Modern Spanish Lyrics | Page 8

a?good poet and a good Spaniard by his ode _á Pedro?Romero, torero insigne_, some romances and his famous?quintillas_, the _Fiesta de toros en Madrid. Other?followers of the French, in a genre not, strictly?speaking, lyric at all, were the two fabulists, Samaniego?and Iriarte. F. María de SAMANIEGO (1745-1801) gave to the?traditional stock of apologues, as developed by Phaedrus,?Lokman and La Fontaine, a permanent and popular Castilian?form. Tomás de IRIARTE (1750-1791), a more irritable?personage who spent much time in literary polemics, wrote?original fables (_Fábulas literarias_, 1781) directed not?against the foibles of mankind in general, but against the?world of writers and scholars.
The best work which was done under the classical French?influence, however, is to be found in the writers of the?so-called Salamancan school, which was properly not a?school at all. The poets who are thus classed together,?Cadalso, Diego González, Jovellanos, Forner, Meléndez?Valdés, Cienfuegos, Iglesias, were personal friends thrown?together in the university or town of Salamanca, but they?were not subjected to a uniform literary training and?possessed no similarity of style or aim as did the men of?the later Sevillan school.
José de CADALSO (1741-1782), a dashing soldier of great?personal charm killed at the siege of Gibraltar, is?sometimes credited with founding the school of Salamanca.?He was a friend of most of the important writers of his?time and composed interesting prose satires; his verse?(_Noches lúgubres_, etc.) is not remarkable. FRAY DIEGO?GONZáLEZ (1733-1794) is one of the masters of page xxx idiomatic Castilian in the century. He admired Luis de?León and imitated him in paraphrases of the Psalms. The?volume of his verse is small but unsurpassed in surety of?taste and evenness of finish. The _Murciélago alevoso_ has?passed into many editions and become a favorite in Spain.?The pure and commanding figure of JOVELLANOS (1744-1811)?dominated the whole group which listened to his advice?with respect. It was not always sure, for he led Diego?González and Meléndez Valdés astray by persuading them to?attempt philosophical poetry instead of the lighter sort?for which they were fitted. He was in fact a greater man?than poet, but his satires and _Epístola al duque de?Veragua_ are strong and dignified.
Juan MELéNDEZ VALDéS (1754-1817) was on the contrary a?greater poet than man. Brilliant from the first, he was?petted by Cadalso and Jovellanos who strove to develop his?talent. In 1780 he won a prize offered by the Academy for?an eclogue. In 1784 his comedy Las bodas de Camacho, on?a subject suggested by Jovellanos (from an episode in _Don?Quijote_, II, 19-21), won a prize offered by the city of?Madrid, but failed on the stage. His first volume of poems?was published in 1785; later editions appeared in 1797 and?1820. He attached himself to the French party at the time?of the invasion in 1808, incurred great popular odium and?died in France. He is the most fluent, imaginative poet of?the eighteenth century and is especially successful in the?pastoral and anacreontic styles. Fresh descriptions of?nature, enchanting pictures of love, form an oasis in?an age of studied reasonableness. His language has been?criticized for its Gallicisms. José IGLESIAS DE LA CASA?(1748-1791), a native of Salamanca and a priest, wrote?much light satirical verse, epigrams, parodies page xxxi and letrillas in racy Castilian; he was less successful?in the graver forms. Nicasio áLVAREZ DE CIENFUEGOS?(1764-1809) passes as a disciple of Meléndez; he was a?passionate, uneven writer whose undisciplined thought and?habit of coining words lead to obscurity. Politically he?opposed the French with unyielding vigor, barely escaped?execution at their hands and died in exile. The verse of?Cienfuegos prepared the way for Quintana. Differing?from him in clarity and polish are Fr. Sánchez Barbero?(1764-1819) and Leandro F. de Moratín, the dramatist?(1760-1828).
One curious result of rationalistic doctrines was the?"prosaism" into which it led many minor versifiers. These?poetasters, afraid of overstepping the limits of?good sense, tabooed all imagination and described in?deliberately prosy lines the most commonplace events. The?movement reached its height at the beginning of the reign?of Charles IV (1788-1808) and produced such efforts as?a poem to the gout, a nature-poem depicting barn-yard?sounds, and even Iriarte's _La música_ (1780), in which?one may read in carefully constructed silvas the?definition of diatonic and chromatic scales.
II
SPANISH LYRIC POETRY OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
Early in the nineteenth century the armies of Napoleon?invaded Spain. There ensued a fierce struggle for the?mastery of the Peninsula, in which the latent strength and?energy of the Spaniards became once more evident. The page xxxii French devastated parts of the country, but they?brought with them many new ideas which, together with the?sharpness of the conflict, served to awaken the Spanish?people from their torpor and to give them a new?realization of national consciousness. During this period?of stress and strife two poets, Quintana and Gallego,?urged on and encouraged their fellow countrymen with?patriotic songs.
Manuel José QUINTANA (1772-1857) had pre?minently the?"gift of martial music," and great was the influence?of his odes _Al armamento de las provincias contra los?franceses_ and _á Espa?a después de la revolución de?marzo_. He also strengthened the patriotism