Introduction to Spanish Poetry: A Dual-Language Book

by Eugenio Florit (Editor)

From the 12th-century Cantar de Mío Cid to the 20th-century poetry of García Lorca, Salinas, and Alberti, this book contains 37 poems by Spain's greatest poets. Selected by Professor Eugenio Florit, the poems are presented in the full original Spanish text, with expert literal English translations on the facing pages.
Enjoy the poetic inspiration, imagery, insight, and wisdom of such masters as Lope de Vega, Miguel de Unamuno, Federico García Lorca, Margués de Santillana, Jorge Manrique, Garcilaso de la Vega, Fray Luis de León, San Juan de la Cruz, Francisco de Quevedo y Villegas, Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Antonio Machado, Rafael Alberti, Pedro Salinas, and many more.
In addition to the poetic texts, Professor Florit has also provided a wealth of biographical and critical commentary, outlining the significance of the poets and their works in the long tradition of Spanish literature. Portraits of the poets are included where available.

Genres: Poetry, Spanish Literature, Classics

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

Reviews

[Boxhuman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since my husband was taking Spanish for school, I was designated his study-buddy. Knowing as much Spanish as a kitten, I decided to get a few Spanish books to make it fun and help with sentence structure. Unfortunately, after weeks of hard work (and one –in my opinion- bad teacher), he dropped the class with an aversion to all things Spanish. For me, as a language, I never had fun with it and more often than not was wary of it since there was always so much homework dumped on us and watching Spanish movies, it was always spoken too fast for us to understand. However, left over were the Spanish books and not wanting them to go to waste, I picked up a few to read before time to return. This was one of them and I was pleasantly surprised to find an accompanying CD inside the book.

It was a very quick read, but that’s not to say the collection was wrongly paced. The poets chosen provided a wide example of Spanish poetry, which was perfect as an “introduction”. I knew as soon as I saw it that Lorca would be involved, which he was, but in as much moderation as the rest of the poets and giving everyone their due credit without favoritism. It’s a book worth reading to get a taste of Spanish writing and I grow fonder and fonder of Spanish poets. It’s bilingual, which is necessary for me even if I was not studying the language (even if I don’t understand it, I feel the poems should be also shown in their original language).

The last poem trailed off the book to a somber silence with Miguel Herna*ndez’s “The Trail of the Wounded”, which was an exceptional poem, but an interesting place to leave off.

Just a few side notes:

I was a bit unsettled by “Noche oscura del alma” by San Juan de la Cruz. I understand what it was shooting for but it just reminded me of the South Park episode of Faith +1. Example (and this is about God): “On my flowering breast/that kept itself entirely for Him alone,/He fell into deep slumber,/and I caressed Him,/cooled by the breeze from the cedars” and “my face rested against my Lover;/all ceased and I was left,/leaving all my cares/forgotten among the lilies.” That’s…pretty intense God-love.

I loved “Magrigal” by Luis de Go*ngora y Argote and “Soneto a Lisi” by Francisco de Quevedo y Villegas. I want to check out more poems by Gustavo Aldolfo Be*cquer and Miguel Herna*ndez.

Some examples:
“A aquel a*rbol que mueve la hoja/algo se le antoja.” “That tree whose leaves are trembling/is yearning for something.” By Diego Hurtado de Mendoza

“No tardes, Muerte, que muero;/ven porque viva contigo;/quie* reme, pues que te quiro, que con tu venida espero/no tener guerra conmingo.” “Do not linger, Death, for I am dying;/come, so I may live with you;/love me, because I love you, for with your coming I hope/not to struggle with myself.” Jorge Manrique

Bottomline: A good taste of Spanish poetry. It does its job and is a good introduction.

[Elizabeth Pyjov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it and discovered some amazing poets!

"Spanish poetry is distinguished by three predominant traits: its energy, its idealism, and its universality." p. 1

DOS CANCIONES by Jorge Manrique

No tardes, Muerte, que muero;
ven, porque viva contigo;
quiéreme, pues que te quiero,
que con tu venida espero
no tener guerra conmigo.

Remedio de alegre vida
no lo hay por ningún medio,
porque mi grave herida
es de tal parte venida,
que eres tú sola remedio.

Ven aquí, pues, ya que muero;
búscame, pues que te sigo
quiéreme, pues que te quiero,
e con tu venida espero
no tener vida conmigo.

NOCHE OSCURA DEL ALMA by San Juan de la Cruz
En la noche dichosa,
en secreto, que nadie me veía,
ni yo miraba cosa,
sin otra luz ni guía
sino la que en el corazón ardía.

