Chapter 18

Other poets of the early period of independence are: the literary critic, Juan María Gutiérrez (1809-1878), one-time rector of the University of Buenos Aires and editor of an anthology, _América poética_ (Valparaíso, 1846); Dr. Claudio Mamerto Cuenca (1812-1866; cf. _Obras poéticas escogidas_, Paris, 1889); and José Mármol (1818-1871), author of _El peregrino_ and of the best of Argentine novels, _Amalia_ (_Obras poéticas y dramáticas, coleccionadas por José Domingo Cortés_, 3d ed., Paris, 1905).

In parenthesis be it said that Argentina also claims as her own the poet Ventura de la Vega (1807-1865), who was born in Buenos Aires, as Mexico claims Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, and as Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda is claimed by Cuba.

As in Spain Ferdinand VII had driven into exile most of the prominent writers of his period, so the despotic president, Juan Manuel Rosas (1793-1877: fell from power in 1852), drove from Argentina many men of letters, including Varela, Echeverría and Mármol.

Down to the middle of the nineteenth century it may be said that the Spanish-American writers followed closely the literary movements of the mother country. Everywhere across the sea there were imitators of Meléndez Valdés and Cienfuegos, of Quintana, of Espronceda and Zorrilla. During the early years of romanticism some Spanish-American poets,--notably the Argentine Echeverría,--turned for inspiration directly to the French writers of the period; but, in the main, the Spanish influence was predominant. The Spanish-American page 281 verses, for the most part, showed insufficient preparation and were marred by many inaccuracies of diction; but here and there a group of writers appeared,--as in Colombia,--who rivaled in artistic excellence the poets of Spain. In the second half of the nineteenth century the Spanish-American writers became more independent in thought and speech. It is true that many imitated the mysticism of Bécquer or the pessimism of Núñez de Arce, but many more turned for inspiration to native subjects or to the literary works of other lands than Spain, and particularly of France and Italy.

The extreme in local color was reached in the "_literatura gauchesca_," which consists of collections of popular or semi-popular ballads in the dialect of the _gauchos_, or cowboys and "ranchers," of the Pampas. The best of these collections,--_Martín Fierro_ (1872), by José Fernández,--is more artistic than popular. This long poem, which in its language reminds the English reader of Lowell's _Biglow Papers_, is the best-known and the most widely read work by an Argentine author.

The greatest Argentine poets of the second half of the century have been Andrade and Obligado. Olegario Víctor Andrade (1838-1882), the author of _Prometeo_ and _Atlántida_, is generally recognized as one of the foremost modern poets of Spanish America, and probably the greatest poet that Argentina has as yet given to the world. In art, Andrade was a disciple of Victor Hugo; in philosophy, he was a believer in modern progress and freedom of thought; but above all else was his loyal patriotism to Argentina. Andrade's verses have inspiration and enthusiasm, but they are too didactic and they are marred by occasional incorrectness of speech. _Atlantida_, a hymn to the future of the Latin race in America, is the poet's last and noblest work (_Obras_, Buenos Aires, 1887).

It is said of Rafael Obligado (1852-) that he is more page 282 elegant and correct than Andrade, but his muse has less inspiration. He has, moreover, the distinction of showing almost no French influence, which is rare to-day among Spanish-American writers. Juan Valera regrets Obligado's excessive "Americanism," and laments the fact that the poet uses many words of local origin that he, Valera, does not understand. The poet's better works are, for the most part, descriptions of the beauties of nature or the legendary tales of his native land (_Poesías_, Buenos Aires, 1885).

Among recent poets, two have especially distinguished themselves. Leopoldo Díaz (1868-) began as a disciple of Heredia, and has become a pronounced Hellenist, now a rare phenomenon in Spanish America. Besides many sonnets imbued with classicism, he has written odes to the _conquistadores_ and to _Atlántida conquistada_. Like Darío, Blanco-Fombona and many other Spanish-American poets of to-day, Diaz resides in Europe; but, unlike the others, he lives in Morges instead of Paris (_Sonetos_, Buenos Aires, 1888; _Bajo-relieves_, Buenos Aires, 1895; _et al._). A complete "_modernista_" (he would probably scorn the title of "decadent") is Leopoldo Lugones (1875?-), whose earlier verses are steeped in an erotic sensualism rare in the works of Spanish-American poets. He seeks to be original and writes verses on every conceivable theme and in all kinds of metrical arrangements. Thus, in _Lunario sentimental_ there are verses, essays and dramatic sketches, all addressed to the moon. For an example of his _versos libres_, see _Introduction_ to this volume, p. xlvi (_Las montañas de oro, Los crepúsculos del jardín_; _Lunario sentimental_, Buenos Aires, 1909; _Odas seculares_, Buenos Aires, 1910).

