the inner rhythmic


s: ¿Qué tengo yò, | que mi amistad procùras?... (Lope)


s: Son la verdad y Diòs, | Dios verdadèro... (Quevedo)


s: But in some lines the rhetorical and the rhythmic accents


s: El pudor á vivìr en las cabànas... (Jovellanos)


s: Del plectro sabiamènte meneàdo... (León)


s: Que á mi puerta, cubièrto de rocìo... (Lope)


s: The 11-syllable line may be used alone. Cf. the sonnets of


s: satírica_ of Quevedo (p. 15), the blank verse of


s: The neo-classic poets of the eighteenth century and some


s: of the earlier romanticists even used it in _redondillas_


s: En pago de este amor que, mal mi gr=ado=,


s: Hasta el crimen me lleva en su del=irio=,


s: Mi virtud elevara hasta el mart=irio=...


s: ¿Por qué tu rostro en lágrimas se inunda?


s: ¿Por qué suspiras, niña, y te acong=o=j=a=s?


s: (Bretón de los Herreros, _¿Quién es ella?_)


s: But the poets of the Siglo de Oro and the neo-classic


s: poets generally used it in combination with 7-syllable


s: los pocos sabios que en el mundo han sido!


s: Strophes of three 11-syllable lines and one 5-syllable


s: line (_versos sáficos_) are not uncommon in highly lyric


s: poems. Usually, in the long lines, the inner accent falls


s: on the fourth syllable, with syllabic stress on the


s: eighth, and with cesura after the fifth syllable. Thus:


s: was introduced into Spain from Italy by Antonio Agustín,


s: bishop of Tarragona, in the first half of the sixteenth


s: century, and quotes these lines by Agustín:


s: The romanticists used the _versos sáficos_ with rime.


s: In the Sapphic strophe of Francisco de la Torre (d. 1594),


s: the short line has seven syllables, and the long line may


s: have inner rhythmic accent on the sixth, or on the fourth


s: The Sapphic strophe of Francisco de la Torre has been not


s: most are accented on the third and sixth syllables. Only


s: one is accented on the fourth and eighth.]


s: The 7-syllable line is commonly used in combination with


s: those of eleven syllables (see above). In the seventeenth


s: century, particularly, the 7-syllable line was used in


s: In present-day songs the 7-syllable line is rather rare,


s: except in combination with lines of five syllables, as in:


s: In these lines there is no fixed inner rhythmic accent.


s: The Old Spanish Alexandrine verse-line was composed of two


s: centuries numerous monkish narrative poems (_mester de


s: clereçía_) were written in this measure:


s: En el nonbre del Padre,--que fizo toda cosa,


s: E de don Jhesu Christo,--Fijo dela Gloriosa,


s: Et del Spiritu Sancto,--que egual dellos posa,


s: De un confessor sancto--quiero fer vna prosa...


s: The old Alexandrine fell before the rising popularity of


s: the _arte mayor_ verse early in the fifteenth century. In


s: the eighteenth century a 13-syllable Alexandrine appears


s: in Spanish in imitation of the classic French line. This


s: later Spanish Alexandrine is not composed of two distinct


s: lines (_versos agudos_ and _versos llanos_ or _graves_).


s: Con el más recio son, con pausado compás,


s: There is an inner rhythmic accent on the sixth syllable.


s: Iriarte also revived the older Alexandrine, but without


s: Cuando veo yo algunos,--que de otros escritores


s: Á la sombra se arriman,--y piensan ser autores...


s: Recent poets have revived the old Alexandrine. Thus,


s: Rubén Darío uses it, even retaining the hiatus between the


s: half-lines; but instead of grouping the lines in quatrains


s: with monorime, as the old monks did, he uses assonance


s: in alternate lines, which is, so far as I know, without


s: Es con voz de la Biblia--ó verso de Withman


s: Que habría que llegar--hasta ti, ¡cazador!


s: Primitivo y moderno,--sencillo y complicado,


s: Con un algo de Wáshington--y mucho de Nemrod...


s: Lines of five or six syllables usually have a mingled


s: Lines of 5+5 syllables (_versos asclepiadeos_) are


s: The Mexican poet Pesado used the same line in his


s: The same measure appears in a patriotic song, _Himno de


s: like most Spanish patriotic songs, are sung with ternary


s: This 10-syllable measure is cantabile, and its phrases are


s: too short and too regular to make good recitative verse.


s: _Versos alcaicos_ differ from the _asclepiadeos_ in that


s: the former have, in a strophe, two lines of 5 + 5, one of


s: nine, and one of ten syllables. Thus, in these lines of


s: Victorio Giner (who probably introduced this strophe into


s: Spain in the second half of the nineteenth century):


s: Juan Luis Estelrich (_Poesías_, 1900) uses _versos


s: alcaicos_ with the first two lines of each strophe


s: _Romances_ in lines of 6 + 6 (or 6 + 5) syllables occur


s: in popular Spanish verse, as in the Asturian _romance_ of


s: This measure was also used in _endechas_, as in _Los


s: comendadores de Córdoba_ (fifteenth century), beginning:


s: The 9-syllable line was not well received in Spain, and it


s: has been little used. Iriarte, in his desire to vary the


s: metrical constructions of his fables, used it at least


s: There is certainly no fixed inner rhythmic accent in these


s: lines. The fact seems to be that the 9-syllable line is


s: too long to be uttered comfortably in one phrase, or


s: breath-group, and it is too short to be regularly divided


s: Verse with regular ternary movement may occur in lines of


s: any length, but it is commonly found only in lines of ten,


s: eleven or twelve syllables. Many ternary lines of five and


s: six syllables are found, but they are almost invariably


s: mingled with binary lines. This _rondel antiguo_ (Nebrija,


s: quoted by Men. Pel., _Ant._ V. 66) is ternary throughout,


s: In lines with _regular_ ternary movement, properly


s: speaking, every primary stress receives a rhythmic accent,


s: Rarely one finds 6-syllable and 9-syllable lines with


s: regular ternary movement, and these are probably never of


s: Formerly the Spanish 10-syllable line occurred usually in


s: Litòque, vitòque, que sièmpre está sòrdo.


