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GUSTAVO ADOLFO BECQUER AS "POETA" AND HIS
KNOWLEDGE OF HEINE'S "LIEDER"

Since his death, Becquer's name has been associated chiefly

withhis "Rimas," and thebeliefhas becomefixedthathe was known
as poetato his contemporariesalso.
There are two reasons for the general beliefthat Becquer pub-
lished his "Rimas" like any otherpoeta,and that he strovethrough
themforrecognitionas such. The firstof these is erroneouslybased
on Becquer's own statementin one of his "Cartas desde mi Celda,"'
wherehe voices such ambition,though,if rightlyread, it is only the
musingof the enthusiasticyouthwhilestillin his native Seville.
The otherreasonlies in the misstatements made by almostevery
one of his biographersand critics regardingthe sources of the
"Rimas" whichforma part of his Obras. They all3 state fromlack
of knowledgeof the facts (if they speak of it at all) that Becquer's
friends,afterhis untimelydeath, gatheredhis poems,legends,tales,
etc., fromthe periodicalsto whichhe had been a contributor. But
the fact is that his friendsdid not gatherthe "Rimas" fromperiodi-
cals, but found them all neatly entered in manuscript among
1 E. W. Olmsted, Legends, Tales and Poems by Gustavo Adolfo Becquer (Ginn & Co.,
New York, 1907), p. xxxiv: "Beautiful as Becquer's prose may be considered, however,
the universal opinion is that his claim to lasting fame rests on his verse."
2 Becquer's Obras, 7th ed., II (Madrid, 1911), 226 ff.
3 F. Blanco Garcia: La Literatura Espafola en el Siglo XIX, II (Madrid, 1891), 85 ff.,
lays the foundation for this general misconception by stating: "Ademis, las Canciones de
Florentino Sanz, y una de las primeras versiones del Intermezzo, se insertaron en el
Museo Universal, revista en que colaboraba Becquer, y donde public6 sus Rimas."
Olmsted, op. cit., p. xxviii: "Thanks to the initiative of Ramon Rodriguez Correa and
to the aid of other friends,most of the scattered tales, legends, and poems of Becquer
were gathered together and published by Fernando Fe, Madrid, in three small vol-
umes." Julio Nombela, Impresiones y Recuerdos (Madrid, 1909-12), III, 453, 4 vols.,
independently contributes to this legend by stating outright: "Una comisi6n se encarg6
de buscar en los peri6dicos en que habla escrito sus poesias, leyendas, criticas y demAs
trabajos literarios." And very recently Juan L6pez Nilflez, in his book on BMcquer-
Biografia anecd6tica (Madrid, 1915), p. 115, encourages this erroneous belief by saying:
"Coincidiendo con los articulos y criticas en el Museo Universal publicados, insert6
varias poslas en todos los nfimeros." Mary A. (Mrs. Humphrey) Ward must be excepted,
for she states in her thoughtfularticle "A Spanish Romanticist," Macmillan'8 Magazine,
February, 1883, pp. 310-11: "Before his death . ... he had tried to collect and revise
his published articles, adding to them his poems, the majority of which were then
unprinted.... "
[MODERN PHILOLOGY, February, 1922] 245
246 F. SCHNEIDER