¡Oh noche que me guiaste!,
¡oh noche amable más que el alborada!,
¡oh noche que juntaste
amado con amada,
amada en el amado transformada!

ROMANCILLO by San Juan de la Cruz
Las flores del romero,
Niña Isabel,
hoy son flores azules,
mañana serán miel

Celosa estás, la niña,
Celosa estás de aquel
Dichoso, pues le buscas,
Ciego, pues no te ve,
Ingrato, pues te enoja,
Y confiado, pues
No se disculpa hoy
De lo que hizo ayer.
Enjuguen esperanzas
Lo que lloras por él,
Que celos entre aquéllos
Que se han querido bien,

hoy son flores azules,
mañana serán miel.

Aurora de ti misma,
Que cuando a amanecer
A tu placer empiezas,
Te eclipsan tu placer,
Serénense tus ojos,
Y más perlas no des,
Porque al Sol le está mal
Lo que a la Aurora bien.
Desata como nieblas
Todo lo que no ves,
Que sospechas de amantes
Y querellas después,

hoy son flores azules,
mañana serán miel.

VARIOS EFECTORS DEL AMOR by Lope de Vega
Desmayarse, atreverse, estar furioso,
áspero, tierno, liberal, esquivo,
alentado, mortal, difunto, vivo,
leal, traidor, cobarde y animoso;

no hallar fuera del bien centro y reposo,
mostrarse alegre, triste, humilde, altivo,
enojado, valiente, fugitivo,
satisfecho, ofendido, receloso;

huir el rostro al claro desengaño,
beber veneno por licor süave,
olvidar el provecho, amar el daño;

creer que un cielo en un infierno cabe,
dar la vida y el alma a un desengaño;
esto es amor, quien lo probó lo sabe.


RIMA X by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
Los invisibles átomos del aire
en derredor palpitan y se inflaman,
el cielo se deshace en rayos de oro,
la tierra se estremece alborozada,
oigo flotando en olas de armonías
rumor de besos y batir de alas,
mis párpados se cierran... ¿Qué sucede?
—¡Es el amor que pasa!


LAS CAMPANAS by Rosalía de Castro

Yo las amo, yo las oigo
cual oigo el rumor del viento,
el murmurar de la fuente
o el balido del cordero.

Como los pájaros, ellas,
tan pronto asoma en los cielos
el primer rayo del alba,
le saludan con sus ecos.

Y en sus notas, que van repitiéndose
por los llanos y los cerros,
hay algo de candoroso,
de apacible y de halagüeño.

Si por siempre enmudecieran,
¡qué tristeza en el aire y el cielo!,
¡qué silencio en las iglesias!,
¡qué extrañeza entre los muertos!


"to build its future by discovering its own spiritual and material resources." p. 87

PRMAVERA AMARILLA by Juan Ramón Jiménez

Abril venía, lleno
todo de flores amarillas:
amarillo el arroyo,
amarillo el vallado, la colina,
el cementerio de los niños,
el huerto aquel donde el amor vivía.

El sol unjía de amarillo el mundo,
con sus luces caídas;
¡ay, por los lirios áureos,
el agua de oro, tibia;
las amarillas mariposas
sobre las rosas amarillas!

Guirnaldas amarillas escalaban
los árboles; el día
era una gracia perfumada de oro,
en un dorado despertar de vida.
Entre los huesos de los muertos,
abría Dios sus manos amarillas.


COMO TU by Leon Felipe
Así es mi vida,
piedra,
como tú. Como tú,
piedra pequeña;
como tú,
piedra ligera;
como tú,
canto que ruedas
por las calzadas
y por las veredas;
como tú,
guijarro humilde de las carreteras;
como tú,
que en días de tormenta
te hundes
en el cieno de la tierra
y luego
centelleas
bajo los cascos
y bajo las ruedas;
como tú, que no has servido
para ser ni piedra
de una lonja,
ni piedra de una audiencia,
ni piedra de un palacio,
ni piedra de una iglesia;
como tú,
piedra aventurera;
como tú,
que tal vez estás hecha
sólo para una honda,
piedra pequeña
y
ligera...

[about Jorge Guillen]: "His poetry is for the most part full of wonder and joy, as if the poet were being born each day to the marvels of the world" (p. 107)

We live too quickly and, in our haste, see names instead of seeing roses.


LOS NOMBRES by Jorge Guillen

Albor. El horizonte
entreabre sus pestañas,
y empieza a ver. ¿Qué? Nombres.
Están sobre la pátina

de las cosas. La rosa
se llama todavía
hoy rosa, y la memoria
de su tránsito, prisa.