s: (Quiñones de Benavente, _Entremeses, bailes, loas y


s: sainetes_, quoted by Milá y Fontanals, _Obras completas_,


s: Calderón used it in the _Viña del Señor_:


s: A recent number of the _Ilustración Española y Americana _


s: (15 Enero, 1911) contains lines of similar construction by


s: Iriarte did not hesitate to write fables in these


s: And the romanticists of the nineteenth century used it not


s: In the nineteenth century this line came to be popular in


s: patriotic songs which are sung by the multitude, while the


s: crash of the drum marks the rhythmic accents:


s: The commoner form of verse with 11-syllable ternary lines


s: is that popularly called "_de gaita gallega_" (Men. Pel.,


s: the assumption being that this verse is intimately related


s: to that type of popular Galician poetry known as the


s: _muiñeira_, which was sung to the music of the bagpipe.


s: These lines are typical of the "_endecasílabos de gaita


s: collected: cf. Milá, _op. cit._; Carolina Michaëlis de


s: Menéndez y Pelayo (_Ant._ X, 141) gives, in his collection


s: of _Romances tradicionales de Asturias_, the following one


s: It should be noted that this poem has assonance of the


s: odd and of the even lines. Men. Pel. says of this popular


s: popular castellana es un fenómeno singular, aun en


s: Asturias misma, y hasta ahora no se ha presentado más


s: ejemplo que éste.» Note the apparent shifting of stress in


s: _armas_. Iriarte and L. Moratin did not scorn to use this


s: Moratin (in the chorus of _Padres del Limbo_):


s: The 11-syllable line of ternary movement has had less


s: vogue in artistic verse than those of ten and twelve


s: flexible 11-syllable ternary line beginning with either


s: Sus nòmbres jùntos los llèvo en el alma,


s: These are blank verses with occasional assonance.]


s: The Spanish ternary 12-syllable line was formerly used


s: chiefly in combination with lines of ten or eleven


s: syllables. Some examples of mingled 10-and 12-syllable


s: lines have already been given above. Another is:


s: A song of mingled 11-and 12-syllable lines begins thus:


s: there is apparently a shifting of stress which is not


s: Efforts have been made from time to time to use the


s: ternary movements in erudite verse, but these, for the


s: most part, have proven futile. The most serious and the


s: most successful attempt appears in the use of the _copla


s: de arte mayor_ in the fifteenth century. The _copla


s: (metro, versos) de arte mayor_ consists of mingled 12-and


s: each with consonantal rime according to some definite


s: scheme. The _arte mayor_ verse attained to its most


s: mas non duran sienpre, segund luego plazen;


s: The old _arte mayor_ verse has these distinguishing


s: The line is divided into hemistichs, each of which may


s: except that the final syllable of the first hemistich


s: and the initial syllable of the second may not both be


s: lacking. These arrangements may also occur (the third is


s: (1) Las grandes fazañas | de nuestros mayores... (Str. 4)


s: Vayan de gente | sabidos en gente... (Str. 3)


s: Reconocerán | maguer que feroce... (Str. 274)


s: Assí que qualquiera | cuerpo ya muerto... (Str. 244)


s: Sufren que passen | males e viçios... (Str. 232)


s: Bien como médico | mucho famoso... (Str. 178)


s: The initial unstressed syllable of the first hemistich is


s: lacking in approximately one-third of the lines of the


s: _Laberinto_. These lines resemble the 11-syllable _gaita


s: gallega_ verse, and the others resemble the popular


s: Galician 12-syllable ternary line, for in both the final


s: unstressed syllable of the first hemistich may fall,


s: which seems to indicate that the appearance of the _arte


s: mayor_ verse in Castilian was due to Galician influence.


s: Again, as in many Galician songs of this type, the ternary


s: movement of the old _arte mayor_ verse is not strictly


s: regular. Approximately nine-tenths of the lines in the


s: _Laberinto_ may be read with regular ternary movement:


s: by giving a rhythmic accent to a syllable with secondary


s: stress or to a middle syllable in a group of atonics, in a


s: not inconsiderable number of lines, as in:


s: In the remaining lines the commonest movement is:


s: In the second half of the sixteenth century and in the


s: seventeenth century, the _arte mayor_ verse was out of


s: fashion, although it appeared occasionally, as in these


s: lines of Lope de Vega (a variety of the Sapphic strophe),


s: In the nineteenth century it was restored to favor by


s: the romanticists. Good examples are: Espronceda,


s: _El templario_; Avellaneda, _Las siete palabras_; and


s: Zorrilla, _Á un torreón_ (part). Some writers used it even


s: in the drama (cf. Gil y Zárate, _Guzmán el bueno_). The


s: modern _arte mayor_ verse is written in 12-syllable lines,


s: usually with regular ternary movement. Thus:


s: ¡Oh Antìlla dichòsa! | ¿qué màgicos sònes,


s: Qué lùz inefàble, | qué extràña alegrìa,


s: Del cièlo destièrran los nègros crespònes,


s: Prestàndo á esta nòche | la pòmpa del dìa?


s: Y no hày leve sòmbra | que crùce importùna


s: two in _arte mayor_ verse. Cf. _Fábula_ XXXIX.]


s: Soldàdos, la Pàtria | nos llàma á la lìd;


s: Cantèmos, soldàdos, | el hìmno á la lìd:


s: Ya nuèstros acèntos | el òrbe se admìre,


s: which the musical notation indicates clearly.]


s: Lines of fourteen and fifteen syllables with ternary


s: movement are never popular, and in artistic verse they


s: are exceedingly rare. Avellaneda used these measures in


s: Sàle la auròra risuèña, de flòres vestìda,


s: Dàndole al cièlo y al càmpo variàdo colòr;


s: Tòdo se anìma sintièndo brotàr nueva vìda,


s: Càntan las àves, y el àura suspìra de amòr.


s: Huyèron velòces--cual nùbes que el viènto arrebàta--


s: Los brèves momèntos de dìcha que el cièlo me diò...


s: ¿Por què mi existència, ya inùtil, su cùrso dilàta,


s: Si el tèrmino ansiàdo á su espàlda perdìdo dejò?


s: Some recent poets have attempted to write ternary


s: Alexandrine verse. Thus, the Peruvian poet, José S.


s: Los Estados Unidos, como argolla de bronce,


s: contra un clavo sujetan de la América un pie;


s: y la América debe, si pretende ser libre,


s: imitarles primero, é igualarles después.


