Juan Meléndez Valdés (11 March 1754 – 24 May 1817) was a Spanish neoclassical

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

Biography

He was born at Ribera del Fresno, in what is now the

province of Badajoz The province of Badajoz ( ; ) is a province of western Spain located in the autonomous community of Extremadura. It was formed in 1833. It is bordered by the provinces of Cáceres in the north, Toledo, Ciudad Real in the east, Córdoba in ...

. Destined by his parents for the priesthood, he graduated in law at

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

, where he became indoctrinated with the ideas of the French philosophical school. In 1780 with ''Batilo'', a pastoral in the manner of Garcilaso de la Vega, he won a prize offered by the Spanish academy; next year he was introduced to Jovellanos, through whose influence he was appointed to a professorship at Salamanca in 1783. The pastoral scenes in ''Las Bodas de Camacho'' (1784) do not compensate for its undramatic nature, but it gained a prize from the municipality of

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. A volume of verses, lyrical and pastoral, published in 1785, caused Meléndez Valdés to be hailed as the first Spanish poet of his time. This success induced him to resign his chair at Salamanca, and try his fortune in politics. Once wore the friendship of Jovellanos obtained for him in 1789 a judgeship at

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

, whence he was transferred two years later to a post in the chancery court at

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

. In 1797 he dedicated to Godoy an enlarged edition of his poems, the new matter consisting principally of unsuccessful imitations of

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...

and Thomson; but the poet was rewarded by promotion to a high post in the treasury at Madrid. On the fall of Jovellanos in 1798 Meléndez Valdés was dismissed and exiled from the capital; he returned in 1808 and accepted office as a Minister of Public Instruction in 1811, under

Joseph Bonaparte Joseph Bonaparte (born Giuseppe di Buonaparte, ; ; ; 7 January 176828 July 1844) was a French statesman, lawyer, diplomat and older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. During the Napoleonic Wars, the latter made him King of Naples (1806–1808), an ...

. He had previously denounced the French usurper in his verses. He now outraged the feelings of his countrymen by the grossest flattery of his foreign master, and in 1813 he fled to Alais. It was around 1812 that he was promoted to be a member of the

Royal Spanish Academy The Royal Spanish Academy (, ; ) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with national language academies in 22 other Hispanophon ...

, too. Four years later he died in poverty at

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

. His remains were removed to Spain in 1866 and finally to Madrid, "Panteón de Hombres Ilustres", in 1900. Many of his successors, including Manuel José Quintana, recognized him as the outstanding poet of eighteenth-century Spain, and he continues to be judged so today. He was a close friend of the artist Francisco de Goya.

References

* * *http://www.las9musas.net/siglo18/mvaldes/bibmelen.html *http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/bib_autor/melendez/imagenes3b.shtml * W. E. Colford, ''Juan Meléndez Valdés. A Study in the transition from Neo-Classicism to Romanticism in Spanish Poetry''. New York, Hispanic Institute, (1942), 369 pages. * G. Demerson, ''Don Juan Meléndez Valdés et son temps''. Paris, Lib. Klincksieck, (1962) * R. Froldi, ''Un poeta illuminista: Meléndesz Valdés'', Milan, Ist. Editoriale Cisalpino, (1967) * G. Demerson, ''Don Juan Meléndez Valdés y su tiempo (1754 - 1817)'' Madrid, Ed. Taurus, (1971), 2 vols. Enlarged new edition, in Spanish, of the afore mentioned text. * R. M. Cox, ''Juan Meléndez Valdés'', New York Twayne Publications (1974), 179 pages.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Melendez Valdes, Juan 1754 births 1817 deaths People from Tierra de Barros Spanish poets Afrancesados Members of the Royal Spanish Academy Spanish male poets University of Salamanca alumni Academic staff of the University of Salamanca