Prisa de vivir más.
A lo largo amor nos alce
esa pujanza agraz
del Instante, tan ágil

que en llegando a su meta
corre a imponer Después.
Alerta, alerta, alerta,
yo seré, yo seré.

¿Y las rosas? Pestañas
cerradas: horizonte
final. ¿Acaso nada?
Pero quedan los nombres.


[about Emilio Prados] "an objective contemplation of what is eternal" (p.121)


EL ÁNGEL BUENO by Rafael Alberti

Vino el que yo quería
el que yo llamaba.

No aquel que barre cielos sin defensas.
luceros sin cabañas,
lunas sin patria,
nieves.
Nieves de esas caídas de una mano,
un nombre,
un sueño,
una frente.

No aquel que a sus cabellos
ató la muerte.

El que yo quería.

Sin arañar los aires,
sin herir hojas ni mover cristales.

Aquel que a sus cabellos
ató el silencio.

Para sin lastimarme,
cavar una ribera de luz dulce en mi pecho
y hacerme el alma navegable.

[reveurdart · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Spain itself has been called the “land of the Romancero.”

A delightful selection of poetry, and though the poetry is translated into English in a literal way and not in a literary way, I didn't mind because they are good translations. Another aspect to this collection that I appreciated was the short introduction to each poet.

"En una noche oscura,
con ansias en amores inflamada,
¡oh dichosa ventura!"
~ San Juan de la Cruz (1542–1591)

[Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up. Certainly good information and some gems in here.

[Joseph Hirsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew less than nothing about Spanish poetry prior to opening this book. Okay, that's slight hyperbole, but I spent my academic years learning German and immersing myself in German poems, especially the expressionists and the much earlier Romantics. I'm at home with Hölderlin or Gottfried Benn, preferably in the original German. Say "Spanish Poetry" and I can only conjure up a few lines of Lorca (and those will be in the English language, cribbed from a bad biopic starring Andy Garcia as the ill-fated poet who died at the hands of the Falangists).

"Introduction to Spanish Poetry" is a beautifully curated corrective to the ignorance I described. Spanish and English versions are presented side-by-side in the text, and thumbnail biographies with pictures of the poets precede each entry. "Keep it simple," as Van Morrison once said.

In keeping with the straightforward presentation, the book is sequential, starting with the court poetry of wigged men who speak of love in euphemism or nonesuch riddles ("Tandaradei") and the works of earnest, tonsured men in cilice habits who gaze off into the middle distance while pondering their reverence of God and nature.

The book culminates at the end in what for me were the best poems (though I have a bias toward the 20th century, since I spent most of my life there), in works that deal with the horrors of modern warfare and the encroaching repression of the Franco regime.

The themes of the poems are, like most of the best poetry, universal. They deal with love and death, unmitigated joy and deep troughs of despair. Spanish poetry seems to maintain formalist trappings even at its more experimental (at least, as represented here). Having had my fill of free verse (for now), I found the adherence to meter, rhyme, and scansion a refreshing change.

It helps, of course, to read the poems aloud in the original Spanish, even if one's language skills are lacking, since the sound of the poems only amplifies and emphasizes how capable these poets were, building word worlds that become even more perfect in the reciting.

Since I'm trying to learn Spanish anyway (pero es muy lento) the book also had some utility as well as a lot of aesthetic beauty to impart. Highest recommendation for those coming blind to the subject. I can't speak for how the well-seasoned might receive it.

[Vicky Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll Only Speak My Song for You Who Sail With Me

"'In God's name, I pray you, sailor,
tell me now the song you sing.'
But the sailor answered him,
and the answer was this:
'I will only tell this song
to him who sails with me.'"

"-Por Dios te ruego, marinero
digasme ora ese cantar-
Respondiole el marinero,
tal respuesta le fue a dar:
-Yo no digo esta cancion
sino a quien conmigo va."

From Count Arnaldos

Poetry so well loved that I need to buy the book again just to get a new companion cd. This bilingual book of Spanish poetry is a collection of almost forty of the best loved. The rhymes themselves are more than classic. The book includes Spanish & English translations on facing pages for each poem, along with an introductory description of each poet. It came with an audio cd on which each poem was read aloud by native Spanish speakers. The poems are of a variety of simple and more complex arrangements.

The cd disk was so badly worn by the time I got it onto pc that about half the poems didn't copy. I will eventually have to buy it again. It will be well worth another 100 plays. I highly recommend this treasure, as it is full of poems you are sure to enjoy.