s: Imitemos ¡oh Musa! las crujientes estrofas


s: que en el Norte se arrastran con la gracia de un tren,


s: y que giren las rimas como ruedas veloces


s: y que caigan los versos como varas de riel.


s: There are certain conventional combinations of line and


s: rime known by special names. Those used in modern Spanish


s: may best be considered under the heads (I) Assonance, (II)


s: national of all Spanish meters. The proper _romance_


s: consists of 8-syllable lines with assonance in alternate


s: _romance_ line has already been treated (p. lxi). In the


s: old _romances_ there was no division into stanzas, but


s: poets from the end of the sixteenth century on regularly


s: employ a pause after every fourth line, thereby creating


s: a series of quatrains (pp. 42, 60, etc.), except in the


s: (2) Alternate assonance may be employed with lines of


s: any length. With 11-syllable lines the verse is called


s: _romance heroico_ or _real_. Lines of seven syllables make


s: _versos anacreónticos_. The name _endecha_ is given to


s: some assonated verse of either six (p. 124) or seven


s: syllables. When the first three lines of a stanza are


s: of seven syllables and the last of eleven, the verse is


s: called _endecha real_. For examples of alternate assonance


s: in lines of various lengths, see pp. 122 (2 examples),


s: An _estribillo_, or refrain, may be used in any assonating


s: (3) The use of alternate assonance in lines of fourteen


s: syllables (pp. 211, 212) is a none too happy device of the


s: (4) The _seguidilla_ is usually a stanza of seven lines of


s: seven and five syllables in length, in this order: 7, 5,


s: another. The assonances change from one stanza to another.


s: See pp. 112 and 120. In some _seguidillas_ the stanzas


s: consist only of the first four lines described.


s: of 8-syllable or shorter lines. The 11-syllable line,


s: itself an importation from Italy, brought with it many


s: well-known Italian strophes. In none of the pure Italian


s: forms are lines ending in _agudos_ or _esdrújulos_


s: (1) The _redondilla mayor_ consists of four 8-syllable


s: less commonly, _abab_ (p. 136). It is a common and


s: characteristic Spanish meter. The _redondilla menor_


s: has the same form expressed in lines of less than eight


s: syllables. The same rime-schemes are found with lines of


s: seven or of eleven (pp. 117, 207) syllables, and with


s: combinations of eleven and seven (p. 134), or eleven and


s: five (p. 86) syllables; but they are not properly called


s: (2) The _quintilla_ is a 5-line strophe, usually of


s: and not more than two lines having the same rime should


s: stand together (pp. 26, 114). _Quintillas_ are sometimes


s: written with lines of other lengths. Examples with eleven


s: and seven syllables are found on pp. 128, 133 and 148. The


s: stanza used in _Vida retirada_ (p. 9) is termed _lira_:


s: (3) The _décima_ (or _espinela_) is a 10-line strophe


s: of 8-syllable lines which may be considered as two


s: _quintillas_; but there should be a pause after the


s: fourth line, and the rime-scheme is usually as follows:


s: (4) The _arte mayor_ line has already been described (p.


s: lxxv). The _copla de arte mayor_ is a stanza of eight such


s: lines, usually having the rime-scheme _abbaacca_.


s: (5) The _octava rima_ (Ital. _ottava rima_) is an Italian


s: form. Each stanza has eight 11-syllable lines with the


s: rime-scheme _abababcc_. Examples are found of octaves


s: employing short lines. A variety of the _octava rima_ is


s: the _octava bermudina_ with the rime-scheme _abbcdeec_,


s: (6) The _soneto_ (sonnet) is formed of fourteen


s: a much stricter form than the English sonnet of the


s: corresponding period. The quatrains have the regular


s: construction _abba_, and the tiercets almost always follow


s: one of two types: either _cde, cde,_ or _cdcdcd_. See pp.


s: (7) _Tercetos_ (Italian _terza rima_), the verse used by


s: Dante in the _Divina Commedia_, are formed of 11-syllable


s: lines in groups of three, with the rime-scheme _aba, bcb,


s: (8) The term _canción_, which means any lyrical


s: composition, is also applied specifically to a verse


s: form in which the poet invents a typical strophe, with a


s: certain length of line and order of rimes, and adheres to


s: this type of stanza throughout the whole poem. The lines


s: are of eleven and seven syllables,--the Italian structure.


s: For strophes in 10-syllable lines, see p. 199; in


s: (9) The _silva_ is a free composition of 11-and 7-syllable


s: lines. Most of the lines rime, but without any fixed


s: order, and lines are often left unrimed. See pp. 46, 54,


s: lines of seven syllables is Villegas' _Cantilena_ (p. 17).


s: (10) The Asclepiadean verse (p. lxviii) and the Sapphic


s: (p. lxiv) and Alcaic (p. lxix) strophes have already been


s: described. These may be rimed, or in blank verse.


s: (11) Numerous conventional names are given to poems for


s: some other characteristic than their metrical structure.


s: Thus a _glosa_ (gloss) is a poem "beginning with a text, a


s: line of which enters into each of the stanzas expounding


s: it." A _letra_ may be a short gloss. The name _letrilla_


s: is applied sometimes to a little poem in short lines which


s: may be set to music (p. 9), and sometimes to a strophic


s: poem with a refrain (p. 16). A _madrigal_ is a short


s: _silva_ upon a light topic, an expanded conceit. The term


s: _cantilena_ is given to any short piece of verse intended


s: to be set to music (p. 17). _Serranillas_, in which is


s: described the meeting of a gentleman with a rustic maiden,


s: are famous for the examples written by Juan Ruiz and the


s: Marquis of Santillana. A _villancico_ is a popular poem


s: with a refrain, usually dealing with an episode celebrated


s: are formed, as in English, of 11-syllable lines, with


s: occasionally a shorter line thrown in. There is no rime,


s: but sometimes a couplet may mark the close of an idea. See


s: los pocos sabios que en el mundo han sido!


s: gozar quiero del bien que debo al cielo,


s: ya muestra en esperanza el fruto cierto.


s: Que aunque no hubiera cielo, yo te amara.


s: Y aunque no hubiera infierno, te temiera.


s: Contra las costumbres presentes de los castellanos, escrita al


s: No he de callar, por más que con el dedo,


s: ¿Siempre se ha de sentir lo que se dice?


s: ¡Tanto se emprende en término de un día!


