Poem Song of Autumn in Spring (Divine Treasure Youth): Analysis and Meaning
The poem "Song of Autumn in Spring" is one of the most famous poems by the famous Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío, the greatest exponent of Hispano-American modernism. In it, with a general tone of longing, he refers to the theme of the loss of youth and the feeling of melancholy that it produces.
The poem, as such, was published in the collection of poems Songs of life and hope, from 1905, which is considered not only one of the author's best books, but one of the most accomplished works of Latin American modernism.
Modernism, a literary trend of which Rubén Darío was its most prominent advocate, set out to renew literature in the Spanish language, and characterized by its formal perfection, a precious language, the use of images of great beauty and a taste for the exotic, among others things.
Poem "Song of autumn in spring"
Youth, divine treasure,
and you'll not return!
When I want to cry, I do not cry...
and sometimes I cry without wanting to ...Plural has been the celestial
story of my heart.
She was a sweet girl, in this
world of mourning and affliction.She looked like the pure dawn;
she was smiling like a flower.
It was her dark hair
made of night and pain.I was shy as a child.
She naturally was,
for my love made of ermine,
Herodias and Salome ...Youth, divine treasure,
and you'll not return!
When I want to cry, I do not cry...
and sometimes I cry without wanting to ...And more comforting and more
flattering and expressive,
the other was more sensitive
which I never thought to find.Well, to his continuous tenderness
a violent passion united.
In a sheer chiffon peplo
a bacchante was wrapped ...In her arms she took my dream
and she cradled him like a baby ...
And she killed you, sad and small,
lacking in light, lacking in faith ...Youth, divine treasure,
You left never to return!
When I want to cry, I do not cry...
and sometimes I cry without wanting to ...Another judged that she was my mouth
the case of her passion;
and that she would gnaw me, crazy,
with his teeth the heart.Putting on a love of excess
look at her will,
while they were hug and kiss
synthesis of eternity;and of our light meat
always imagine an Eden,
without thinking that spring
and the meat ends too ...Youth, divine treasure,
and you'll not return!
When I want to cry, I do not cry...
and sometimes I cry without wanting to.And the others! In so many climates
in so many lands they are always,
if not pretexts of my rhymes
ghosts of my heart.In vain I looked for the princess
that she was sad to expect.
Life is hard. Bitter and heavy.
There is no princess to sing anymore!But despite the stubborn time,
my thirst for love has no end;
with gray hair, I get closer
to the rose bushes in the garden ...Youth, divine treasure,
and you'll not return!
When I want to cry, I do not cry...
and sometimes I cry without wanting to ...
But the golden dawn is mine!
Analysis of the poem
"Autumn song in spring" it is a poem that talks about lost youth, about illusions and the passage of time.
It is a poem where the poetic voice, from an already mature age, moves between the longing for the past and the old loves, and disenchantment with life, which enters the harsh twilight of old age, leaving behind youth.
The title itself collects two very clear metaphors in this regard: that of autumn as the twilight of life, as the arrival of old age, and that of spring as youth, greenery and the freshness of life.
One of the things the poem is best known for is its famous chorus, which is repeated several times, giving it great musicality: “Youth, divine treasure, / you're leaving now and never come back! / When I want to cry, I don't cry... / and sometimes I cry without wanting to”.
Between each chorus, the love experiences of the poetic voice are referred to, ranging from innocence to disappointment and excesses, to conclude bitterly concluding that "there is no princess who sing".
The musicality of its rhythm and the precious style of its language contrasts with the melancholy of its theme, with limpid, dazzling images of great beauty.
The last verse, "But the Golden Dawn is mine!", Unexpectedly breaks with the general structure of the composition, leaving in the air that enigmatic statement that opens up to hope.
Verse type, rhyme and meter
The poem is composed of seventeen serventesios, that is, stanzas of four lines. The verses are of major art, nine syllables, also known as eneasyllables. Its rhyme is consonant and crossed: ABAB.
It has a chorus that is inserted every three verses, and that gives it great musicality: “Juventud, divine treasure, / you're leaving now, never to return! / When I want to cry, I don't cry... / and sometimes I cry without want".
Rhetorical figures
Pun
The pun consists of rearranging the elements of a sentence into a subsequent sentence. A new meaning results from this inversion, which contrasts with that of the first sentence. For example: "When I want to cry, I don't cry, / and sometimes I cry without meaning to!"
Allegory
Allegory is the representation of an idea or concept through a set of allusive or metaphorical images. In this poem, on two occasions the love-disappointment situation is raised through allegories. For example:
- "In her arms he took my dream / and lulled him like a baby... / and killed him, sad and small, / lacking light, lacking faith ..."
- "Another judged that it was my mouth / her passion case / and that she would gnaw at my heart with her teeth, madly."
Hyperbaton
In the hyperbaton, the current order of words is altered to increase their expressiveness. We observe several in this poem. For example:
- "Plural has been the celestial / story of my heart."
- "Well, to her continuous tenderness / a violent passion united. / In a sheer chiffon peplum / a bacchante was wrapped ..."
Metaphor
The metaphor is the subtle relationship that is established between two ideas or images. For example:
- "Youth, divine treasure."
- "It was her dark hair / made of night and pain."
Simile
The simile establishes a comparison between two elements in the text. It is usually introduced by relationship elements. For example:
- "He looked like the pure dawn; / he smiled What a flower".
- "I was shy What child".
Encirclement
The overlapping occurs when a phrase is straddling two verses, since the pause of the verse does not coincide with the morphosyntactic pause. For example:
- "I was a sweet girl, in this / world of mourning and affliction."
- "The other was more sensitive, / and more comforting and more / flattering and expressive"
Epithet
The epithet is a qualifying adjective that highlights the characteristics of the noun, giving it greater expressiveness. For example: "Divine treasure".
Synesthesia
Synesthesia is a rhetorical figure that consists of mixing different types of sensations or perceptions, be they visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory or gustatory. For example:
- "Celeste history".
- "Sweet girl"
Prosopopoeia
Youth is treated as if it were an animated being. For example: "Youth (...), / you're leaving and never come back!"
Apostrophe
The poetic voice addresses or challenges the Youth, in which we can observe an apostrophic attitude. For example: "Youth, divine treasure / you're leaving and never come back."
See also:
- Sonatina Poem by Rubén Darío.
- Nocturnal Poem by Rubén Darío.
About Rubén Darío
Félix Rubén García Sarmiento, better known as Rubén Darío, was born in Nicaragua in 1867. He was a poet, journalist and diplomat. He is considered the most important representative of literary modernism and one of the most influential poets in Spanish literature in the last century. He is also known by the name of the prince of Castilian letters. In his literary work, the poetry books stand out Blue (1888), Profane prose (1896) and Songs of life and hope (1905). She died in Nicaragua in 1916.
