José Ignacio Javier Oriol Encarnación de Espronceda y Delgado (25 March 1808 – 23 May 1842) was a Romantic Spanish poet, one of the most representative authors of the 19th century. He was influenced by

Eugenio de Ochoa Eugenio de Ochoa (1815–72) was a Spanish author, writer, and translator. References *Richard Eugene Chandler and Kessel Schwartz''A New History of Spanish Literature''.Louisiana State University Press, 1991. ; pp. 337–338 External ...

, Federico Madrazo, Alfred Tennyson,

Richard Chenevix Trench Richard Chenevix Trench (Richard Trench until 1873; 9 September 1807 – 28 March 1886) was an Anglican archbishop and poet. Life He was born in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Richard Trench (1774–1860), barrister-at-law, and the Dublin writ ...

and Diego de Alvear.

Life

Espronceda was born in

Almendralejo Almendralejo () is a town in the Province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. It is situated 45 km south-east of Badajoz, on the main road and rail route between Mérida and Seville. , it has a population of 33,975. It was the site of a battle ...

, at 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 the s ...

. As a youth, he studied at the Colegio San Mateo at

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, having

Alberto Lista Alberto Rodríguez de Lista y Aragón (October 15, 1775October 5, 1848), Spanish poet and educationalist, was born in Seville. Biography He began teaching at the age of fifteen, and when little over twenty was made professor of elocution and ...

as a teacher. When he was 15 years old, he formed a secret society named "''Los Numantinos''" alongside his friends Ventura de la Vega and

Patricio de la Escosura Patricio de la Escosura Morrogh (5 November 1807–1878) was a Spanish politician, journalist, playwright and author associated with the Romantic school Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, ...

, conspiring against Ferdinand VII and intending to avenge the death of

Rafael del Riego Rafael del Riego y Flórez (7 April 1784 – 7 November 1823) was a Spanish general and liberal politician, who played a key role in the outbreak of the Liberal Triennium (''Trienio liberal'' in Spanish). Early life Riego was born on 7 April ...

. For this, he was imprisoned in a monastery and exiled. Afterward, he left Spain and lived in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

, Belgium, France, England and

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former Provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

. On his return to Spain in 1833, he became active in the extreme left-wing of Spanish political culture. Espronceda is also known for his affair with Teresa Mancha, for whom he wrote "Canto a Teresa" (from ''El diablo mundo''). He died of

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

in 1842. In 1902, his body was moved to Panteón de Hombres Ilustres, Spain.

Literary production

Having been inspired to a literary career by his teacher

, Espronceda began to write the historical poem ''El Pelayo'' during his stay in the monastery. The poem was never completed. Later he wrote the novel ''Sancho Saldaña''. His other important works include ''

El estudiante de Salamanca ''The Student of Salamanca'' (Spanish: ''El estudiante de Salamanca'') is a work by Spanish Romantic poet José de Espronceda. It was published in fragments beginning in 1837; the complete poem was published in 1840 in the volume ''Poesías''. Par ...

'', whose main character is Don Félix de Montemar, '' El mendigo'', '' ¡Guerra!'', '' Al dos de mayo'' and '' El diablo mundo'', long lyric poems, the latter remained unfinished. Also important were ''A Jarifa en una orgía'', ''El verdugo'', ''El canto del cosaco'', ''La canción del pirata'' and ''Himno al sol''. Many of his works display the tendencies of

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

, and along with

José Zorrilla José Zorrilla y Moral () was a Spanish poet and dramatist, who became National Laureate. Biography Zorrilla was born in Valladolid to a magistrate in whom Ferdinand VII placed special confidence. He was educated by the Jesuits at the Real Sem ...

he is considered Spain's most important Romantic poet, as well as the most rebellious. In 2006 Diego Martinez Torron has published the first annotated edition of the complete works of José de Espronceda with unpublished text, and with also unpublished text in ''El otro Espronceda''.El otro Espronceda, edicion de Diego Martinez Torron, Sevilla, Alfar, 2016, (Alfar Universidad, 215)

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * Geoffrey Brereton, ''Quelques précisions sur les sources d'Espronceda'' (Paris, 1933)

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Espronceda, Jose de 1808 births 1842 deaths People from Almendralejo 19th-century Spanish poets Romantic poets Writers from Extremadura Spanish male poets 19th-century Spanish male writers Spanish literature Romanticism