A Spanish Anthology 

A Spanish Anthology  - A Collection of Lyrics from the Thirteenth Century Down to the Present Time

In the notes to the Anthology an endeavor has been made to indicate clearly the position occupied by each of the poets here represented, with respect to the literary movements of his time. This Introduction, then, need but serve the purpose of outlining those general movements in so far as they have been concerned with lyric production. Of course we have to do only with the lyric tradition which has found expression in the language of Castile. It is not to be forgotten, however, that it is but one out of several lyric traditions that have flourished within the bounds of Spain; for the Spaniard can point with pride to a poetic production in Latin which extended from the Silver Age of Latin literature well into the Middle Ages, and he knows, too, that the Arabs and the Hebrews who settled on his soil composed and sang in their respective tongues. Those who desire more light upon these traditions will find an interesting account of them in the Prlogo to the first volume of Menndez y Pelayos Antologa de poetas lricos castellanos (Madrid, 1890). Suffice it to say that the influence of Arabic and Hebrew literature upon composition in Castilian has been exceedingly slight, and that for literary expression the latter speech is a legitimate heir of Latin in the Iberian peninsula. The Catalan and Portuguese literatures have a tradition entirely xvi independent of that of Castile; we, therefore, disregard them here. Literature, properly so called, did not appear in the vulgar tongue of Castile until the twelfth century. From that period we have preserved one of the greatest monuments of Old Spanish letters, the epic Poema del Cid. To heroic poetry as instanced by this poem on Roderick of Bivar, which, like most of the early epic legends or cantares de gesta of Castile, must have been produced under the influence of the French chansons de geste, there succeeded, in the thirteenth century, a body of religious and didactic verse, a good part of which is due to the industrious cleric, Gonzalo de Berceo. Very few lyric compositions in Castilian can be found in this century. One, and apparently the earliest of all, is the first piece in our Collectionthe Aventura amorosa. Modeled on the French pastourelle or the Provenal pastorela, it shows, like the Spanish heroic legend, the influence of the region whence most of the medival Occident derived its first poetic inspiration. Another precious example of lyrism at this early date is a song with certain popular elements in it,the Cntica de la Virgen, introduced by Berceo into his religious poem, El duelo de la Virgen. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 41810
Author: Ford, J. D. M. (Jeremiah Denis Matthias)
Release Date: Jan 10, 2013
Format: eBook
Language: English

Contributors

Editor: Ford, J. D. M. (Jeremiah Denis Matthias), 1873-1958