Becquer's papers. This manuscript,called by him "El Libro de

los Gorriones,"has since been lying,forgottenby all, in the Manu-
script Department of the Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid. It bears
the number13216,and was foundby the writerin the springof 1914.1
This "Libro de los Gorriones" is a well-boundcashbook, cloth,
about 8 X 12 inches in size, has plain ruling,and its 600 pages are
numbered consecutivelyin large printed figures. The firstpage
bears the title:
Librode los Gorriones
followedby the significantwords:
Coleccionde proyectos,
argumentos, ideasy planesde cosas
diferentes
que se concluiran
o no segunsopleel viento.
Writtenneatly below, on the lower half of the page, one finds:
De
GustavoAdolfoClaudioD. Becquer
1868
Madrid17 Jno.
The pages 2-4 are leftblank, to be followedon pages 5-7 by the
well-known"Introduccion," here called "Introduccion Sinfonica."
Then comesthefragment"La mujerde Piedra" coveringpages 9-19.
This is all the prose Becquer enteredin this book, the pages up to
and includingpage 528 being left blank. Then, pages 529-31, we
come upon an "Indice de las Rimas." To the leftof the heading,in
the margin,are writtenthe words "No. de las Rimas," and to the
right, likewise in the margin, the words "No. de versos." The
"Rimas " themselvesare listedby theirfirstlines,the pages on which
they are to be found not being given. The text of the "Rimas"
has no heading except threelittle crossesin triangulararrangement
(Xxx). Page 532 is leftfree,and on page 533, coveringthe larger
part of the page, thereis pasted a pencil sketchof a neglectedand
overgrowncloistergarden,showingin thebackgroundthe dilapidated
cloister,in the belfryof whichthe gorriones are undisputedmasters.
Page 534 again is leftfree,and on page 535 we findthe shorttitle
forthe poems enteredin the pages following:
Rimas
de
GustavoAdolfoBecquer
1 F. Schneider, Gustavo Adolfo Becquers Leben und Schaffen unter besonderer Betonung
des chronologischen Elementes, Doctor's dissertation, Leipzig, 1914, p. 22.
 GUSTAVOADOLFOBECQUER AS "POETA" 247

Page 537 bringsthe significantremark:

dellibroperdido.
Poesiasque recuerdo
The "Rimas" fillthe rest of the 600 pages, the last line of the last
"Rima" endingon the last line of the last page.
The handwritingbespeaks great care and neatness,being even
and clear throughout. Correctionswere made in some places, but
only by firsterasingthe old text very carefullyand then fillingin
the new neatly in its stead. The manuscriptshows many rougher
corrections; but these were made by a later hand and in such a
businesslikeway that we must hold one of the editorsof the post-
humousObrasresponsibleforit. Oftentwoor threelines are crossed
out withink and rulerand the substitutionsmade withoutapparent
hesitancy.' It is to be noted that all these later corrections,with
one exception,2are presentin the "Rimas" of the Obrasas the world
knows them, and it is thereforeindisputablethat this manuscript
book servedas theirsource and basis.
Yet there are some differencesbetween the manuscriptand
the text of the Obras,none of whichare indicatedin the manuscript.
To explain these discrepancieswe must assume that furtherchanges
were made in the copy beforegoing to press. Of the 76 "Rimas"
of the Obras,halfdiffermoreor less fromthe text of the manuscript,
and of these differences about three-fourthshad been enteredin the
manuscript.3
The manuscripthas, however,79 "Rimas" instead of only 76.
Three had been suppressed,the thirdone of theseeven beingcrossed
out diagonallywithink and rulerby an energetichand. The reason
for this suppressionis quite evident: theirtone was too bitterand
ironical; and Becquer was to be presentedto the world in his more
1Becquer himself would have been quite incapable of such a procedure, as can be
seen from his own statements on a similar occasion. When his friend and fellow-worker,
Federico Ruiz, had suddenly died, an unfinishedsketch by this young artist was published
in the Musco Universal (No. 7, February 15, 1868) in his memory. Becquer wrote the
accompanying text in beautifully simple and touching language, closing by saying:
"Tal cual la dej6 (el artista-la interrumpida obra) la ofrecemos hoy . ... Concluirla,
hubiera sipo en cierto modo profanarla. L Qui6n aun sinti~ndose capaz, no hubiera
temido en algdn punto sentir algo invisible que le detenla la mano para decirle: 'No:
no es eso lo que yo queria hacer ?' "
2 F.
Schneider, op. cit., pp. 25-26.
s A number of these differentversions have been reproduced in F. Schneider, op. cit.,
pp. 68-70.
248 F. SCHNEIDER