s: Nuevo horror de las sombras, nuevo luto,


s: Te desmiembren, te partan, te degüellen,


s: Hubo un tiempo en que andaba la modestia


s: ¡Oh infamia! ¡oh siglo! ¡oh corrupción! Matronas


s: De su indiscreto afán. ¡Ay triste! guarte,


s: ¡Oh ultraje! ¡oh mengua! todo se trafica:


s: Don el más grato que dió al hombre el cielo,


s: ¡Qué de plagas! ¡oh Dios! Su aliento impuro,


s: Por los yermos del mar; ya ni en su popa


s: Las guirnaldas se ven que antes le ornaban,


s: Llega el momento, en fin; tiende su mano


s: Con gritos de soberbia el viento llenan;


s: Gimen los yunques, los martillos suenan,


s: No en tanto os estiméis: grillos, esposas,


s: Rompió el volcán que en su interior hervía.


s: Su gloria fué, nuestro esplendor comienza;


s: Viendo que aun hay Castilla y castellanos,


s: El nombre augusto de la patria al viento?


s: Con voz que atruene en rededor la sierra,


s: ¡Guerra, nombre tremendo, ahora sublime,


s: En fiera y ronca voz pronuncian: «¡Guerra!


s: Que vuestro nombre eclipse nuestro nombre,


s: Que vuestra gloría humille nuestra gloria.


s: Juradlo, ella os lo manda: _¡Antes la muerte


s: Al cielo vuelve, que le oculta el llanto;


s: Roto y sin brillo el cetro de dos mundos


s: Que, hollando de amistad los santos fueros,


s: ¡Cuánta escena de muerte! ¡cuánto estrago!


s: De otra cuadrilla atroz. «¡Ah! ¿Qué te hice?»


s: El monstruo infame á sus ministros mira,


s: Tinto en su sangre el desgraciado expira.


s: Por jefes sin honor, que, haciendo alarde


s: El himno oid que á vuestro nombre entona,


s: «¡Venganza y guerra!» resonó en su tumba;


s: «¡Venganza y guerra!»  claman Turia y Duero.


s: Corre gritando al mar: «¡Guerra y venganza!»


s: La heroica España, en tanto que al bandido


s: Que á fuego y sangre, de insolencia ciego,


s: Rencor de muerte que en sus venas cunda,


s: Yo el sueño del placer nunca he dormido:


s: Un tiempo España fué; cien héroes fueron


s: Se alza un festín con su discorde ruido.


s: Se mira el mundo á nuestros pies tendido,


s: ¡Bello es vivir! Que el hombre descuidado


s: ¿Y á qué su empeño, si al bajar la cuesta


s: ¿Quién sino el hombre, en su soberbia insana,


s: Aquí enmudece hasta la voz del viento...;


s: El _Monte Blanco_, el rey del hemisferio!


s: ¡De aquí tiende su cetro sobre el mundo!


s: Con reflejos de un sol por siempre hundido.


s: Brinda á mi pecho esta región inerte!...


s: De eterna libertad tendiendo el vuelo...


s: Al mirarte, ¡oh _Mont-Blanc!_, erguir la frente


s: ¡Adiós! Retorno al mundo... Acaso un día


s: Cuanto hoy circunda y cubre el Oceano...


s: Ó en el que el santo de los padres llega,


s: Que, ó bien surge vibrante, ó bien ondula


s: Vendrá, y las que hoy son risas y alborozo


s: Y, si alguien osa hablar, será de aquellos


s: Que hoy honran nuestra fiesta tan sencilla


s: Mi alma a los trances de la vida templo,


s: Mientras que al verme yo en vuestra presencia


s: Pudiese á vuestra edad, ¿por qué estas penas?


s: Si Dios, que el curso universal gobierna,


s: Nos devuelve en el cielo esta unión tierna,


s: Pero en tanto, buen Dios, mi mejor palma


s: En el tiempo en que el mundo informe estaba,


s: Pero Adán nunca el bien halló, ofuscado,


s: Huir del bien, del mal siempre arrastrado.


s: ¡Ah! siempre el hombre en su ilusión maldita


s: --¿Sabéis quién es, porque una noche obscura


s: --Perdonad; mas...--No extraño ese tropiezo.


s: --¿Querido?... Pero, en fin, ya lo habéis puesto...


s: --_¡Qué triste estoy!_ ¿ No es eso?--Por supuesto.


s: --Cuando se va y se viene y se está junto


s: --¿Morir? ¿Sabéis que es ofender al cielo?...


s: --Yo no pongo _morir_.--¡Qué hombre de hielo!


s: Que mis labios, las rosas de su aliento,


s: Que mis ojos, que él tiene por tan bellos,


s: --Pues señor, ¡bravo amor! Copio y concluyo:


s: Dios puso el fango en la llanura, y puso


s: Que extiende sin vigor sus brazos yertos,


s: ¿Qué es la ciencia sin fe? Corcel sin freno,


s: ¡Llegar! ¿Adónde?... El pensamiento humano


s: La ciencia audaz, cuando de ti se aleja,


s: Como al tender el vuelo hacia la altura,


s: Á mi buen amigo el ilustre poeta Manuel Reina


s: De febril inquietud, ¿quién, Patria mía,


s: ¿Puede haber hombre tan perverso y duro,


s: Hoy que, Job de la Historia, te retuerces


s: No eres, Patria, inmortal? Tendrás eclipses


s: Sin mirar hacia atrás, siempre adelante.


s: Por los arcos triunfales de la Historia.


s: Hasta que un día, deslumbrando al mundo,


s: Que es también tuya, acórrela en su duelo.


s: La ofrenda ignoran que les da la fuente.


s: Si os habla mal de Prusia, es un francés,


s: ¡Así Homero es la lid; Virgilio, el día;


s: Canto al porvenir de la raza latina en América


s: ¡Siglos pasaron sobre el mundo, y siglos


s: De un pobre visionario entre los brazos!


s: Quiso en vano construir con los escombros


s: ¡Volcán que hizo erupción con ronco estruendo


s: La frente hundida en la tiniebla obscura,


s: ¡Mas no ha muerto el Perú! que la derrota


s: Y Chile el vencedor, fuerte en la guerra,


s: ¡De pie para cantarla! que es la patria,


s: Y que hoy llama al festín de su opulencia


s: Del arte, del progreso y de la ciencia--


s: Cuanto de grande el pensamiento alcanza,


s: ¡Oh! ¡reposad en vuestras quietas tumbas,


s: ¡Oh! ¡que esta santa alianza eterna sea,


s: De ¡viva España! con que el Ande atruena


s: Al tiempo en que se duerme el rey del mundo


s: ¡Vanamente!... Los rostros de los hombres


s: Se enrosque en torno de tu pardo tronco!


