''Las Soledades'' (''Solitudes'') is a poem by
Luis de Góngora, composed in 1613 in
silva (Spanish strophe) In Spanish poetry, a silva is a poetic form consisting of in eleven- and seven- syllable lines: hendecasyllables (''endecasílabos'') and heptasyllables (''heptasílabos''), the majority of which are rhymed although there is no fixed order or rhyme, ...
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) 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
''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...
(who composed an ''Antidote against the Soledades''). The work, however, was defended by Salcedo Coronel,
José Pellicer
José Pellicer de Ossau y Tovar (1602-1679) was a Spanish publicist for Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares, poet, genealogist, and historian of Castile and Aragon.
Life
José Pellicer was born in Zaragoza. He published a commentary on Lu ...
,
Francisco Fernández de Córdoba
Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''.
Nicknames
In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...
(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, and overseas,
Juan de Espinosa Medrano
Juan de Espinosa Medrano (Calcauso?, 1630? – Cuzco, 1688), known in history as ''Lunarejo'' (or "The Spotty-Faced"), was an Indigenous cleric, sacred preacher, writer, playwright, theologian and polymath from the Viceroyalty of Peru. He is th ...
y Sor
Juana Inés de la Cruz.
Rafael Alberti would later add his own ''Soledad tercera'' (''Paráfrasis incompleta'')
The
first novel 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