congenial aspect of grave and sentimentaldreamer. These three

"Rimas" read as follows:'
MS page 569: x x
Dices que tienescorazony solo
lo dicesporquesientessus latidos;
eso no es corazon. . . es una maquina
que al compasque se muevehaceruido.
MS page 572: x x
Fingiendo realidades
consombravana
delantedel Deseo
va la Esperanza.
Y sus mentiras
comoel Fenixrenacen
de sus cenizas.
MS page 575:2 X
Una mujerme ha envenenado el alma
otramujermeha envenadoel cuerpo
ningunade las dos vinoa buscarme
yo de ningunade las dos mequejo.
Comoel mundoes redondoel mundorueda.
rodando,esteveneno
Si mafiana,
envenenaa su vez4 porqueacusarme
?
4Puedodarmasde lo que a mimedieron
?
Anothergreat libertytaken by the editors of the posthumous
Obras,and not knownto any ofthe criticsofBecquer,is the complete
change made in the sequence of the various " Rimas." Becquer's
sequence is reprintedherefrompages 66-67 of the writer'sDoctor's
dissertation,op. cit., publishedduringthe war, writtenin German,
and forthese reasonsnot generallyaccessible. To save space, only
thenumbersare given,theArabicnumeralcorresponding to Becquer's
1Becqueralmostneverwrotean accent,not evenin cases like deij,nordid he write
commasand periods.
2What an importantpart misinformation and guessworkhave played in all dis-
cussionsof Becquer'slifeand worksis wellillustratedby thefollowing statementregard-
ing this "Rima," foundin L6pez Nfifez' recentbook, op. cit.,p. 128: "Estos versos
fueronescritospor Gustavo AdolfoBecquer dias antes de morir,con destinoa "La
Correspondencia Literaria,"y no han sido recogidospor los recopiladoresde sus obras."
 GUSTAVOADOLFOBECQUERAS "POETA" 249
"Indice," the Roman numeral giving the place of the respective
"Rima" in the Obras.'
1-XLVIII 21-XXI 41-LX 61-LXVIII
2-XLVII 22-XXIII 42-III 62-V
3-XLV 23-LXXV 43-XVI 63-XXVII
4-XXXVIII 24-LXXIV 44-2 64-LXIV
5--LXXII 25--VIII 45--LXI 65-XXXIV
6-XVIII 26-XLI 46-X 66-XL
7-XXVI 27-IX 47-LXV 67-LXVI
8-LVIII 28-XXXVII 48-3 68-LXIII
9-LV 29-XIII 49-LXIX 69-XXXIII
10-XLIV 30--XXXI 50-XVII 70-LI
11-I 31-XXV 51-XI 71-LXXIII
12-L 32-LVII 52-XIX 72-XIV
13-VII 33-XXIV 53-XXIX 73-XXXII
14-XLIX 34-XLIII 54-XXXVI 74-LXXVI
15-II 35-LII 55-4 75-XXXIX
16-XLII 36-LIV 56-LXII 76-LXXI
17-LIX 37-XX 57-VI 77-XLVI
18-LXVII 38-LIII 58-XXVIII 78-XXXV
19-XXII 39-IV 59-LXX 79-XII
20-LVI 40-XXX 60--XV
But very few of these "Rimas" were known beforeBecquer's
death. The examinationof a considerablenumberof periodicalsand
dailies of that time5disclosedthe fact that Becquer publishedin his
lifetimelittle more than a dozen poems. These were distributed
as follows:
Rima XIII6 in 1859 in El Nene.
Rima XXIII in 1861 in El Contemporaneo;republishedin 1866 in
El Museo Universal.
1 The 76 " Rimas" have been reproducedalike in all the differenteditions,the last
one being the seventh,Madrid, 1911. Correctionmay be added here of a statement
made by ProfessorOlmsted,op. cit.,p. xxvili,quotedpreviouslyin note to page 1. The
firsteditionappearedin twovolumesonlyand was publishedby Fortanet,Madrid,1871.
Fernando Fe subsequentlybought the publishingrightsfromBecquer's widow and
publishedall the othereditions,of whichthe second and thirdlikewisehad only two
volumes. The growthof the various editionsis tabulated in F. Schneider,op. cit.,
pp. 63-64. Nothingwas added to the sixthand seventheditions,notwithstanding the
subtitleof the sixth (1907), "edici6n aumentada con varias poesias."
2 The suppressed"Rima": "Dices que tienescorazony solo."
a The suppressed"Rima": "Fingiendorealidades."
' The suppressed"Rima": "Una mujerme ha envenenadoel alma."
aF. Schneider,op. cit.," Literaturverzeichnis,"
pp. vii-viii.
a The numbersof the " Rimas" are thoseof the publishedObras.
250 F. SCHNEIDER