s: Clama; _¡vuelve!_ una voz también le dice


s: Y cuando entre caricias y entre abrazos,


s: --Dijo un soldado al pie de una ventana,--


s: Hoy cuentan por doquier gentes medrosas,


s: ¡Cuánto es bella la tierra que habitaban


s: ¡Qué silencio! ¡qué paz! ¡Oh! ¿quién diría


s: Con sangre de hombres, en que fué inundada


s: Mil estrellas y mil... ¡Oh! yo os saludo,


s: Tan bello y tan brillante que habitamos,


s: Que el sacerdote, sin piedad ni espanto,


s: Arder la inspiración. ¡Oh! ¡cuánto tiempo


s: Las tinieblas que en torno te circundan;


s: Vórtice hirviendo abrir, y amé el peligro.


s: Y otras mil y otras mil ya las alcanzan,


s: ¡Ved! ¡llegan, saltan! El abismo horrendo


s: Cual tu gloria inmortal! ¡Pueda piadoso,


s: Con que el mundo manchar quiere mi frente.


s: ¡Rey de los Reyes! ¡Dios de mis abuelos!


s: Fuego al sol, giro al aire, al norte hielos,


s: Yo no os puedo engañar, Dios de clemencia;


s: Cuando envuelta en pesar, mustia y llorosa,


s: ¡Suene tu voz, y acabe mi existencia!...


s: De que al genio del bien le diera el cielo.


s: ¡Mas los pueblos sabrán en su conciencia


s: Que el que los rige libres sólo es fuerte;


s: Doquier que el hado en su furor me impela,


s: ¡Adiós!... ¡ya cruje la turgente vela...


s: El ancla se alza... el buque estremecido


s: El trueno horrendo, que en fragor revienta


s: ¿Que el campo desde allí mide, y el sitio


s: ¿Que la hueste contraria observa, cuenta,


s: ¿Quién aquel que, al trabarse la batalla,


s: Quien no espera vencer, ya está vencido.»


s: Se avanzan á la lid. ¡Oh! ¡quién temiera,


s: Quién, que su ímpetu mismo los perdiera!


s: Tremen las cumbres que respeta el trueno.


s: ¡Victoria por la patria! ¡oh Dios! ¡Victoria!


s: No, que existe un mortal sobre la tierra,


s: Que embellecen mi hogar con sus cariños,


s: Ella, que arrulla un niño entre sus brazos.


s: Que es igual el más débil al más fuerte,


s: Mientras deshoja inquieta algunas flores?


s: ¡Cómo han de ser los sueños de los hombres


s: Es con voz de la Biblia ó verso de Walt Whitman


s: Que habría que llegar hasta ti, ¡cazador!


s: Primitivo y moderno, sencillo y complicado,


s: Con un algo de Wáshington y mucho de Nemrod.


s: De la América ingenua que tiene sangre indígena,


s: Que aun reza á Jesucristo y aun habla en español.


s: Eres soberbio y fuerte ejemplar de tu raza;


s: Los Estados Unidos son potentes y grandes.


s: Cuando ellos se estremecen hay un hondo temblor


s: Que pasa por las vértebras enormes de los Andes.


s: Ya Hugo á Grant lo dijo: «Las estrellas son vuestras.»


s: (Apenas brilla alzándose el argentino sol


s: Y la estrella chilena se levanta...) Sois ricos;


s: Juntáis al culto de Hércules el culto de Mamnón;


s: La Libertad levanta su antorcha en Nueva York.


s: Desde los viejos tiempos de Netzhualcoyolt,


s: Que ha guardado las huellas de los pies del gran Baco,


s: Que consultó los astros, que conoció la atlántida


s: Cuyo nombre nos llega resonando en Platón,


s: Que desde los remotos momentos de su vida


s: Vive de luz, de fuego, de perfume y de amor,


s: La América católica, la América española,


s: La América en que dijo el noble Guatemoc:


s: «Yo no estoy en un lecho de rosas»; esa América


s: Hombres de ojos sajones y alma bárbara, vive


s: Y sueña. Y ama y vibra; y es la hija del Sol.


s: Se necesitaría, Roosevelt, ser Dios mismo,


s: El Riflero terrible y el fuerte cazador,


s: Para poder tenernos en vuestras férreas garras.


s: El campo es vuestra herencia: en él gozaos.


s: ¿Ó la virtud amáis? ¡Ah! ¡Que el retiro,


s: Está la risa al llanto, y siempre ¡ah! siempre,


s: Y elección libre, y mutuo ardor los ata?


s: De los que en Boyacá, los que en la arena


s: ¡Tierra! grita en la prora el navegante,


s: Y el viento al suspirar entre las cuerdas


s: Parece que me dice:--¿No te acuerdas?...


s: Son ellos, son los mismos de mi infancia,


s: ¡Á tierra! ¡á tierra! ¡Ó la emoción me ahoga,


s: Decidle, en fin, que mientra estuve ausente


s: Ni un día, ni un instante la he olvidado,


s: Terror de extraños, de su patria gloria,


s: "--Llevad mi espada al pueblo por quien muero,


s: Ya se murió el burro que acarreaba la vinagre;


s: Ya lo llevó Dios de esta vida miserable.


s: la ley preciosa do está el bien nuestro,


s: juremos por ella vencer ó morir. Serenos,


s: The heavy figures refer to pages of the text; the light


s: Merrihew & Thompson, Printers, 7 Carter's alley.


s: When, as the white-man's _slave_, he toils,


s: _He_ fought with swords; let truth and love


s: A very charming gentleman, as old as old could be,


s: Stared a while, and glared a while, and then he said to me:


s: "Read your books, and heed your books, and put your books away,


s: For you will surely need your books upon a later day."


s: And then he wheezed and then he sneezed, and gave me such a look.


s: A very charming gentleman, indeed, he seemed to be.


s: He heaved a sigh and wiped his eye, and then he said to me:


s: "Take your books and make your books companions--never toys;


s: For they who so forsake their books grow into gawky boys."


