The Pine of Formentor ( ca, Lo Pi de Formentor, es, El pino de Formentor) is one of the most well-known and celebrated poems by

Miquel Costa i Llobera Miquel Costa i Llobera (born 10 March 1854 in Pollença, Spain; deceased 16 October 1922 in Palma de Mallorca, Spain), was a Spanish poet from Majorca, who mainly wrote in Catalan language. He is regarded as a prominent figure of Catalan poetry ...

. Technically, it is considered as the culmination of the Romantic poetry in the

Catalan language Catalan (; autonym: , ), known in the Valencian Community and Carche as ''Valencian'' (autonym: ), is a Western Romance language. It is the official language of Andorra, and an official language of three autonomous communities in eastern ...

History

Miquel Costa i Llobera wrote the poem in Catalan language in 1875, during his first period of production. To compose it, he took inspiration from the majestic landscapes and visions of the pine trees rooted in the cliffs of the

Formentor Cap de Formentor () is the northernmost point of Majorca, on the Formentor peninsula. Location Cap de Formentor is located on the northernmost point of the Balearic Island Majorca in Spain. Its highest point, ''Fumart'', is 384m above sea leve ...

peninsula on Mallorca island. Costa i Llobera frequented those sites from an early age. The landscape of Formentor portrayed by the poet is real, whilst also evolving into a literary category, becoming a symbol of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

. Years later, the poet published a version of the poem in Spanish.

Structure of the poem

The poem is written entirely in

alexandrine Alexandrine is a name used for several distinct types of verse line with related metrical structures, most of which are ultimately derived from the classical French alexandrine. The line's name derives from its use in the Medieval French ''Roman ...

verses (6+6 syllables), with caesurae in the middle. It is composed of quintain stanzas, with an ABAAB rhyme. The last line of each quintain contains only 6 syllables. Its beginning is often quoted in Catalan: Whilst Costa i Llobera himself would publish a translation years later, in Spanish. The same first stanza reads:

Legacy

The poem has been sung, among others, by Spanish singer

Maria del Mar Bonet Maria del Mar Bonet i Verdaguer (Balearic Catalan: ; born 1947 in Palma, Majorca) is a Spanish singer from the island of Majorca. Early life and career Bonet studied ceramics in the school of arts, but eventually decided to dedicate herself to ...

. Artists such as Joan Miró and

Hermen Anglada Camarasa Hermenegildo Anglada Camarasa (1871–1959), known in Catalan as Hermenegild (or Hermen) Anglada Camarasa, was a Catalan and Balearic Spanish painter. Life and career Born in Barcelona, he studied there at the Llotja School. His early work had ...

used it as inspiration for their paintings.

References

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History

Structure of the poem

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading