From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
Biography
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer was born in 1836 with the last
name of Domínguez Bastida, but he chose his Flemish fa-
ther’s second last name of Bécquer, as the family was
known around town. His father, José Domínguez Bécquer,
who descended from an originally-Flemish family that
was well respected in Seville, was a painter of relatively
good repute in his native town. His paintings were sought
after, particularly among tourists visiting the area. José
had a great talent, and this greatly influenced young Gus-
tavo, who showed a love for painting and an innate abili-
ty for drawing and sketching at an early age. He was very
talented, and continued drawing throughout his life,
though it was never his main focus.
Bécquer was left an orphan at an early age: he lost
his father at age 5, and his mother only 6 years later.
Young Gustavo began his education at San Antonio Abad
school, until he was admitted as a student of San Telmo
school in 1846, a nautical institution. It was at that school
that he met Narciso Campillo, with whom he developed
a strong friendship. It was also with Campillo that Béc-
quer began to show his literary vocation, as the two boys
started writing while sharing time at San Telmo. A year
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, by his brother, Valeriano Bécquer later, the school was closed by royal order. Gustavo and
his siblings were then taken in by their uncle, Don Juan
Gustavo Adolfo Domínguez Bastida better known as
Bastida, de Vargas, who cared for the children as if they were
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (February 17, 1836, Seville - De-
Bécquer, his own. Shortly after, Gustavo went on to live with his
cember 22, 1870) was a Spanish post-romanticist writer godmother Doña Manuela Monahay, whose extensive li-
of poetry and short stories, now considered one of the brary provided young Bécquer with endless hours of en-
most important figures in Spanish literature. He adopted tertainment, which doña Manuela allowed with pleasure.
the alias of Bécquer as his brother Valeriano Bécquer, During this period, Campillo remembers that the poet
a painter, had done earlier. He was associated with the barely left his godmother’s house, as he spent hours de-
post-romanticism movement and wrote while realism vouring the volumes of her library. Gustavo’s godmother,
was enjoying success in Spain. He was moderately well a well-educated person and also well-to-do, supported
known during his life, but it was after his death that most his passion for the studies of arts and history. However,
of his works were published. His best known works are she wished for Gustavo to have a profession, so in 1850
the Rhymes and the Legends, usually published together as she got him admitted as a pupil into the studio of Don
Rimas y leyendas. These poems and tales are essential to Antonio Cabral Bejarano, at the Santa Isabel de Hungría
the study of Spanish literature and common reading for school. Gustavo worked at the studio for only two years,
high-school students in Spanish-speaking countries. when he moved to his uncle Joaquin’s studio and con-
His work approached the traditional poetry and tinued developing his skills alongside his brother Vale-
themes in a modern way, and he is considered the riano, who was already studying there. Gustavo and Va-
founder of modern Spanish lyricism. Bécquer’s influence leriano became from this point very close friends, and
on 20th century poets of the Spanish language can be felt they both influenced each other greatly throughout their
in the works of Octavio Paz and Giannina Braschi. lives. Luciano, another brother of the poet, also studied
with them during this period. The study of the arts of
drawing did not distract Gustavo from his passion for po-
etry; furthermore, his uncle Joaquin paid for his Latin
classes, which brought him closer to his beloved Horace,
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
one of his earliest influences. Joaquin also noticed the had a romance with another girl named Elisa Guillén
great aptitude of his nephew for words, and encouraged shortly before the marriage, which is also thought to
him to pursue writing as a career, almost behind doña have been arranged (if not somewhat forced) by the par-
Manuela’s back, with whom Gustavo was still living at the ents of the girl. The poet was not happy in the marriage,
time. and took any chance he got to follow his brother Valeri-
In 1853, at the age of seventeen, he moved to Madrid ano on his constant trips. Casta began to take up with a
to follow his dream of making a name for himself as a man with whom she had had a relationship shortly be-
poet. Along with his friends Narciso Campillo and Julio fore marrying Bécquer, something that was later blamed
Nombela, both poets also, they had dreamed of moving to on Bécquer’s trips and lack of attention by Casta’s ac-
Madrid together and selling their poetry for good mon- quaintances. The poet wrote very little about Casta, as
ey, though reality proved to be quite different. Nombela most of his inspiration at this time (as it is the case with
was the first to leave for Madrid that year, alongside the famous rima LIII) came from his feelings towards Elisa
his family. After long arguments over the trip with doña Guillén. Casta and Gustavo had three children: Gregorio
Manuela, who resisted the idea, Bécquer finally left for Gustavo Adolfo, Jorge, and Emilio Eusebio. The third child
Madrid in October of that same year, alone and quite was possibly fruit of the extramarital relations of Casta.
poor, except for the little money that his uncle provided In 1865, Bécquer stopped writing for the magazine El
for him. The third friend, Campillo, did not leave Seville Contemporáneo and began writing for another one called
until some time later. Life in Madrid was not easy for El museo universal. As it was customary for the poet, he did
the poet. The dream of fortune that had guided his steps not hold this job for long, and was appointed to a gov-
towards the city were replaced by a reality of poverty ernment post, fiscal de novelas (censor of novels) by his
and disillusionment. The two friends were soon joined friend, the Spanish minister González Bravo. This was a
by Luis García Luna, also a poet from Seville, who shared well-paid job, which he held until 1868. During this pe-
the same dreams of greatness. The three began writing riod, the poet concentrated on finishing his Libro de los
and trying to make themselves known as authors, with- gorriones (Book of the sparrows), so he did not publish a
out much luck. Bécquer, the only one of the three with- great deal of his works. The book, which had been com-
out a real job and a steady income, went on to live with pleted and given to Bravo to be published, as he had of-
an acquaintance of Luna, doña Soledad. fered so to Bécquer himself, was lost after the political
After several failed commercial attempts with his revolution of 1868. It was at this time that the poet left
friends, the writer finally accepted a job as a writer for Spain for Paris, although he returned not long after. By
a small newspaper. This, however, did not last long, and 1869, the poet and his brother went back to Madrid to-
soon Gustavo was out of a job again. It was then that, in gether, along with Gustavo’s sons. Here, he started re-
1855, Valeriano arrived in Madrid, and Gustavo went on writing the book that had gone missing the year before.
to live with his brother. They would never be apart after Gustavo was, by then, living a bohemian life, as his
that. friends later described. With the sole purpose of putting
After a few other unsuccessful attempts at publishing bread on the table, Bécquer went back to writing for El
their work, Bécquer and Luna began working together museo universal, and then left to take the job of literary
writing comic plays for theater, as a means of making director of a new artistic magazine called La ilustración
a living. This collaboration went on until 1860. At that de Madrid. Valeriano also collaborated with this project.
time, Bécquer worked intensively on his belated project Gustavo’s publications on this magazine consisted mostly
Historia de los templos de España (History of Spain’s tem- of short texts to accompany his brother’s illustrations.
ples), the first volume of which saw the light of day in Around this time, between 1868 and 1869, the two broth-
1857. It was also during this period that he would meet ers published a book of satiric and erotic illustrations un-
the young Cuban poet Rodríguez Correa, who would later der a pseudonym, which humorously critiqued the life of
play a major role in collecting his works for posthumous the royalty in Spain, called Los Borbones en pelotas.
publication. It was around this time, between 1857 and In 1870, Valeriano fell ill and died on September 23.
1858, that Bécquer became ill, and was left to the care of This had a terrible impact on Gustavo, who suffered a se-
his brother and friends. Shortly after, he met by chance a rious depression as a result. After publishing a few short
girl by the name of Julia Espín, with whom he fell deeply works on the magazine, the poet also became gravely ill
in love, and who also served as an inspiration for much of and died in poverty in Madrid, on the 22nd of December,
his romantic poetry. This love, however, was unrequited. almost three months after his beloved brother. The cause
Around 1860, Rodríguez Correa found Bécquer a gov- of death is debated: while his friends described symp-
ernment position, from where he was fired shortly after toms of pulmonary tuberculosis, a later study indicates
for spending his time writing and drawing while on the that he may have died of liver complications. Some of
job. his last words are said to be “Acordaos de mis niños”
In 1861, Bécquer met Casta Esteban Navarro, and (“remember-don’t forget- my children”.)
married her in May 1861. Bécquer was believed to have
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
After his death, his friend Rodríguez Correa, with the ¡Esas... no volverán!
collaboration of Campillo, Nombela, and Augusto Ferrán,
collected and organized his manuscripts for publication, In English:
as a way to help the widow and children of the poet. The The dark swallows will return
first edition of their effort was published in 1871, and a
their nests upon your balcony, to hang.
second volume was published six years later. Further re-
visions came out on the editions released in 1881, 1885, And again with their wings upon its windows,
and 1898.
In such prose tales as El Rayo de Luna, El Beso, and La Playing, they will call.
Rosa de Pasión, Bécquer is manifestly influenced by E.T.A.
Hoffmann, and as a poet he has analogies with Heine. His But those who used to slow their flight
work is unfinished and unequal, but it is singularly free
your beauty and my happiness to watch,
from the rhetoric characteristic of his native Andalusia,
and its lyrical ardor is of a beautiful sweetness and sin- Those, that learned our names,
cerity. He also wrote in an epistolary style: Cartas desde mi
Celda – written during his travels to Veruela’s Monastery Those... will not come back!
– or La Mujer de Piedra or little theatre plays La novia y el
pantalón. It is not so known he was an excellent graphic The refrain "¡Esas... no volverán!" appears in the 20th
artist. Most of his work concentrated on spontaneity of novel Yo-Yo Boing! by Latina poet Giannina Braschi, who
love and the solitude of nature. His work, and in particu- references Bécquer’s swallows to describe the sorrow and
lar his Rimas, are considered some of the most important angst of a failed romance.
work in Spanish poetry, greatly influencing the follow- In Rhymes (Rhyme 21) Becquer wrote one of the most
ing generations of writers, notably authors like Antonio famous poems in the Spanish language. The poem can be
Machado and Juan Ramón Jiménez, writers belonging to read as a response to a lover who asked what was poetry:
the Generation of ’27, such as Federico García Lorca and ¿Qué es poesía?, dices mientras clavas
Jorge Guillén, and many Hispano-American writers like
Rubén Darío. en mi pupila tu pupila azul.