s: I don't know who he was. Do you? he snuffled at the end;


s: And he said, "Mark--ME--boy! Your book should be your friend."


s: I'd like to be a baker, and come when morning breaks,


s: Calling out, "Beeay-ko!" (that's the sound he makes)--


s: Riding in a rattle-cart that jogs and jolts and shakes,


s: Selling all the sweetest things a baker ever bakes;


s: Currant-buns and brandy-snaps, pastry all in flakes;


s: What do you think I saw to-day when I arose at dawn?


s: Blue Wrens and Yellow-tails dancing on the lawn!


s: Bobbing here, and bowing there, gossiping away,


s: And how I wished that you were there to see the merry play!


s: But you were snug abed, my boy, blankets to your chin,


s: Nor dreamed of dancing birds without or sunbeams dancing in.


s: Merry little fairy folk, dancing up and down,


s: Blue bonnet, yellow skirt, cloaks of grey and brown,


s: Underneath the wattle-tree, silver in the dawn,


s: Blue Wrens and Yellow-tails dancing on the lawn.


s: 'Rover, rover, cattle-drover, where go you to-day?'


s: I go to Cuppacumalonga, fifty miles away;


s: Over plains where Summer rains have sung a song of glee,


s: Over hills where laughing rills go seeking for the sea,


s: I go to Cuppacumalonga, to my brother Bill.


s: 'Rover, rover, cattle-drover, how do you get there?'


s: For twenty miles I amble on upon my pony mare,


s: The walk awhile and talk awhile to country men I know,


s: Then up to ride a mile beside a team that travels slow,


s: And last to Cuppacumalonga, riding with a will.


s: 'Rover, rover, cattle-drover, what do you do then?'


s: I camp beneath a kurrajong with three good cattle-men;


s: Then off away at break of day, with strong hands on the reins,


s: To laugh and sing while mustering the cattle on the plains--


s: For up to Cuppacumalonga life is jolly still.


s: 'Rover, rover, cattle-drover, how may I go too?'


s: I'll saddle up my creamy colt and he shall carry you--


s: My creamy colt who will not bolt, who does not shy nor kick--


s: We'll pack the load and take the road and travel very quick.


s: And if the day brings work or play we'll meet it with a will.


s: And, when they come, keep off the track.


s: But jobs were scarce this side of Bourke,


s: "Nigh all my life the track I've walked,"


s: "Young codger, shun the track," he said.


s: Once a little sugar ant made up his mind to roam--


s: To fare away far away, far away from home.


s: He had eaten all his breakfast, and he had his ma's consent


s: To see what he should chance to see and here's the way he went--


s: Up and down a fern frond, round and round a stone,


s: Down a gloomy gully where he loathed to be alone,


s: Up a mighty mountain range, seven inches high,


s: Through the fearful forest grass that nearly hid the sky,


s: Out along a bracken bridge, bending in the moss,


s: Till he reached a dreadful desert that was feet and feet across.


s: 'Twas a dry, deserted desert, and a trackless land to tread,


s: He wished that he was home again and tucked-up tight in bed.


s: His little legs were wobbly, his strength was nearly spent,


s: And so he turned around again and here's the way he went--


s: Back away from desert lands feet and feet across,


s: Back along the bracken bridge bending in the moss,


s: Through the fearful forest grass shutting out the sky,


s: Up a mighty mountain range seven inches high,


s: Down a gloomy gully, where he loathed to be alone,


s: Up and down a fern frond and round and round a stone.


s: A dreary ant, a weary ant, resolved no more to roam,


s: He staggered up the garden path and popped back home.


s: Here comes the butcher to bring us a chop


s: Cantering, cantering down the wide street


s: On his little bay mare with the funny white feet;


s: Run to the window and tell him to stop--


s: Harry was a funny man, Harry was a hatter;


s: He ate his lunch at breakfast time and said it didn't matter.


s: He made a pot of melon jam and put it on a shelf,


s: For he was fond of sugar things and living by himself.


s: He built a fire of bracken and a blue-gum log,


s: And he sat all night beside it with his big--black--dog.


s: I'd like to be a postman, and walk along the street,


s: Calling out, "Good Morning, Sir," to gentlemen I meet,


s: Ringing every door-bell all along my beat,


s: In my cap and uniform so very nice and neat.


s: Perhaps I'd have a parasol in case of rain or heat;


s: His feet were strange, he rolled his eye


s: And said the rain would spoil the wheat;


s: A great mother mountain, and kindly is she,


s: Who nurses young rivers and sends them to sea.


s: And, nestled high up on her sheltering lap,


s: Is a little red house, with a little straw cap


s: That bears a blue feather of smoke, curling high,


s: And a bunch of red roses cocked over one eye.


s: Now, Sym was a tinker--a travelling tinker. He would do a little


s: company, but now and then Emily Ann went with Sym for a trip, and


s: But the Little Red House wouldn't say a word.


s: "You certainly do seem as if you had a pain somewhere," said the


s: Blue-gum. "And you look funny. You ought to see yourself!"


s: "I hope they aren't ill-treating you," said the Blue-gum.


s: "They are going to leave me!" sighed the Little Red House.


s: All the broad earth is the tinkering man's--


s: The green leafy lane or the fields are his home,


s: The road or the river, where'er he way roam.


s: He roves for a living and rests where he can.


s: Then bring out your kettle! ho! kettle or pan!"


s: The Little Red House watched them go down the mountain.


s: But the Little Red House couldn't say a word.


s: Presently the big Blue-gum groaned loudly.


s: "Oo! Ah! Ah! Golly!" groaned the Blue-gum in a strange voice.


s: "I beg your pardon? said the Little Red House.


s: Birds came and perched in the branches of the big Blue-gum, and


s: Just as it was growing dark, the big Blue-gum said Suddenly, "It


s: Then three more big drops fell--Plop! Plop! Plop!


s: But--Crash! came rain before he could finish; and in two seconds


s: everything was sopping wet. The noise of it was deafening,


s: "I tell you I'm crying!" wailed the Little Red House. "I'm crying


s: because I'm cold and lonely and miserable."


s: Very late that night the rain eased a little and then stopped


s: altogether. The tears ceased to run from the eyes of the Little


s: "It's a hard world!" sobbed the Little Red House, squeezing out


s: "Listen!" cried the Big Blue-gum. "Do you hear THAT?"