RimaLXI1in 1861inAlbum dePoesiasdelAlmanaquedelMuseoUniversal

RimaXXVII in 1863in La Gacetaliteraria.
RimaV in 1866,January 28,in El MuseoUniversal.
RimaXI in 1866,February11,ibid.
RimaXV in 1866,March4, ibid.
RimaXXIV in 1866,March18,ibid.
RimaII in 1866,April8, ibid.
RimaXVI in 1866,May 13,ibid.
RimaLXIX in 1866,September 9, ibid.
Rima XXIII in 1866,September 23,ibid.(published
beforein 1861in
El Contemporaneo).
Rima IV in 1870in Ilustraci6nde Madridbearingthe note: "de un
libroin6dito."
A dozen poems,scatteredover a periodof ten years,would have
been hard to find for publication in his posthumousObras. Nor
could they have given to anyone the reputationof being a poeta,
buried as they were among hundredsof otherpoems of all descrip-
tions. The shortnessof some of these compositionsalso mighthave
militated,in a measure,against him. Not that they wereanything
new in Spanish prosody: the short compositionwas an age-long
possessionof the Spanish people, but it stayed with the plain folk.
"Poetry" proper,in Becquer's time,had to be grandiloquent,sonor-
ous, and ambitiousin length. Even Menendez y Pelayo,2a decade
or two later, speaking of Heine's "Lieder," states that at firsthe
could findlittle likingforthese short compositionsbecause he had
been educated to look upon poetryas plastic art, not as music.
But why did Becquer publish so few of his "Rimas"? It cer-
tainlywas not throughlack of opportunity. From his twenty-fourth
year on up to the timeof his death Becquer had many opportunities
to inserthis poems in one publicationor another. The reason why
he failed to do so lay in the fact that he had other aims than to
reap fame as poeta. Only in his early youth,as mentionedbefore,
while still in his native Seville, did he striveand hope for undying
poetical laurels. Afterreaching Madrid in 1854, barely eighteen
years old, these dreams, as he himselftells us,3 soon disappeared.
1 This bears the significant caption by way of motto: "Es muy triste morir joven
y no contar con una sola lfgrima de mujer."
2 In the "Prologo," pp. v-vi, to Jos6 J. Herrera's translation of Heine, Poema8 y
Fantasias de Enrique Heine, Madrid, 1883.
3 Obras, II, 230, in his third "Carta desde mi celda."
 GUSTAVO ADOLFO BECQUER AS "POETA" 251

