Poets, Spanish; Spanish poetry -- History and criticism; Spanish poetry -- Translations into English
γενοίμαν,
ἵν’ ὑλᾶεν ἔπεστι πόντου
πρόβλημ’ ἁλίκλυστον, ἄκραν
ὑπὸ πλάκα Σουνίου,
τὰς ἱερὰς ὅπως προσείποιμεν Ἀθάνας.
The dedication to Mr. Frere has the singularity of being written in the
English language.
The ‘Ode to the Lighthouse at Malta’ is another exemplification of the
Duke’s patriotic feeling, as well as the poem of ‘The Exile,’ which
has been translated into English by Mr. Reade. One of his latest works
is in the form of a drama, but, like those of Lord Byron, it is not
intended for the stage. It is entitled, ‘Undeception in a Dream,’ and
represents the life of man, contrasting its vicissitudes and events
with his hopes and desires. Like the tragedy of ‘Alvaro,’ it is a
highly poetical conception, and worthy of the reputation of the noble
writer.
It has already been intimated that the most popular of the Duke’s
works is one published at Madrid in 1841, ‘Historical Romances,’ from
which has been taken, for translation, the ‘Alcazar of Seville.’ These
romances are, in fact, ballads on various subjects in Spanish history,
written in the ballad measure of octosyllabic lines, with asonante
rhymes for the second and fourth of each quatrain, similar to our own
ballads. In the prologue to this work the Duke has written a defence
of this measure, which required no defence beyond his own adoption of
it, with the example of such writers in it as Melendez and Arriaza
in modern times, and almost all the best writers in the language
previously. Ochoa has praised “above all” the romance of the Conde de
Villa Mediana, and readers generally find most interesting the ‘Tale of
a Veteran,’ so that it may require an explanation for the choice of the
one taken, that the character of Pedro, surnamed the Cruel, was best
known to the English public, as associated with English history. That
of the Conde de Villa Mediana is a lively description of some scenes
which led to his assassination by order of the king, who was influenced
by jealousy; the ‘Tale of the Veteran’ gives an account of an adventure
in a nunnery, where a nun invites an officer to her cell and poisons
him in revenge for his slight to her sister. She then shows him the
corpse of a brother officer, who had already fallen a victim to her
arts for the like wrong to herself, and she tells him the whole history
of her motives and conduct, while she induces him to dig a grave for
the first victim, with whom, she tells her second, that he is also to
be placed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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