Parts of the Rhymes of Bécquer

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In this new lesson from a PROFESSOR we enter the world of literary creation of the most famous romantic poet in Spain to discover what are the parts of Rhymes by Bécquer.

This poetic composition is one of the most curious of all that Bécquer published. First, because it was the only one who could not see him in life, since he died in 1870, being his friends who were in charge of seeing the light in 1871 under the initial title of The Book of Sparrows.

Second, Bécquer had to write twice his Rhymes. His first manuscript was lost in 1868 during the September revolution that would give way to the first democratic period in Spain. He would later rewrite them from memory, but he could no longer see them published in his lifetime.

Index

1. The first part of the Rimas de Bécquer
2. The second part
3. The third and the fourth part of the Rhymes
4. Formal characteristics of the Bécquer rhymes

The parts of the Rhymes of Bécquer there are four, since the poet differentiated them in various series where each of them is dedicated to a different theme. Total, there are 76 compositions.

Throughout the four series created by Bécquer, he takes a walk through the life of man that begins with creation poetic in its purest form, it continues with the evolution of the love process and ends in the failure of love and in death and loneliness.

The first part goes from Rhymes I to XI, and this is where the author reflects on inspiration and mysteries of creation. We must not forget that Bécquer considered poetry as something natural in the world, since anything could be lyrical, be it a pretty smile or a beautiful landscape or a flower.

This part is of the best known of the four series, since it is very natural and with a little sensitivity you can discover many secrets of the author's intention.

In general, in these first 11 rhymes the author talks about love always in comparison to the woman and her beauty, combining everything in a poetic compendium of great sensitivity, which shows an enormous capacity to express and create in Bécquer.

Bécquer bases a large part of his Rhymes in his personal experience. Written in the twilight of his life, with a serious illness that appeared at the end of his days, the rest of series are somewhat more complex than the first, although the second still holds much of his hope and joy.

The second part of the series is about Rhyme XII to XXIX. It is extensive and describes the sweet emotions of him when his love is reciprocated, something that makes him very happy.

This part is composed of short poems that are based on personal memories of him, transmitting his past emotions with great feeling while seeking the complicity of the reader.

However, from the third series his bitterness begins. This goes from Rhyme XXX to LI, and in it the theme focuses on the broken relationships, when they no longer have a fix or solution.

Here, the poet considers himself as ME, and his beloved is called YOU. That is, a kind of fight is established in which both people in the relationship will lose, making the situation impossible.

Finally, we have the fourth part, which goes from Rhyme LII to LXXVI, that is, a total of 76. This is the darkest, and perhaps the most profound and complex, since they are his reflections on the uncompromising death that looks out, and no protest or posture will serve to avoid his fate alone. The author explains his fears in profusion of detail.

Be that as it may, despite the four differentiated parts of the Rhymes de Bécquer, we observe certain formal characteristics in its composition. For example, the Heine's romantic influence, German poet, linked to the popular Andalusian lyric. We must not forget that the author was Sevillian.

Influenced by romanticism content is always evocative and intimate, seeking personal feeling through a formal style as simple as it is perfect in the construction of each rhyme. Becquer use recurring resources very common in the 76 Rhymes that complete the entire composition, such as contrasts, antithesis and hyperbaton. Thus he achieves semantic and syntactic parallels to which he adds anaphora.

In short, a masterpiece of the author that has gone down in history as the most famous composition of him along with his Legends.

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