For studies of Argentine literature, see Blanco García, _Hist. Lit. Esp._, III, pp. 380 f.; Menéndez y Pelayo, _Ant. Poetas Hisp.-Am._, IV, pp. lxxxix f.; Juan Valera, _Poesía argentina_, in _Cartas americanas, primera serie_, Madrid, 1889, pp. 51-119; _Literatura argentina_, page 283 Buenos Aires, 1903; _Poetas argentinos_, Buenos Aires, 1904; _Antología argentina_, B.T. Martínez, Buenos Aires, 1890-91; _Compendio de literatura argentina_, E. Alonso Criado, Buenos Aires, 1908; _Miscelánea_, by Santiago Estrada; _La lira argentina_, Buenos Aires, 1824. Other important works, treating of Spanish-American literature, are: _Biblioteca hispano-americana_ (1493-1810), José Toribio Medina, 6 vols., Santiago de Chile, 1898-1902; _Bibliography of Spanish-American Literature_, Alfred Coester, _Romanic Review_, III, 1; _Escritores hispano-americanos_, Manuel Cañete, Madrid, 1884; _Escritores y poetas sud-americanos_, Francisco Sosa, Mex., 1890; _Juicio crítico de poetas hispano-americanos_, M.L. Amunátegui, Santiago de Chile, 1861; _La joven literatura hispano-americana_, Manuel Ugarte, Paris, 1906.

Echeverría: see preceding note.

=Canción de Elvira.= This Gutiérrez calls the "song of the American Ophelia."

=152.=--Andrade: see note to p. 151.

18. =Á celebrar las bodas=, _to be the bride_.

=153.=--3. The Argentines, especially, seem to take delight in calling themselves a Latin, rather than a Spanish, race. This may be due to the fact that fully one third of the population of Argentine is Italian. Both Juan Valera and Menéndez y Pelayo have chided the Argentines for speaking of themselves as a _raza latino-americana_, instead of _hispano-americana_.

15. =arcano=, _secret_, seems to have the force here of a _secret ark_, or _secret sanctuary_, which is broken open that its secrets may be disclosed.

=154.=--6-10. These lines refer, of course, to the Christian religion, spoken of symbolically as an _altar_, which has replaced the heterogeneous pagan cults of ancient Rome, and which the Spaniards first brought to America. page 284 11. =ciclopeas=: note the omission of the accent on _o_ that the word may rime with =ideas=.

=155.=--5. =Tequendama=: see in the _Vocab_. Several Colombian poets, including Don José Joaquín Ortiz and Doña Agripina Montes del Valle, have written odes to this famous waterfall. See Menéndez y Pelayo, _Ant. Poetas Hisp.-Am._, II; and _Parnaso colombiano_, II, Bogotá, 1887.

17-18. A revolutionary hero, Antonio Ricaurte (b. 1786), blew up the Spanish powder magazine on the summit of a hill near San Mateo, and lost his life in the explosion. See =Mateo= in _Vocab_.

=156.=--5. The colors of the Peruvian flag are red and white, mainly red. The red,--symbolical of bloodshed,--shall be largely replaced by the golden color of ripening grain,--symbolical of industry.

8. Caracas, where Bolivar was born, lies at the foot of Mount Ávila.

11. This line, and line 16, would indicate that =Atlántida= was written soon after the war, begun in 1876, between Chile and the allied forces of Bolivia and Peru, in which Chile was victorious.

12-15. When this was written there was little immediate prospect of other railways than the narrow-gage road from Oruro to the Chilean frontier, about five hundred miles in length; but now Bolivia has the promise of becoming the railway center of lines connecting both Argentina and Chile with Peru. These lines are now completed or building.

27. Andrade died in 1882, and seven years after his death, in 1889, the emperor Dom Pedro II was deposed, and a republican form of government was adopted by Brazil.

=157.=--3. Andrade now sings of his own country, hence =¡De pie para cantarla!=

8. There is a larger immigration of Europeans into Argentina than into any other South-American country. The page 285 immigrants come mostly from northern Italy and from Spain.

