Jorge Manrique facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jorge Manrique
Portrait of Jorge Manrique by Juan de Borgoña
Born	c. 1440 Paredes de Nava, Palencia, or Segura de la Sierra, Jaén
Died	April 24, 1479(1479-04-24) (aged 38–39) Santa María del Campo, Cuenca
Occupation	Poet and soldier
Spouse(s)	Guiomar de Castañeda
Children	2 Luis Manrique de Castañeda Luisa Manrique de Castañeda
Parents	Rodrigo Manrique (father) Mencía de Figueroa (mother)
Relatives	House of Lara

Jorge Manrique (around 1440 – April 24, 1479) was an important poet from Castile, a region in Spain. His most famous work is called Coplas por la muerte de su padre, which means Verses on the death of his father. People still read this poem today.

Jorge Manrique was also a soldier. He supported Queen Isabel I of Castile during a civil war. This war was against her half-brother, Enrique IV, who wanted his daughter, Juana, to become queen. Jorge Manrique died in 1479 while trying to capture the castle of Garcimuñoz. This castle was defended by the Marquis of Villena, who was an enemy of Queen Isabel.

Jorge Manrique came from a noble family that included many important poets. His great-uncle was Íñigo López de Mendoza, 1st Marquis of Santillana, and his uncle was Gómez Manrique. A common theme in his writing was tempus fugit, which means "time flies."

Jorge Manrique's Poems

Jorge Manrique wrote many different types of poems. He wrote love poems that followed the "courtly love" style, which was popular at the time. He also wrote two satires, which are poems that make fun of something.

His shorter poems were called canciones (songs) or esparsas (short poems, usually one stanza). He also wrote preguntas y respuestas (questions and answers) and glosas de mote (interpretations of refrains). Many of his poems can be found in an old book called the Cancionero general from 1511.

His Famous Poem: Coplas por la Muerte de su Padre

Coplas por la Muerte de su Padre (which means "Stanzas about the Death of his Father") is Jorge Manrique's most famous poem. The famous Spanish writer Lope de Vega once said it was "worthy to be printed in letters of gold."

This poem is a tribute to his father, Rodrigo Manrique, who passed away on November 11, 1476. Jorge believed his father lived a life that was truly worth remembering.

The Three Lives

In his poem, Jorge Manrique talks about three different kinds of lives:

• The earthly life: This is the life we live on Earth, and it eventually ends with death.
• The life of fame: This life lasts longer because people remember you for your great deeds.
• The eternal life: This is the life after death, which has no end.

The first 24 stanzas of the poem talk about how people often focus too much on earthly life. They also feature some famous comparisons. For example, life is compared to a road full of dangers and chances. It's also compared to a river that flows into the sea, which represents death.

Here are some parts of the poem:

I

III

The Ubi Sunt Question

In stanzas 15-24, the poem asks a famous question: ubi sunt? This Latin phrase means "Where are they?" Manrique uses this question to remember famous people from Spanish history who have died. He shows that even powerful people and grand events eventually fade away.

XVI

The last part of the poem (stanzas 25-32) focuses on his father. It talks about how his father's great deeds allow him to live on in people's memories. The poem ends with a short conversation where his father meets Death, who respectfully takes his soul to Heaven (stanzas 33-39). The final stanza (40) offers comfort to the family.

Poem Style and Structure

Jorge Manrique used clear and simple language in his poem. He focused on the meaning of his words rather than fancy decorations or difficult comparisons.

The poem has 40 stanzas. Each stanza has 12 lines. These lines alternate between eight syllables and four syllables, and they follow a specific rhyme pattern (ABc ABc DEf DEf). Every third line is shorter, which is called a quebrado (half line). This special verse form is now known as the copla manriqueña (Manriquean stanza). Because his poem was so popular, this style of writing became well-known. The mix of long and short lines made the poem sound both serious and light.

Coplas por la muerte de su padre has been translated into English several times. One famous translation was done by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. However, some people say Longfellow's translation is not exactly like the original. For example, the lines "Nuestras vidas son los ríos/ que van a dar en la mar,/ que es el morir" (meaning "Our lives are rivers/ That will lead to the sea/ Which is death") were translated by Longfellow as "Our lives are rivers, gliding free/ To that unfathomed, boundless sea,/ The silent grave!" This shows Longfellow used more flowery language than the original.

Images for kids

• 

  First page of the Coplas by Jorge Manrique.

See also

In Spanish: Jorge Manrique para niños