s: "That's wind," said the Blue-gum; "and a big wind, too."


s: "Let it come!" sighed the Little Red House. "I couldn't be more


s: "What's that thumping?" asked the little House.


s: The Blue-gum said that he didn't know; but he hoped not.


s: "If you DID fall on me," said the Little Red House, "I suppose it


s: "Then don't! Please don't," yelled the Little Red House.


s: "As long as I've lived upon this mountain, tree and sapling," he


s: But the big Blue-gum said, "There is just one little root holding


s: "Be brave! Oh, be brave!" shrieked the Little Red House.


s: Then slowly, very slowly, the big Blue-gum began to straighten up


s: "I have stood upon this mountain, tree and sapling, for over a


s: But it did not blow like that again; though the wind howled and


s: Then, towards evening, the wind fell; the heavy clouds went away


s: But the Little Red House was miserable still; and the beauty of


s: the evening didn't cheer him up one bit.


s: But as he was talking he fell fast asleep.


s: Then the big Blue-gum began to get uneasy.


s: "I do hope your troubles haven't turned you silly," he said. "You


s: "I?" cried the Little Red House. "Why, look down the valley! See


s: "It's them--I mean those are they!" shouted the Little Red House


s: happily. "Sym and Emily Ann! And here comes our little dog."


s: But it was not quite the same song this time:


s: "Kettles and pans! Ho, kettles and pans!


s: Where's there a home like the tinkering man's?


s: The Little Red House with the smile on his face--


s: Then put on the kettle! Ho, put on the pan!"


s: "The storm did that," said Emily Ann. "Now hurry and get the fire


s: "Now I suppose you're happy," said the big Blue-gum to the Little


s: "Happy?" cried the Little House. "Of course I am. Why, I'm a home


s: I'd like to be a pieman, and ring a little bell,


s: Calling out, "Hot pies! Hot pies to sell!"


s: Apple-pies and Meat-pies, Cherry-pies as well,


s: Lots and lots and lots of pies--more than you can tell.


s: Big, rich Pork-pies! Oh, the lovely smell!


s: There's a very funny insect that you do not often spy,


s: And it isn't quite a spider, and it isn't quite a fly;


s: It is something like a beetle, and a little like a bee,


s: But nothing like a wooly grub that climbs upon a tree.


s: Its name is quite a hard one, but you'll learn it soon, I hope.


s: It lives on weeds and wattle-gum, and has a funny face;


s: Its appetite is hearty, and its manners a disgrace.


s: When first you come upon it, it will give you quite a scare,


s: But when you look for it again, you find it isn't there.


s: And unless you call it softly it will stay away and mope.


s: It trembles if you tickle it or tread upon its toes;


s: It is not an early riser, but it has a snubbish nose.


s: If you snear at it, or scold it, it will scuttle off in shame,


s: But it purrs and purrs quite proudly if you call it by its name,


s: And offer it some sandwiches of sealing-wax and soap.


s: But of course you haven't seen it; and I truthfully confess


s: That I haven't seen it either, and I don't know its address.


s: Hey, there!  Hoop-la! the circus is in town!


s: Have you seen the elephant?  Have you seen the clown?


s: Have you seen the dappled horse gallop round the ring?


s: Have you seen the acrobats on the dizzy swing?


s: Have you seen the tumbling men tumble up and down?


s: Hoop-la!  Hoop-la! the circus is in town!


s: Hey, there!  Hoop-la!  Here's the circus troupe!


s: Here's the educated dog, jumping through the hoop.


s: See the lady Blondin with the parasol and fan,


s: The lad upon the ladder and the india-rubber man.


s: See the joyful juggler and the boy who loops the loop.


s: Hey!  Hey!  Hey!  Hey!  Here's the circus troupe!


s: Did you see them pass to-day, Billy, Kate and Robin,


s: All astride upon the back of old grey Dobbin?


s: Jigging, jogging off to school, down the dusty track--


s: What must Dobbin think of it--three upon his back?


s: Robin at the bridle-rein, in the middle Kate,


s: Billy holding on behind, his legs out straight.


s: Now they're coming back from school, jig, jog, jig.


s: See them at the corner where the gums grow big;


s: Dobbin flicking off the flies and blinking at the sun--


s: Having three upon his back he thinks is splendid fun:


s: Little Billy up behind, his legs out straight.


s: And his manners--well, the less we say the better.


s: Willie wagtail is a pleasant bird, and coy.


s: Are my very special friends, and bring me joy.


s: animal shapes in the clouds. The sky was almost as good as a Zoo.


s: "You'd better be careful who you're talking to," said Neville,


s: suddenly losing his fear. (Little boys do not always talk good


s: "But I don't want to stroke you," said Neville.


s: So Neville walked right up to the white horse and stroked his


s: Neville ceased to stroke the white horse and drew back a little.


s: "That's not fair! Whoa back! Whoa back!" he shouted to the white


s: "I?" cried the little yellow man. "Why, I'm the Last Sunbeam, of


s: believe it? I've never seen a dawn or a bright mid-day in all my


s: "Now then! Now then!" roared the man with the large ears. "Move


s: "Certainly, sir," replied the little yellow man very humbly.


s: "Just a little boy," said the yellow man--for Neville was far too


s: either. I'm not going to have the sunset upset by any such silly


s: nonsense. You mind what I say and attend to your work."


s: "Well," said he, "you heard what the head scene-shifter said. You


s: "Round the world, of course," replied the little yellow man.


s: With that the wee yellow man went behind a pink cloud and came


s: back with a beautiful blue flower in his hand.


s: "Simple!" cried Neville. "Why I don't understand it at all."


s: "But," began Neville, "I can't understand--"


s: Of course, now that aeroplanes have been invented, flying is not


s: Almost before he knew what had happened, he had left evening far


s: "Ah, you have the talisman," said he. "Pass in! and don't stop to


s: After that, Neville began to feel a little drowsy. Perhaps he did


s: The bald hill was beneath him as he came slowly down, down, down.


s: He could see the Cloud Horse--now little more than a small white


s: Then, quite suddenly, Neville remembered the Cloud horse and the


s: I'd like to be a Tram-man, and ride about all day,


s: Calling out, "Fares, please!" in quite a 'ficious way,


s: With pockets full of pennies which I'd make the people pay.


