''Las Soledades'' (''Solitudes'') is a poem by
Luis de Góngora
Luis de Góngora y Argote (born Luis de Argote y Góngora; ; 11 July 1561 – 24 May 1627) was a Spanish Baroque lyric poet and a Catholic priest. Góngora and his lifelong rival, Francisco de Quevedo, are widely considered the most prominent ...
, composed in 1613 in
silva (Spanish strophe) in hendecasyllables (lines of eleven syllables) and heptasyllables (seven syllables).
Góngora intended to divide the poem in four parts that were to be called "Soledad de los campos" (Solitude of the fields), "Soledad de las riberas" (Solitude of the riverbanks), "Soledad de las selvas" (Solitude of the forests), and "Soledad del yermo" (Solitude of the wasteland).
However, Góngora only wrote the "dedicatoria al Duque de Béjar" (dedication to the Duke of
Béjar
Béjar () is a town and municipality of Spain located in the province of Salamanca, autonomous community of Castile and León. As of 2018, it had a population of 12,961. The historical development of the town has been linked to its once thriving ...
) and the first two ''Soledades'', the second of which remained unfinished.
From the time of their composition, ''Soledades'' inspired a great debate regarding the difficulty of its language and its mythological and erudite references. It was attacked by the Count of Salinas and
Juan Martínez de Jáuregui y Aguilar (who composed an ''Antidote against the Soledades''). The work, however, was defended by Salcedo Coronel,
José Pellicer,
Francisco Fernández de Córdoba (Abad de Rute), the
Count of Villamediana
Don Juan de Tassis y Peralta, 2nd Count of Villamediana, ( es: ''Don Juan de Tassis y Peralta, segundo conde de Villamediana''; baptised 26 August 1582 – 21 August 1622), was a Spanish poet. In Spain he is simply known as Conde de Villamediana.
...
,
Gabriel Bocángel Gabriel Bocángel y Unzueta (1603–1658) was a playwright and poet of the Spanish Golden Age. Born in Madrid, he studied at Alcalá de Henares and then served as librarian to Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand. He also served as bookkeeper and chron ...
, and overseas,
Juan de Espinosa Medrano y Sor
Juana Inés de la Cruz
''Doña'' Inés de Asbaje y Ramírez de Santillana, better known as Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (12 November 1648 – 17 April 1695) was a Mexican writer, philosopher, composer and poet of the Baroque period, and Hieronymite nun. Her contributi ...
.
Rafael Alberti
Rafael Alberti Merello (16 December 1902 – 28 October 1999) was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27. He is considered one of the greatest literary figures of the so-called ''Silver Age'' of Spanish Literature, and he won numerou ...
would later add his own ''Soledad tercera'' (''Paráfrasis incompleta'')
The
first novel
A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...
of
John Crowley's ''
Aegypt'' series is named ''
The Solitudes'' and the Góngora poem is read by the protagonist, and is referenced throughout the plot.
English translations
*''The Solitudes of Don Luis De Gongora'' (1931) English, Spanish, Book edition: translated into English verse by Edward Meryon Wilson. Published by Gordon Fraser, Cambridge: The Minority Press, 1931. 80 pages. Referenced Dámaso Sr. Alonso's 1927 text of "Las Soledades", published by the Revista de occidenta., Occidenta Magazine, Madrid.--p. xviii. 80 pages
Based on Sr. Alonso's ... text of Las soledades, published by the Revista de occidenta."--p. xviii
*''The Solitudes of Don Luis De Gongora'' (1965) Translated by Edward Meryon Wilson, London: Cambridge University Press.
*''The Solitudes of Luis De Gongora'' (1968) Translated by Gilbert F. Cunningham, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press.
*''Luis De Gongora: Soledades'' (1997) Translated by Philip Polack, London: Bristol Classical Press.
*''The Solitudes'' (2011) Translated by Edith Grossman, New York: Penguin Books.
References
External links
Soledades
(text)
*{{in lang, es}
(text)
1613 books
Spanish poems