IGNACIO DE LUZÁN. The founder of the so-called French school of writers
of the eighteenth century, who by subordinating literary production in
Spain to the rigid rules that obtained in French literature sought to
correct the license that prevailed in Spanish letters of the time. Luzán
declared the aims and tenets of the new school in his _Poética_ (1737).
He was stronger as a critic than as a creative spirit. Cf. vol. I of the
_Poetas líricos del siglo XVIII_ in the _Biblioteca de autores
españoles_; Ticknor III, 263 ff. See, in general, on the eighteenth
century, Cueto’s _Bosquejo histórico-crítico de la poesía castellana en
el siglo XVIII_, prefixed to vol. 61 (tome I) of the _Biblioteca de
autores españoles_.
*Page 191.*—l. 2. *Sármata*: the Sarmatian, regarded as the ancestor of
the Russian and Pole.
l. 6. *rifeos montes*: the Rhyphean mountains, said to be to the north
of Scythia and sometimes identified with the Carpathians.
l. 12. *Ceto*, i.e., _the whale_.
GARCÍA DE LA HUERTA. A fierce opponent of the French school inaugurated
by Luzán. He published at Madrid in 1778, a volume of poems in the old
Spanish manner, without obtaining any degree of success. Cf. vol. I of
the _Poetas líricos del siglo XVIII_ in the _Biblioteca de autores
españoles_.
JORGE PITILLAS. A pseudonym for José Gerardo de Hervás. The famous
satire in which he attacked the bad writers of his time argues for the
doctrines of the French law-giver Boileau, and in form strongly suggests
Quevedo’s _Epistle_ to Olivares (cf. p. 163). Attributed to Isla, it was
published in the _Rebusco de las obras literarias de J. F. de Isla_,
Madrid, 1790. Cf. E. Brinckmeier, _Floresta de sátiras_, etc., Leipzig,
1882; Fitzmaurice-Kelly, p. 348.
*Page 193.*—l. 13. *Las piedras*, etc.: cf. the idiom, _Quien calla,
piedras apaña_, said of one who picks up remarks, intending to use them
later.
*Page 194.*—l. 18. *Marin*, etc.: publishers.
l. 25. *voces de pie y medio*: cf. Horace’s _sesquipedalia verba_.
*Page 195.*—l. 11. Derelinques: cf. the Latin _derelinquere, to
abandon_.
l. 16. *boquilobo*: cf. *boca de lobo*, _dense darkness_.
l. 17. *Cienpozuelos*: i.e., any plain individual.
l. 26. *la irascible*: supply lengua.
*Page 196.*—l. 1. *Pero*, etc.: i.e., the die is cast.
l. 8. *cata y cala*: cf. *hacer cala y cata*, _to examine a thing to
ascertain its quantity and quality_.
NICOLÁS FERNÁNDEZ DE MORATÍN. A prominent member of the French school,
Moratín the elder wrote a drama, _Hormesinda_, according to the French
classic rules, and an epic poem, _Las naves de Cortés_, celebrating the
burning of his ships by the Conquistador. He is best remembered for his
popular _quintillas_ on _The Bullfight_, conceived entirely according to
the old Spanish manner. Cf. his poems published with the works of his
son Leandro in vol. II of the _Biblioteca de autores españoles_.
*Page 197.*—l. 17. *moraicel*: a Moorish officer.
l. 27. *alcadí*: i.e., *cadí* with the Arabic article prefixed.
*Page 198.*—l. 9. *Jarama*: a river flowing into the Tagus near
Aranjuez.
l. 34. *zambrero*: cf. *zambra*, _a rout_, _a revel_.
*Page 199.*—l. 17. *entablerado*, _close to the_ *tableros* _or
barrier_.
l. 23. *emplazándose*: cf. v. 31.
*Page 200.*—l. 1. *alazano*: the more usual form is *alazán*.
*Page 202.*—l. 17. *Rodrigo de Bivar*: cf. note p. 117, l. 22.
l. 25. *Fernando*: Ferdinand I. (1037-1067) king of Castile. In the
stories about the Cid he is sometimes confounded with his son Alfonso.
*Page 204.*—l. 4. *Se engalla*, _stands rigid and haughty_.
JOSÉ DE CADALSO. An army officer and a man of catholic tastes, having
lived and travelled much abroad. He was killed at the siege of
Gibraltar. As a writer, he belonged to the French school, for his
tragedy _Don Sancho García_ was composed according to the French rules.
He made verse translations of portions of the _Paradise Lost_, and
imitated Young’s _Night Thoughts_ in his _Noches lúgubres_. Cf. his
_Obras_, Madrid, 1818; Ticknor, III, 302; vol. I of the _Poetas líricos
del siglo XVIII_ in the _Biblioteca de autores españoles_.
