Rubén Darío: most important works

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Are you interested in knowing the most important works of Rubén Darío? You have come to the right place, because in this lesson that begins here from a PROFESSOR, we are going to discover the best titles that came out of the wonderful pen of this Nicaraguan author. Maximum exponent of modernism in Spanish, we will know some interesting facts from his biography, as well as his most famous writings. This author stood out above all thanks to his knack for poetry, which was the genre that gave him the highest returns, and where he probably created his most intimate and popular lyrics. But, despite the fact that he did not get to publish any novels, except stories by chapters, he was a great prose writer, as we see below. We started!

Worse, before getting to know the most important works of Rubén Darío, let's discover a little more about the poet and writer. Popularly known as Prince of Castilian Letters, he was born in 1867 and died at only 49 years old, in 1916. However, despite his youth, he had a very full life, in which he traveled throughout Latin America, and became friends with famous authors such as

He is considered the maximum representative of modernism in the Spanish language, greatly influenced by French currents during his years when he lived in Paris, mainly from authors such as Téophile Gautier or Victor Hugo.

He was a man of difficult character, very bohemian, vital and passionate, but also idealistic. He gave himself with force to alcohol and women, and a good part of his contradictions are found in his attitude, now religious, now pagan. All this led him to live great euphoric outbursts in the face of deep depressions. However, he was generous, endearing, a good friend and much loved by his loved ones.

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Among the most important works of Rubén Darío, stands out above any other his poetic production. He possessed all the elements of modernism in formal and rhythmic, as well as in themes and exoticism. He sought beauty through words and gave art supremacy over other interests:

• BlueIt was his third book, published in 1888, and the most important. A masterpiece that he wrote when he was only 21 years old and dedicated to his childhood and youth. It was revolutionary, since he worked all the metrics, styles and vocabularies, something never seen before, and less in someone so young. Without a doubt, he is very representative of world modernism that includes mythological themes such as fairies or ancient Greece.
• Profane prose: a book of poems published in 1896 that enshrines him as the leader of the modernist movement. His poetry is disturbing and contains metrics never before read in Spanish. It has a clear French inspiration, although there are also influences from other authors, such as Gabriele D’Annunzio or Edgar Allan Poe. In it there are very varied themes, from freedom to love or paganism and Christianity.
• Songs of life and hope: this book is published in 1905, and is considered like the most important work in verse of him. He has a strong command of rhythm and handles language flexibly. He deals with themes like American identity, but there is also social protest, existential anguish and even eroticism. A fully mature author is observed.

Although Darío did not cultivate the novel, and all his attempts ended up truncated, he did write stories for parts for newspapers, which ended in six works that have subsequently been published as books complete. In this case, we can highlight names like On the island of gold or The gold of Mallorca, where we find a powerful prose.

He also posted large number of stories in newspapers, although never as part of a book, but always for journalistic purposes. Today they can be found compiled in various volumes, since in total they reach almost one hundred.