Luis Barahona de Soto facts for kids

Luis Barahona de Soto (born in 1548 – died on November 5, 1595) was an important poet from Spain. He lived during a time when Spanish literature was flourishing. Barahona de Soto is best known for his long poem, Primera parte de la Angélica, which continued a famous Italian story.

Who Was Luis Barahona de Soto?

Luis Barahona de Soto was born in a town called Lucena in Spain. He grew up and received his education in Granada, another city in Spain. After finishing his studies, he became a physician (a doctor) and worked in a town called Archidona. Even though he was a doctor, his real passion was writing poetry.

His Most Famous Poem

Barahona de Soto's most important work is a poem called Primera parte de la Angélica. He published this poem in 1586. It was a continuation of a very popular Italian epic poem called Orlando furioso. An "epic poem" is a long story poem that often tells about heroes and exciting adventures. Barahona de Soto's poem picked up where the Italian story left off, adding his own ideas and characters to the tale.

Hidden Treasures: More of His Writing

For a long time, people thought that the second part of Barahona de Soto's Angélica poem was lost forever. However, some pieces of it were later found! These fragments were discovered inside another old book called Diálogos de la monteria, which was first printed in 1890. This book also contained parts of another poem by Barahona de Soto called Los Principios del mundo. Many other beautiful short poems, known as "lyrics," written by him have also been found and published by a scholar named Francisco Rodríguez Marín.

What Made His Poetry Special?

Even a famous writer like Miguel de Cervantes, who wrote Don Quixote, praised Barahona de Soto. Cervantes once said that Barahona de Soto was "one of the best poets not only in Spain, but in the whole world." While this might have been a very friendly compliment, it shows that Barahona de Soto was highly respected by his fellow writers.

Barahona de Soto had a great imagination and a clever way of thinking. He was also very skilled at using poetic styles that had come to Spain from Italy. His poem Angélica was even reprinted in a special edition in 1904 by Archer M Huntington, showing its lasting importance.

See also

In Spanish: Luis Barahona de Soto para niños