GASPAR MELCHOR DE JOVELLANOS (or JOVE LLANOS). A statesman and
littérateur. For a while he was Minister of Justice at the court of
Carlos IV. He was a bitter opponent of the French invader, yet in his
drama _El delincuente honrado_ he conformed to the French literary
canons. The present song shows clearly his patriotic feelings. See his
works in the _Biblioteca de autores españoles_, vols. 46 and 50; Ceán
Bermúdez, _Memorias de Jovellanos_, Madrid, 1814; Ticknor, III, 322 ff.;
E. Mérimée in the _Revue hispanique_ I, 34 ff.
*Page 208.*—l. 21. *el tirano*: i.e., Napoleon.
l. 22. *Pelayo*: cf. note to p. 164, l. 22.
l. 24. *Sella*: this name and the others mentioned in this stanza are
those of places and rivers in Asturias.
*Page 209.*—l. 5. Reference to the Roman campaigns in Spain from the
beginning of the Second Punic War down to the time of Octavian.
ll. 12-13. The barbarian invasion of 409 A.D.
l. 16. *Leovigildo*: king of the Visigoths († 589).
l. 18. *Arvas* (or *Arbas*): a village of Oviedo.
l. 21. *Lete*, i.e., *Guadalete*, a river flowing into the Bay of Cadiz,
near which the Arabs defeated Roderick.—*Piles*: a river of Oviedo in
Asturias.—*Tarique*: Tarik, commander of the invading Arabs.
l. 28. *Auseva*, _Auseba_, the mountain of Asturias containing the cave
of _Covadonga_ in which Pelayo and his followers took refuge from the
Arabs.
l. 31. *Ildefonso*: San Ildefonso, bishop of Toledo († 667).
*Page 210.*—l. 18. *Bailén*: a city of the province of Jaén. Here, on
July 19, 1808, the Spaniards defeated the French under General Dupont.
Cf. Galdós’s story of _Bailén_.
l. 20. *Valencia*: the French evacuated this city July 5, 1813.
l. 21. *Zaragoza*: allusion to the heroic defense of Saragossa against
the French. It was taken by them, on February 26, 1809, only when most
of the defenders had perished. Cf. Galdós’s _Zaragoza_.
l. 23. *Alcañiz*: a city of Teruel. The French General Suchet was
defeated here, May 23, 1809.
l. 24. *Alberche*: river of Toledo, flowing into the Tagus.
l. 25. *Tormes*: a tributary of the Duero.
l. 26. *Aranjuez*: town of province of Madrid. The French were defeated
there, August 5, 1809.
l. 27. *Gerona*: capital of province of Gerona. The town was captured by
the French after a desperate siege of seven months.
l. 28. *Llobregat*: a river of the province of Barcelona.
l. 29. *Gades*: i.e., Cadiz. In 1812, the year after the death of
Jovellanos, the Cortes met there and proclaimed the Constitution.
ll. 32-34. *Lena*, etc.: places in Oviedo.
JUAN MELÉNDEZ VALDÉS. Appointed a Professor at the University of
Salamanca by Jovellanos, Meléndez Valdés there became head of a school
of writers—called the Salamancan school—who adopted French methods in
the composition of Spanish lyric poetry. In politics, Meléndez was also
a French sympathizer, and as such he was made a counsellor and Minister
of Public Education under Joseph Bonaparte. With the fall of the
Napoleonic power he had to leave Spain in 1813, and in 1817 he died in
France. Melody, lucidity and plasticity are the chief characteristics of
his verse, which is somewhat marred, however, by an excess of
Gallicisms. Cf. his _Poesías_, Madrid, 1785 (and 1820); vol. II of
_Poetas líricos del siglo XVIII_ in the _Biblioteca de autores
españoles_, vol. 63; the _Life_ by Quintana in the edition of the
_Poesías_, Madrid, 1820, and in vol. 19 of the _Biblioteca de autores
españoles_; E. Mérimée in the _Revue hispanique_, I, 217 ff.; Ticknor,
III, 311 ff.
*Page 211.*—l. 20. Cf. this ode in _arte menor_ with Lamartine’s poem,
_Au rossignol_; Lamartine’s lyric strongly resembles this.
*Page 214.*—l. 19. Not infrequently, as here, Meléndez adhered to the
native Spanish measures.
FRAY DIEGO GONZÁLEZ. An Augustinian monk, and a member of the Salamancan
school headed by Meléndez. But his sympathies were divided between a
respect for French methods and a fondness for the older Spanish manner,
and to some degree he was a disciple of Luis de León, as may be seen by
his translations of the Psalms. He was very successful in lighter verse,
producing a genuine classic in his _Murciélago alevoso_. Cf. his
_Poesías_, Madrid, 1812; Ticknor, III, 318 ff.
*Page 218.*—l. 7. Note that *suave* is generally trisyllabic.
JOSÉ IGLESIAS DE LA CASA. A cleric and a member of the Salamancan
school. His verse is now in the lighter vein, and again satirical after
the manner of Quevedo. Cf. his _Poesías_, Paris, 1821; vol. I of the
_Líricos del siglo XVIII_ in the _Biblioteca de autores españoles_;
Ticknor, III, 320.