Not thathispoeticalambitionlefthim: it neverlefthim. He merely

turnedfrompoetryin verseto poetryin prose,in whichhe combined
with his longingfor beauty his unbounded devotion to his beloved
Spain. The accidents of his outer life forced differentmeans of
expressionupon him at different times; but inwardlyhe was pos-
sessed by that same spirit. His firstenterprisein this new sphere
was his most ambitious one: it was his Historia de los Templosde
Espafia, published in collaborationwith others' in the year 1857.
Evidently inspired by Chateaubriand's Le g'nie du christianisme,
it became his ambitionto interpretthe great architecturaltreasures
of Catholic Spain, to portraythe grandeurof the spiritthat sought
and foundexpressionin thesepoemscarved in stone,and incidentally
to stem the evergrowingtide of skepticism. This book is very rare
and littleknown.2
Duringthenextfewyears,Becquer had to undergomuchphysical
sufferingand consequentwant,forhe was poor; but whenhis health
grew stronger,his artistic will asserted itself anew. This time it
found expressionin the artistic retellingof the tales and legends
whichhe had heard whilewanderingwith his brotherValeriano,the
painter,throughthe rural districtsof NorthernSpain; for he was
passionatelyfondof everythingtypicallySpanish.
An investigationof the facts3disclosed that most, if not all, of
his legends were publishedin the Contemporaneo fromthe time he
joined its staffin 1860 until it became absorbed by the Crdnicain
1865. When Becquer thereuponbecame a memberof the staffof the
Museo Universal,his artisticwill was given a slightlydifferent
direc-
tion. Here it was one of his duties to write companionarticles to
sketches by collaborating artists. The illustrations with their
articles were an importantpart of each issue, and they depicted
generallysome characteristicphase of the picturesque life of the
plain people. These new aims and duties seem to have suited
Becquer's artisticpurposesquite well,forno legendis foundto have
been publishedby him afterhe enteredupon thisnew work. On the
other hand, when in the year 1869 Becquer was made the director
I F. Schneider, op. cit., pp. 15 ff.
2 The only copy the writer was able to find in Madrid was in the private library of
his Excellency D. Francisco de Laiglesia, an old friend of Becquer's.
3 F. Schneider, op. cit., tables, pp. 63-66.
252 F. SCHNEIDER

of the newly founded "Illustraci6n de Madrid," he continued,in

collaborationwith his brotherValeriano, the kind of work he had
been doing while on the staffof the Museo Universal.
In theseendeavors,then,lay Becquer's main interestand ambi-
tion, not in the writingof poetry. Contemporaryevidence bears
this out, for in reviewsof currentpoetic productions,publishedin
the literarysections of many journals throughouthis life,Becquer
was never mentioned,while his friendsand companionswere dis-
cussed at length and saw their poems lauded. To what degree
materialconsiderationsdeterminedhis activitiesbelongsto another
study.
When reviewing the published opinions regarding Heinrich
Heine's influenceupon Becquer, one notes the curiousfact that all
critics,1except the brothersAlvarez Quintero,admit a more or less
strikingresemblancebetweenthe "Rimas" and the "Lieder," but are
at a loss to explain when and where and to what extent Becquer
came to know Heine's poetry. The brothers Alvarez Quintero
peremptorilydeny any such influence,saying: "Hay quien ha pre-
tendidooscurecerla didfanagloriade Becquer, haciendopasar sobre
ella una ligera nube; motejAndolode imitadorde E. Heine. Nada
mas injusto ni mis inexacto tampoco."2
That Becquer knew Heine throughFrench media, as suggested
by Mrs. HumphreyWard,3is most likely,forhe read French. Had
it not been his dutysome timeduringhis firstyear in Madrid (1854),
while on the staffof the recentlyfoundedPorvenir,to gatherfrom
French journals what mightinterestthe Spanish public?4
But the French translation of Heine's poems was merely a
paraphrasingof them in prose; they could not have influenced
Becquer much,howevercharmingthese prose renderingsmay have
seemed to the cultured reader.5 At best they could have given
1Correa in the "Pr6logo" to Becquer's Obras, II (ed. 1911), 25, 36; Mary A. Ward,
op. cit., pp. 315 ff.; Rafael M. Merch&n, Estudios Criticos,Bogota, 1886, pp. 455, 458 if.;
Blanco Garcia, op. cit., pp. 85 ft.; Juan Valera, Florilegio de Poesias Castellanas del Siglo
XIX, I (Madrid, 1902), 188; Olmsted, op. cit., pp. xxxvii-xxxviii.
2 Alvarez Quintero, Seraffiny Joaquin, Obras Escogidas de Gustavo Adolfo Bicquer,
Edici6n del Monumento, Madrid y Sevilla, 1912, p. ix.
a Op. cit., p. 320.
4 F. Schneider, op. cit., p. 10.
r Theophile Gautier, Portraits et Souvenirs, "Heine," Paris, 1875, p. 121, says of
them: "Nous ne savons pas l'allemand, il est vrai, et n'avons pu l'admirer qu'a travers
la traduction; mais quel homme doit Otre celui qui, d6nu6 du rhythme, de la rime, de
l'heureux arrangement des mots, de tout ce qui fait le style enfin, produit encore des
effetssi magniflques!"
 GUSTAVO ADOLFO BECQUER AS "POETA" 253