12-16. As the =Atlántida= was the last poetic work of Andrade, these lines may refer to the treaty of 1881 between Argentina and Chile, by which Argentina acquired all the territory east of the Andes, including Patagonia and the eastern part of Tierra del Fuego.

By the conquest and settlement of the broad plains (_pampas_) and the frozen region of the south, a new world was created, much as in the United States of America a new world was created by the acquirement and settlement of the western plains, mountain lands and Pacific coast.

21. Vast areas in Argentina are given over to the cultivation of wheat, barley and oats.

=159.=--These are the last stanzas of =Prometeo=, a poem in which the author addresses the human mind and urges it to break its bonds and free itself from tyranny and prejudice: see also in _Vocab_.

=160.=--Obligado: see note to p. 151.

=162.=--=Colombia.= Colombia was formerly known as Nueva Granada, and its inhabitants are still sometimes called _Granadinos_. An older and larger Colombia was organized in 1819, toward the close of the revolutionary war; but this state was later divided into three independent countries, viz., Venezuela, Nueva Granada and Ecuador. In 1861 Nueva Granada assumed the name of Estados Unidos de Colombia, and only recently the Colombian part of the Isthmus of Panama established itself as an independent republic. The present Colombia has, therefore, only about one third the area of the older state of the same name. In treating of literature, the terms Colombia and Colombian are restricted to the present-day Colombia and the older Nueva Granada. The capital of the Republic is Santa Fe de Bogotá, to-day generally known simply as Bogotá. It is at an elevation of 8700 feet above the level of the page 286 sea, and has a cool and equable climate.

It is generally conceded that the literary production of Colombia has excelled that of any other Spanish-American country. Menéndez y Pelayo (_Ant. Poetas Hisp.-Am._, III, _Introd._) speaks of Bogotá as the "Athens of South America," and says further: "the Colombian Parnassus to-day excels in quality, if not in quantity, that of any other region of the New World." And Juan Valera in his _Cartas americanas (primera serie_, p. 121 f.) says: "Of all the people of South America the Bogotanos are the most devoted to letters, sciences and arts"; and again: "In spite of the extraordinary ease with which verses are made in Colombia, and although Colombia is a democratic republic, her poetry is aristocratic, cultivated and ornate." Blanco García characterizes Colombia as one of the most Spanish of American countries.

During the colonial period, however, Nueva Granada produced few literary works. Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, the _conquistador_ of New Granada, wrote memoirs, entitled _Ratos de Suesca_ (1573?), of little historical value. The most important work of the period is the chronicles in verse of Juan de Castellanos (b. 1522? in the Spanish province of Seville). This work is largely epic in character; and, with its 150,000 lines, it is the longest poem in the Spanish language. Though for the most part prosaic and inexact, yet it has some passages of high poetic worth, and it throws much light on the lives of the early colonists. The first three parts of the poem, under the title of _Elegías de varones ilustres de Indias_ (the first part only was published in 1589), occupies all of vol. IV of the _Bibl. de Aut. Esp._ The fourth part is contained in two volumes of the _Colección de Escritores Castellanos_, under the title of _Historia del Nuevo Reino de Granada_.

In the seventeenth century the colonists were still too busy with the conquest and settlement of the country to spare time for the cultivation of letters. A long page 287 epic poem, the _Poema heroico de San Ignacio de Loyola_, with much Gongorism and little merit, was published at Madrid in 1696, after the death of the author, the Colombian Hernando Domínguez Camargo. A few short lyrics by the same author also appeared in the _Ramillete de varias flores poéticas_ (Madrid, 1676) of Jacinto Evia of Ecuador.

Early in the eighteenth century Sor Francisca Josefa de la Concepción, "Madre Castillo" (d. 1742), wrote an account of her life and her _Sentimientos espirituales_, in which there is much of the mysticism of Saint Theresa.

About 1738 the printing-press was brought to Bogotá by the Jesuits, and after this date there was an important intellectual awakening. Many colleges and universities had already been founded,--the first in 1554. The distinguished Spanish botanist José Celestino Mutis, in 1762, took the chair of mathematics and astronomy in the Colegio del Rosario, and under him were trained many scientists, including Francisco José de Caldas. An astronomical observatory was established, the first in America. In 1777 a public library was organized, and a theater in 1794. And of great influence was the visit of Humboldt in 1801. Among the works published in the second half of the eighteenth century mention should be made of the _Lamentaciones de Pubén_ by the canon José María Grueso (1779-1835) and _El placer público de Santa Fe_ (Bogotá, 1804) by José María Salazar (1785-1828).