*Page 222.*—l. 28. *Londra*, i.e., *alondra*.
NICASIO ÁLVAREZ DE CIENFUEGOS. Among the members of the Salamancan
coterie, the most important disciple of Meléndez. His poems show much
real sentiment, but are not entirely free from affectation. He was a
stout patriot and quite free from the French political sympathies of his
master. Cf. his _Obras poéticas_, Madrid, 1816; vol. III of the _Líricos
del siglo XVIII_; Ticknor, III, 320 f.
*Page 223.*—l. 18. *el favonio coro*, _the Zephyr chorus_.
l. 25. *la piramidal*: a kind of campanula or bell-flower.
*Page 224.*—l. 15. *¡Evohé!* the cry of the Bacchantes when acclaiming
Bacchus.
l. 17. *vacante*, _empty, hollow_.
FÉLIX MARÍA DE SAMANIEGO. One of the two great fabulists of modern
Spanish literature. Mainly French in his tendencies, he imitated La
Fontaine with much success, deriving inspiration also from Gay, the
Æsopic fables, Phædrus and the Eastern apologues. Cf. his _Fábulas_,
Madrid, 1832; vol. 61 of the _Biblioteca de autores españoles_; F. Wolf,
_Floresta de rimas_, I; Ticknor, III, 307 ff.
TOMÁS DE IRIARTE. The peer, and perhaps even the superior, of Samaniego
as a fabulist. He won commendation for his didactic poem _La música_,
but secured no lasting renown by his dramatic attempts. His fame is
based upon his _Fábulas literarias_, remarkable for their artistic
finish and ingenuity of thought. Cf. his _Obras_, Madrid, 1805; the
_Biblioteca de autores españoles_, vol. 63; E. Cotarelo y Mori, _Iriarte
y su época_ (1897); Ticknor, III, 304 ff.
*Page 227.*—l. 13. *Echó ... Sus cuentas*, etc.: _Communed with
himself_.
l. 25. Cf. the whimsical sonnet of Lope de Vega on p. 153.
l. 29. *¡Hay tal porfía!* _Did you ever see such obstinacy!_
LEANDRO FERNÁNDEZ DE MORATÍN. Son of Nicolás Fernández de Moratín (cf.
p. 196). With his dramas, the most important since the days of the great
masters of the _siglo de oro_, he won complete success for the French
school started by Luzán. His lyrics, of far less merit than his plays,
are nevertheless pleasing in form and upon occasion sprightly in tone.
Cf. his _Obras_, Madrid, 1830-31; the edition of his own and his
father’s works in vol. II of the _Biblioteca de autores españoles_;
Ticknor, III, 330 ff.
MANUEL MARÍA DE ARJONA. A figure partly of the eighteenth and partly of
the nineteenth century, Arjona was a member of the so-called School of
Seville (_Academia de letras humanas_, founded at Seville in 1793), a
body of writers who still advocated the application of French classic
rules, while they also harked back to the lyric traditions of Seville in
the sixteenth century. In this latter respect Herrera was their model,
but Luis de León also commanded their respect. Both tendencies of the
school are illustrated in Arjona. In his religious and pastoral verse,
he is a conventional writer of the time, adhering chiefly to the
doctrines of Luzán and the Salamancan school. As a poet of patriotic and
republican sentiments he is much more virile and successful, displaying
these sentiments in his two best productions, the ode _España restaurada
en Cádiz_ (celebrating the proclamation of the Constitution of 1812, cf.
note to p. 210, l. 29), and the longer poem _Las ruinas de Roma_. From
now on, the struggle with the French brought forth much patriotic verse.
Cf. vol. II of the _Líricos del siglo XVIII_; F. Wolf, _Floresta de
rimas_, etc. (Paris, 1837), vol. II; Blanco-García, _La literatura
española en el siglo XIX_, 2ª edición, Madrid, 1899, I, 20 ff.
*Page 230.*—l. 9. *Padilla*: Juan de Padilla, leader of a party of
_Comuneros_, who, rising against the exactions of Charles V., were
successful for a while. Their fortunes declined, however, and Padilla
was finally captured and executed (1522).
*Page 231.*—l. 9. *Columnas de Hércules*: i.e., the promontories of
Calpe and Ábila at the Strait of Gibraltar.
l. 15. *Mucio*: Mucius Scævola; captured after his attempt to kill Lars
Porsena, the enemy of Rome, he plunged his hand into the fire to show
his contempt for pain: cf. p. 232, l. 4.
*Page 232.*—l. 5. Allusion to the invasion of Rome by the Gallic chief
Brennus in 390 B.C. The Romans bought peace with 1,000 pounds of gold.
l. 7. *Camilo*: after the capture of Rome by Brennus, Camillus was
appointed dictator, and is said to have defeated the Gauls.