Becquer new pictures and conceits; yet it is particularlyin these

respectsthat Heine's influenceis least apparent.
More importantfor our quest is the fact that there existed in
Spain throughouttheseyears a morethan casual interestin German
literature. This is proved by a great deal of uncollectedevidence.
Scatteredthroughthe "Variedades" and "Folletones" of even some
political dailies, one frequentlyfindstranslations,adaptations,and
reviews of Lessing, Schiller,Goethe, and others. Of Heine, to be
sure, there was little mention. Some of his "Lieder" appeared in
an excellentmetricaltranslationby Eulogio FlorentinoSanz in the
Museo Universal,May 15, 1857, under the title "Poesia Alemana-
Canciones de Enrique Heine"; but this selection contained but
fifteenin all, ten of whichwerefromthe "LyrischesIntermezzo."
The most ambitiousattemptto make German literatureknown
in Spain was La Abeja--"Revista cientificay literaria,principal-
mente extractada de los buenos escritoresalemanes"-which was
publishedin Barcelona from1862 to 1865. Germanliteraturefrom
Klopstock, Lessing, and Herder down to Freiligrathand Riickert
was representedeitherin translationsor adaptations or mere sum-
maries. A prominentplace in one of its firstnumberswas given
to Heine, of whose writingsappeared about twenty"Lieder" taken
from the "Intermezzo" and the "Nordseebilder"; they were
translatedby Juan Font y Guitar, who also translatedUhland in a
later issue. The Preface' by the translatoris instructive,forthere
he states that E. F. Sanz was his sole precursorin translatingHeine,
confirming therebythe findingsof the writer2when lookingthrough
the periodicalsof that epoch on filein Madrid. The "Canciones de
Enrique Heine" in the Abeja of 1862 were followedby the "Inter-
mezzo"-" Poema de Enrique Heine "-translated by Mariano Gil
Sanz and publishedMay 5, 1867, in the Museo Universal.
This translation,togetherwiththe one by FlorentinoSanz (1857),
has been looked upon by most criticsas having probablysuggested
1 This Preface reads: "Por otra parte, Heine, m&s que Schiller, Goethe y otros
poetas alemanes, es casi enteramente desconocido en nuestro pais; casi, decimos, porque
hace algun tiempo que el distinguido poeta D. Florentino Sanz .... di6, en un numero
del 'Museo Universal' algunas muestras de la musa de Heine."
2 The writer's searches discovered but one other "Lied" of Heine. It was No. XIV
of the "Intermezzo," beginning "Auf meiner Herzliebsten Aeugelein," translated by
Angel M. Decarete and published first in the Cr6nica, October, 1858, then reprinted
over the same signature in the Almanaque literariodel Museo Universal for the year 1860.
254 F. SCHNEIDER