During the revolutionary period two poets stand preeminent. Dr. José Fernández Madrid (d. 1830) was a physician and statesman, and for a short time president of the Republic. His lyrics are largely the expression of admiration for Bolivar and of hatred toward Spain: his verses are usually sonorous and correct (_Poesías_, Havana, 1822; London, 1828). The "Chénier" of Colombia was Luis Vargas Tejada (1802-1829), the author of patriotic verses, some of which were directed against page 288 Bolivar, and of neo-classic tragedies. He died by drowning at the age of twenty-seven (_Poesías_, Bogotá, 1855).

The four most noted poets of Colombia are J.E. Caro, Arboleda, Ortiz and Gutiérrez González. A forceful lyric poet was José Eusebio Caro (1817-1853), a philosopher and statesman, a man of moral greatness and a devout Christian. In the bloody political struggles of his day he sacrificed his estate and his life to his conception of right. He sang of God, love, liberty and nature with exaltation; but all his writings evince long meditation. Like many Spanish-American poets of his day Caro was influenced by Byron. In his earlier verses he had imitated the style of Quintana (cf. _El ciprés_); but later, under the influence of romantic poets, he attempted to introduce into Spanish prosody new metrical forms. Probably as a result of reading English poetry, he wrote verses of 8 and 11 syllables with regular alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables, which is rare in Spanish. So fond did he become of lines with regular binary movement throughout that he recast several of his earlier verses (_Obras escogidas_, Bogotá, 1873; _Poesías_, Madrid, 1885).

Julio Arboleda (1817-1861), "Don Julio," was one of the most polished and inspired poets of Colombia. He was an intimate friend of Caro and like him a journalist and politician. He was a good representative of the chivalrous and aristocratic type of Colombian writers of the first half of the nineteenth century. His best work is the narrative poem _Gonzalo de Oyón_ which, though incomplete, is the noblest epic poem that a native Spanish-American poet has yet given to the world. After studying in Europe he engaged in journalism and politics. He took part in several civil wars. A candidate for the presidency of the Republic, he was assassinated before election (_Poesías, colección formada sobre los manuscritos originales, con prólogo por M.A. Caro_, New York, 1883).

The educator and journalist José Joaquín Ortiz (1814-1892) page 289 imitated Quintana in form but not in ideas. Though a defender of neo-classicism, he did not entirely reject romanticism. Ortiz was an ultra-catholic, sincere and ascetic. His verses are impetuous and grandiloquent, but often lacking depth of thought (_Poesías_, Bogotá, 1880).

The poet Gregorio Gutiérrez González, "Antioco" (1820-1872), was a jurist and politician. He began as an imitator of Espronceda and Zorrilla and is the author of several sentimental poems (_Á Julia_, _¿Por qué no canto?_ _Una lágrima_, _et al._) that are the delight of Colombian young ladies. His fame will doubtless depend on the rustic Georgic poem, _Memoria sobre el cultivo del maíz en Antioquia_. This work is an interesting and remarkably poetic description of the homely life and labors of the Antioquian country folk (_Poesías_, Bogotá, 1881; Paris, 1908).

The minor poets of this generation are legion. Among these are: Manuel María Madiedo (b. 1815), a sociologist; Germán Gutiérrez de Piñeres (1816-1872), author of melancholy verses; José María Rojas Garrido (1824-1883), a noted orator, one-time president of Colombia; Joaquín Pablo Posada (1825-1880), perhaps the most clever versifier of Spanish America, but whose _décimas_ were mostly written in quest of money; Ricardo Carrasquilla (b. 1827), an educator and author of genial verses; José Manuel Marroquín (b. 1827), a poet and author of articles on customs and a foremost humorist of South America (he was president when Colombia lost Panama); José María Samper (b. 1828), a most voluminous writer; Rafael Núñez (1825-1897), a philosopher and skeptic, and one-time president of the Republic; Santiago Pérez (1830-1900), educator, journalist and one-time president; José María Vergara y Vergara (1831-1872), a Catholic poet and author of a volume of sentimental verses (_Libro de los cantares_); Rafael Pombo (1833-1912), an eminent classical scholar and literary critic, and "perpetual secretary" of the Colombian Academy; Diego Fallón (b. 1834), page 290 son of an English father, and author of several highly finished and beautiful poems; Pinzón Rico (b. 1834), author of popular, romantic songs; César Conto (b. 1836), a jurist and educator; Jorge Isaacs (1837-1895), better known as author of the novel _María_; and Felipe Pérez (b. 1834).

