Soledades facts for kids
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Las Soledades (which means The Solitudes) is a famous long poem written by Luis de Góngora. He started writing it in 1613. The poem uses a special Spanish poetry style called silva (Spanish strophe), which mixes lines of eleven syllables and seven syllables.
Góngora planned for Las Soledades to have four main parts. He wanted to name them after different types of lonely places:
- "Solitude of the Fields" (Soledad de los campos)
- "Solitude of the Riverbanks" (Soledad de las riberas)
- "Solitude of the Forests" (Soledad de las selvas)
- "Solitude of the Wasteland" (Soledad del yermo)
However, Góngora only finished the dedication to the Duke of Béjar and the first two parts of the poem. The second part was never fully completed. Some experts, like John Beverley, think that this "unfinished" ending might actually be a clever way for the poem to connect back to its beginning.
About the Poem
When Las Soledades was first written, it caused a lot of discussion. Many people found its language very difficult to understand. It also used many references to old myths and scholarly topics without clearly trying to teach a lesson.
Arguments For and Against
Some people, like the Count of Salinas and Juan Martínez de Jáuregui y Aguilar, strongly criticized the poem. Jáuregui even wrote a book called Antidote against the Soledades.
But many others defended the work, saying it was brilliant. These supporters included Salcedo Coronel, José Pellicer, Francisco Fernández de Córdoba, the Count of Villamediana, and Gabriel Bocángel. Even far away, people like Juan de Espinosa Medrano and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz praised it.
Later Influence
Much later, the famous poet Rafael Alberti added his own "third solitude" (Soledad tercera), which was an incomplete version of what he imagined Góngora's third part might have been like.
The first novel in John Crowley's Aegypt series is also named The Solitudes. In this book, the main character reads Góngora's poem, and it is mentioned throughout the story.
English Versions
Many people have translated Las Soledades into English so more readers can enjoy it. Here are some of the English versions:
- The Solitudes of Don Luis De Gongora (1931) translated by Edward Meryon Wilson.
- The Solitudes of Don Luis De Gongora (1965) also translated by Edward Meryon Wilson.
- The Solitudes of Luis De Gongora (1968) translated by Gilbert F. Cunningham.
- Luis De Gongora: Soledades (1997) translated by Philip Polack.
- The Solitudes (2011) translated by Edith Grossman.
See also
In Spanish: Soledades para niños