Remember to stop and count the stars sailors. And, here is my favorite poem from the book:

The Star Counters

"I am tired.
I contemplate
this town
-a town like any other-
where I have lived for twenty years.

Nothing has changed.
A child
is uselessly counting the stars
on the next balcony.

I also try...
But, he is faster: I cannot
catch up with him:
One, two three, four, five...

I cannot
catch up with him: One,...two...
three...
four...
five...

Los contadores de estrellas

Yo estoy consado,
Miro
esta ciudad
-una ciudad cualquiera-
donde ha veinte anos vivo.

Todo esta igual.
Una nino
inutilmente cuenta las estrellas
en el balcon vecino.

Yo me pongo tambien...
Pero el va mas de prisa: no consigo
alcanzarle:
Una, dos, tres, cuatro,
cinco...

No consigo
alcanzarle: Una,... dos...
tres...
cuatro...
cinco...

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

A scholarly anthology of Spanish poems spanning the 12th to the 20th century. The poems are grouped by era, beginning with more romantic, religious, and pastoral poetry and progressing to poems dealing with the horrors of war, and the anguish felt as poets reckon with romanticised ideals of the past vs the harsh reality of the present and future. I personally enjoyed the more modern poems, such as Donde habite el olvido by Luis Cernuda and Los contadores de estrellas by Dámaso Alonso.

The original Spanish poems are presented beside the English translations. The poems are translated literally, without adding flair or style to best represent the original text. The book also features short biographies and images of the poets before each entry, with reference to other poems and collections of note for further reading.

Overall, this is an enjoyable selection of some of the best pieces by the most notable Spanish poets. Would recommend for any poetry enthusiasts who also enjoy a touch of historical context with their poems.

[Tea73 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've only been studying Spanish for a year, so I can't judge the quality of the translations or whether the choice of poets was the best. For a beginner, these poems were difficult - where are the Robert Frosts and Emily Dickinsons who use easy everyday language?

That said, I liked the format. Each poet got a short bio with a picture and then was represented by one or two poems. The oldest poems dated back to the 1200s, the most recent to the Spanish Civil War. I have to say, I thought it was hilarious that the priests wrote love poems to God that were quite steamy. (Think of that statue of Bernini's of the Ecstacy of Saint Teresa where she looks like she's having an orgasm.)

If I had a quibble, and this may have been exacerbated by the hoopla format is that I would have prefered the translations to be side by side as I had to refer to the translations often.

[Maryam Peyrovi · Rating 5 out of 5]

باور نمی‌کردم که تا این حد از شعر اسپانیایی خوشم بیاید. فکر می‌کنم اسپانیا و ادبیاتش دنیایی عجیب و متفاوت است که باید بیشتر درباره‌اش بدانم. و چقدر حس و حال اشعار این کتاب با حس و حال ما ایرانی‌ها شباهت داشت. :)
دوستش داشتم، خیلی. شما هم بخوانید.

[Karl Hallbjörnsson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a nice intro.

[Emily]

Una de mis favoritas, por Rafael Alberti:

El ángel bueno

Vino el que yo quería,
el que yo llamaba.

No aquel que barre cielos sin defensas,
luceros sin cabañas,
lunas sin patria,
nieves.
Nieves de esas caídas de una mano,
un nombre,
un sueño,
una frente.

No aquel que a sus cabellos
ató la muerte.

El que yo quería.

Sin arañar los aires,
sin herir hojas ni mover cristales.

Aquel que a sus cabellos
ató el silencio.

Para sin lastimarme,
cavar una ribera de luz dulce en mi pecho
y hacarme el alma navegable.

[Dolphin Doc · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love that this book contains history and additional information that brings the era and meaning alive. I love that I read the book in the bar called Mio Cid in Sax, Alicante, Valencia beneath the poets portrait!!!! Love this book! The fact it is a dual reader is even more thrilling.

[Benjamin Fasching-Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hooray for Dover dual language poetry books! Hooray for Dover thrift editions!

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just the right selection of talented Spanish poets. I really got alot out of this book.

[Marion]

P.37

[Mckinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice collection of poets; can read Spanish words then look to English for meaning.

[Luis Borjas]

A brief but enlightening survey of the poetry of Spain, from El Mío Cid to Cernuda, Alberti, Aleixandre and Hernández; a short read that nevertheless succeeds in educating the reader in the trends and traditions of poetry in the various Spanish regions.

[armin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got to know some really good poets through it. It’s great it’s written in two languages. Really suggested to those into Spanish poetry or to those who want to get into it.