In the second half of the nineteenth century, the most eminent man of letters in Colombia has been Miguel Antonio Caro (1843-1909), a son of J.E. Caro. A neo-Catholic and "traditionalist," a learned literary critic and a poet, the younger Caro, like Bello before him and like his distinguished contemporary Rufino José Cuervo, has worked for purity of diction and classical ideals in literature. Caro is also the translator of several classic works, including one of Virgil which is recognized as the best in Spanish.

Other poets of the closing years of the century are: Diógenes Arrieta (b. 1848), a journalist and educator; Ignacio Gutiérrez Ponce (1850), a physician; Antonio Gómez Restrepo (b. 1856), a lawyer and politician; José María Garavito A. (b. 1860); José Rivas Groot (b. 1864), an educator and literary critic, and editor of _La lira nueva_; Joaquín González Camargo (b. 1865), a physician; Agripina Montes del Valle (b. about the middle of the nineteenth century) noted for her ode to the Tequendama waterfall, and Justo Pastor Ríos (1870-), a philosophic poet and liberal journalist.

The "modernista" poet José Asunción Silva (1860-1896) was a sweet singer, but he brought no message. He was fond of odd forms, such as lines of 8+8, 8+8+8 and 8+8+4 syllables (_Poesías, con Prólogo de Miguelde Unamuno_, Barcelona, 1908).

References: Cf.: Menéndez y Pelayo, _Ant. Poetas Hisp.-Amer._, III, p. 1 f.; Blanco García, III, 332 f.; Juan Valera, _Cartas Am., primera serie_, p. 121 f.; _Historia de la literatura (1538-1820) en Nueva Granada_, José María Vergara y Vergara, Bogotá, 1867; _Apuntes sobre bibliografía colombiana, con page 291 muestras escogidas en prosa y verso_, Isidoro Laverde Amaya, Bogotá, 1882; _Parnaso colombiano_, J.M. Vergara y Vergara, 3 vols.; _La lira granadina_, J.M. Vergara y Vergara, Bogotá, 1865; _Parnaso colombiano_, Julio Áñez, _con Prólogo de José Rivas Groot_, 2 vols., Bogotá, 1886-87; _La lira nueva_, J.M. Rivas Groot, Bogotá, 1886; _Antología colombiana,_ Emiliano Isaza, Paris, 1895.

Ortiz: see preceding note.

=Colombia y España=: In this poem, dated July 20, 1882, the poet begins by recalling the war of independence that he witnessed as a boy and the heroic figure of Bolivar; then he laments the fratricidal struggles that rent the older and larger Colombia; and, finally, in the verses that are here given, he rejoices over the friendly treaty just made by the mother country, Spain, and Colombia, her daughter.

8. The colors of the Colombian flag are yellow, blue and red.

9. The colors of the Spanish flag are red and yellow. On the Spanish arms two castles (for _Castilla_) and two lions (for _León_) are pictured.

=164.=--J.E. Caro: see note to p. 162.

=167.=--Marroquin: see note to p. 162.

=Los cazadores y la perrilla=: compare with Goldsmith's "Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog."

=168.=--7. =Moratín=: see note to p. 26. _La caza_ is in _Bibl. de Aut. Esp._, II, 49 f.

=169.=--16. =describilla=, archaic or poetic for _describirla_.

=171.=--M.A. Caro: see note to p. 162.

=174.=--14-16. =sombría... alcanzarán= = _(siendo la Eternidad) sombría y eterna, ni el odio ni el amor, ni la fe ni la duda, alcanzarán nada en sus abismos_.

=179.=--=Cuba.= Although the literary output of Cuba is greater than that of some other Spanish-American countries, yet during the colonial period there was in Cuba a dearth of both prose and verse. The Colegio Semanario de San Carlos y San Ambrosio was page 292 founded in 1689 as a theological seminary and was reorganized with lay instruction in 1769. The University of Havana was established by a papal bull in 1721 and received royal sanction in 1728; but for many years it gave instruction only in theological subjects. The first book printed in Cuba dates from 1720. Not till the second half of the eighteenth century did poets of merit appear in the island. Manuel de Zequeira y Arango (1760-1846) wrote chiefly heroic odes (_Poesías_, N.Y., 1829; Havana, 1852). Inferior to Zequeira was Manuel Justo de Rubalcava (1769-1805), the author of bucolic poems and sonnets (_Poesías_, Santiago de Cuba, 1848).