The dawn - a study of the traditional love lyric of medieval Spain and Portugal.
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The object of this study is to investigate the origins
of the traditional lyric poetry of the Iberian Peninsula
through an analysis of the poetry of dawn meeting. The
formative influences on each of the three types of traditional
poetry, the Mozarabic kharjas, the Galician cantigas and the
Castilian villancicos are examined and possible relationships
are indicated.
An introductory survey reviews the state of scholarship in
the field of Spanish lyric poetry. Particular reference is
made to the importance of the comparatively recent discovery
of the kharjas because their publication has occasioned a
profound reappraisal of the origins of Romance vernacular poetry.
A new dimension has been brought not only to the study of the
medieval lyric of Spain and Portugal but also to considerations
of the relevance of the Provençal lyric to the poetry of the
Peninsula.
The individuality of the traditional Iberian lyric is seen
in its singularly consistent use of certain related themes, one
of the most significant of these being the theme of lovers'
meeting at dawn. Each type of lyric is viewed against its
cultural background and the many influences both popular and
learned which contribute to its composition, to the development
of its imagery and to its preservation are assessed. The
treatment of the dawn theme and its associated imagery in
each area of poetic composition is analysed both for continuity
and for innovation and originality.
Since religion, either Christian or pagan, is seen
to be influential in the shaping of traditional poetry,
religion as a theme of the poetry of meeting is reviewed
in the concluding chapter. In its various aspects it
is found to accord with many of the characteristics
described in the previous chapters.
Authors
Hawking, JaneCollections
- Theses [3833]