¡Qué es poesía! ¿Y tú me lo preguntas?
Works
Poesía... eres tú.
Rhymes A rough translation into English reads:
Bécquer’s poems were recited from memory by his con- What is poetry? you ask, while fixing
temporaries, and greatly influenced the generations af-
terwards. Modeled in brief stanza forms, both musical your blue pupil on mine.
and erotic, Bécquer’s 98 Rimas came to a few thousand
lines, considered the foundation of modern Spanish po- What is poetry! And you’re asking me’?
etry. His book was composed after his death from many
Poetry... is you.
sources, the primary one hand-written by Bécquer him-
self, The sparrows’ book. Birds are a motif that shows up
Legends
frequently in Bécquer’s canon, like in "Rima LIII" (Rhyme
53), where swallows appear as a sign of the end to a pas- The Legends are a variety of romantic tales. As the name
sionate relationship. implies, most have a legendary tone. Some depict su-
Volverán las oscuras golondrinas pernatural and semi-religious (Christian) events, like The
mount of the souls, The green eyes, The rose of the Passion
En tu balcón sus nidos a colgar (a blood libel) with references to the Holy Child of La
Guardia and The miserere (a religious song). Others cover
Y otra vez con el ala a sus cristales, more or less normal events from a romantic view, like
The moonlight ray and Three dates.
Jugando llamarán.
The Leyendas (Legends) are:
Pero aquellas que el vuelo refrenaban • El caudillo de las manos rojas, 1858.
• La vuelta del combate, 1858. (Continued: El caudillo de
Tu hermosura y mi dicha a contemplar. las manos rojas).
• La cruz del diablo, 1860.
Aquellas que aprendieron nuestros nombres, • La ajorca de oro, 1861.
• El monte de las ánimas, 1861.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
• Los ojos verdes, 1861. • Blanc, Mario A. "Las rimas de Bécquer: su
• Maese Pérez, el organista, 1861. modernidad". 1ra ed. Madrid: Pliegos, 1988.
• Creed en Dios, 1862. • Montesinos, Rafael. "Bécquer: Biografía e imagen".
• El rayo de luna, 1862. Barcelona: RM, 1977.
• El Miserere, 1862. • Carlos BOUSOÑO, "Las pluralidades paralelísticas en
• Tres fechas, 1862. Bécquer", en ALONSO, Dámaso y BOUSOÑO, Carlos,
• El Cristo de la calavera, 1862. Seis calas en la expresión literaria española, Madrid,
• El gnomo, 1863. Gredos, 1951.
• La cueva de la mora, 1863. • Giannina Braschi, "La poesía de Bécquer: El tiempo
• La promesa, 1863. de los objetos o los espacios en la luz", Universidad
• La corza blanca, 1863. Estatal de Nueva York-Stony Brook, 1981.
• El beso, 1863. • David K.Heerrzberger, "The contrasting poetic
• La Rosa de Pasión, 1864. theories of Poe and Bécquer", Romance Notes, 21, (3),
• La creación, 1861. 1980.
• ¡Es raro!, 1861. • William Samuel Hendrix, "From the Spanish of
• El aderezo de las esmeraldas, 1862. Gustavo Bécquer", Hispania, California, V, 1922.
• La venta de los gatos, 1862.
•
•
Apólogo, 1863.
Un boceto del natural, 1863.
External links
• Un lance pesado. • Full works of Bécquer, in Spanish
• Memorias de un pavo, 1865. • An annotated edition of Rhymes , in Spanish
• Las hojas secas. • Works by Gustavo Adolfo Becquer at Project
• Historia de una mariposa y una araña. Gutenberg
• La voz del silencio, 1923, Released by Fernando Iglesias • Obra de Bécquer
Figueroa. • Audiobooks. Read, listen along and download the
• La fe salva, 1923, Released by Fernando Iglesias Rhymes and Legends in Spanish. (Some in English)
Figueroa. Free
• La mujer de piedra, Unfinished. This article incorporates text from a publication now
• Amores prohibidos. in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Ency-
• El rey Alberto. clopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University
Press.
Narrative Persondata
He also wrote some narrative pieces in prose, "Narra- Name Becquer, Gustavo Adolfo
ciones", which are loaded with imagination and implau- Alternative names
sibility, such as "Memorias de un Pavo" (Memoirs of a
Turkey) in which, as the title implies, he describes the Short description
trip of a turkey from its home farm to the city, and its Date of birth February 17, 1836
purchase to be eaten, when its writings are discovered in- Place of birth
side the already cooked body.
Date of death December 22, 1870
Place of death
References
• Díaz, José Pedro. "Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer: vida y
poesía". 2da ed. Madrid: Gredos, 1964.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gustavo_Adolfo_B%C3%A9cquer&oldid=467495854"
Categories:
• 1836 births
• 1870 deaths
• People from Seville
• Spanish people of Dutch descent
• Spanish people of Flemish descent
• Spanish poets
• Spanish-language poets
• Spanish poetry
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
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