José Julián Herculano del Casal y de la Lastra (November 7, 1863 – October 21, 1893) was a Cuban poet. He took up many of the French poetic styles of the day, and later influenced Rubén Darío and Modernismo. Like Manuel González Prada and José Martí, Casal was an important forebearer of modernistic expression throughout Latin America. Casal seemed almost obsessed when comparing natural vs "made by man" perspectives.