s: But in the hottest days I'd take my tram down to the Bay;


s: And when I saw the nice cool sea I'd shout "Hip, hip, hooray!"


s: High on the hills, where the tall trees grow,


s: And he chops and he chops     till the daylight goes--


s: High on the hills, where the blue-gum grows.


s: There's a log to move and a branch to lop.


s: Now to the felling!  His sharp axe bites


s: And scarce for a breath does the axeman stop--


s: Back through the bracken, and off they hop.


s: While the echoes ring from the mountain-top.


s: And the sweet young grass by the logs they crop.


s: As down from the branches the twigs they drop.


s: There's never a pause and there's never a stop.


s: While the parrots shriek with a deafening din,


s: And the chips fly out with a flip and a flop.


s: Watching the chips  as they fall to ground,


s: The blows come quicker. The   axe-biade hums,


s: Stand well back, there, before she comes!


s: Look at her! Look at her! (Chip!      Chop!


s: Out across the spinifex, out across the sand,


s: Out across the saltbush to Never Never land


s: That's the way the drovers go, jogging down the track--


s: That's the way the drovers go. But how do they come back?


s: Back across the saltbush from Never Never land.


s: Back across the spinifex, back across the sand.


s: When I go back from Billy's place I always have to roam


s: Ma always says, "Why don't you come through Mr Donkin's land?


s: The footbridge track will bring you back." Ma doesn't understand.


s: So I set forth and travel north, and cross the fallen log.


s: Last week, when I was coming by, that log had lizards in it;


s: And you can't say I stop to play if I just search a minute.


s: I look around upon the ground and, if there are no lizards,


s: I go right on and reach the turn in front of Mrs Blizzard's.


s: I do not seek to cross the creek, because it's deep and floody,


s: And Ma would be annoyed with me if I came home all muddy.


s: Perhaps I throw a stone or so at Mrs Blizzard's tank,


s: Except, perhaps, at Mr Knapp's, to swing upon his gate.


s: So up the hill I go, until I reach the little paddock


s: That Mr Jones at present owns and rents to Mr Craddock.


s: For boys my size the sudden rise is quite a heavy pull,


s: And yet I fear a short-cut here because of Craddock's bull;


s: So I just tease the bull till he's as mad as he can get,


s: And then I face the corner place that's been so long to let.


s: It's very well for Ma to tell about my dawdling habits.


s: I do not stay for half a day, as Ma declares I do.


s: No, not for more than half-an-hour--perhaps an hour--or two.


s: A moment I might tarry by the fence to watch them hammer,


s: And, I must say, learn more that way than doing sums and grammar.


s: And, if I do sometimes climb through, I do not mean to linger.


s: Though I did stay awhile the day Bill Homer burst his finger.


s: I just stand there to see the pair bang some hot iron thing


s: And watch Bill Horner swing the sledge and hit the anvil--Bing!


s: (For Mr Horner and his son are great big brawny fellows:


s: A while I stop beside the shop, and talk to Mr Horner;


s: Then off I run, and race like fun around by Duggan's Corner.


s: It's getting late, and I don't wait beside the creek a minute,


s: Except to stop, maybe, and drop a few old pebbles in it.


s: One day, you know, a year ago, a man gave me a penny,


s: And Mr Whittle sold me sweets (but not so very many).


s: You never know your luck, and so I look to see what's new


s: In Mr Whittle's window.  There's a peppermint or two,


s: Some buttons and tobacco (Mr Whittle calls it "baccy"),


s: "I'm coming, Ma.  I've been so far-around by Duggan's Corner.


s: I had to stay awhile to say 'Good day' to Mr Horner.


s: Hey, there!  Listen awhile!  Listen awhile, and come.


s: Isn't it grand?  The band!  The band!  The band is marching by!


s: Oh, the clarinet is the finest yet, and the uniforms are gay.


s: Oh, see them swinging along, swinging along the street!


s: Left, right! buttons so bright, jackets and caps so neat.


s: Bessie met a bunyip down along the track,


s: In his hand a billy and a swag upon his back.


s: And you will hardly believe it, but when Bessie shouted,"Shoo!"


s: He turned a double somersault and went quite blue.


s: I'd like to be a porter, and always on the run,


s: Calling out, "Stand aside!" and asking leave of none.


s: Shoving trucks on people's toes, and having splendid fun,


s: Slamming all the carriage doors and locking every one--


s: And, when they asked to be let in, I'd say, "It can't be done."


s: Little Tommy Tadpole began to weep and wail,


s: For little Tommy Tadpole had lost his little tail;


s: And his mother didn't know him as he wept upon a log,


s: For he wasn't Tommy Tadpole, but Mr. Thomas Frog.


s: Willie spied a wallaby hopping through the fern--


s: Here a jump, here a thump, there a sudden turn.


s: Willie called the wallaby, begging him to stop,


s: I wonder whether, all together, you and I and father


s: Could eat a bun that weighs a ton. I'd like to try it, rather.


s: I want to know why roosters crow at dawning of the day.


s: Is it because they cannot think of something else to say?


s: Come, let us sing with a right good ring


s: (Sing ho for the ballad of a backblock day!)


s: And the shearers stood by the shearing shed;


s: But "The run wants rain," the stockman said


s: (Sing di-dum, wattle-gum, Narrabori Ned.


s: The colts were clipped and the sheep were shorn


s: But the stockman stood there all forlorn.


s: The rails were up and the gate was tied,


s: But "The wind's gone West!" the stockman sighed


s: (Sing, di-dum, wattle-gum, rally for a ride.


s: The cook came out as the clock struck one


s: But the shot went wide, for he aimed too low;


s: And the stockman said, "Fat stock is low."


s: (Sing, di-dum, wattle-gum, Jerridiiii Joe.


s: They spread their swags in the gum-tree's shade


s: For the work was done and the cheques were paid.


s: But his horse pulled back and would not gee,


s: And the stockman said, "We're up a tree!"


s: (Sing, di-dum, wattle-gum, Johnny-cake for tea.


s: The sun sank down and the stars shone out


s: (Sing ho for the ballad of a backblock day!)


s: But the stockman groaned, "it's bunk for all."


s: (Sing, di-dum, wattle-gum, wattle-gum, wattle-gum,


s: Girls, we are told, can scratch and scold,


s: I'd like to be a teacher, and have a clever brain,