to Becquer his "Rima" typeof composition. The prevailingview of

this matter is adequately expressed by Professor Olmsted,' who
bases his statementsupon Blanco Garcia (op. cit.,p. 86), and Mrs.
Ward (op. cit.,p. 316):
His [Becquer's] poetryhas oftenbeencompared to thatofHeine,whom
he is said to haveimitated. Becquerdid notin factreadGerman;butin
El MuseoUniversal, forwhichhe was a collaborator,
and in whichhe pub-
lishedhis "Rimas,"thereappearedone ofthefirstversionsofthe "Inter-
mezzo,"and it is notunlikely thatin imitation
ofthe"Intermezzo"he was
ledto string his" Rimas"likebeadsupontheconnecting threadofa common
autobiographical theme.
The factsestablishedin the precedingpart showthat it cannotbe
said that Becquer "published his 'Rimas' in the Museo Universal,"
when he publishedtherebut eightin all, nor can it be said that "he
was led to stringhis 'Rimas' like beads upon the connectingthread
of a commonautobiographicaltheme" when he had nothingto do
with the sequence taken as the basis for this speculation. It is
furtherto be noted that this translationdid not appear until 1867,
the year afterBecquer had published some of his "Rimas," and
evidentlycame too late to have influencedBecquer in his artistic
development. The complete lack of chronologicalfacts regarding
Becquer's life and works only too readily led to such erroneous
generalitiesand implications.
The excellenttranslationby Eulogio FlorentinoSanz (1857) is
more acceptable as a possible source of influence. In fact, Julio
Nombela, an old friendof Becquer's and his companionat that time,
assuredme orallyin 1914 that bothhe and Becquer, upon the appear-
ance of this translation,set immediatelyto imitatingHeine.2 This
claim findsratherweak support by an offhandstatementin L6pez
Ndfiez'book3to the effectthat Becquer's first"Rimas" werewritten
in 1858. Strongerevidence is foundin the fact that Becquer pub-
lished a poem of the "Rima" type in the year 1859.4 A fewextant
1Op. cit., p. xxxvii.
2 In his "Impresiones y Recuerdos," op. cit., III, 375, he says, however: "
charlamos [he and Becquer] . . . . de las Rimas, que en su mayor parte habia escrito
en los aflos 1860 y 1861, de las que me recit6 algunas que me encantaron."
3 Op. cit., p. 36.
4 It is Rima XIII, published in El Nene, Vol. I, No. 1 (December 3, 1859). Meter and
wording differslightly from the text given in MS and Obras; the variants are listed in
F. Schneider, op. cit., p. 70.
 GUSTAVO ADOLFO BECQUER AS "POETA" 255

poems of the year 1855 and earlier' are of the conventionalode or

sonnettype,a fact whichseems to indicatethat somewherebetween
1855 and 1859 Becquer's conversionto the "Rima" type took place.
The year 1857, in whichSanz's translationappeared, would fitquite
nicelyinto this theory.
But until furtherinvestigationshave produced more evidence
in supportof this assumption,the year 1860 seems morelikelyto be
the one in which Becquer came into closer contact with Heine, not
merelyin translation,but in the original. The year 1860 was not
too late, for Becquer was then only twenty-four years of age, still
very impressionable, and with no definiteprogramof work. The
chiefwitnessformy case is Becquer himself.
In his review of "La Soledad"-" Colecci6n de Cantares por
Augusto Ferran y Fornies," publishedin the Contemporaneo, Janu-
ary 20, 1861-Becquer makes a strongplea for the simple and concise
formin poetryagainstthe longand wordykind. This grandiloquent
and majestic style he calls "la poesia de todo el mundo,"-the
poetryof everyone-forit explainsitself,whilethe shortcomposition
to him is "la poesia de los poetas," because its few chords gain
meaning only if the reader or listeneris himselfpoet enough to
respondfromwithin.
This latter kind, Becquer thereuponpoints out, has become in
Germany,morethanelsewhere,a recognizedvesselforpoeticthought
and sentiment. Germany'sgreatestpoets,Goethe,Schiller,Uhland,
Heine, he says, not only wrotein this new form,but actually prided
themselveson their compositionsof this type.2 Becquer expresses
the hope that a Spanish poet may equally succeed in raisingthe level
of the copla, as had been done in Germanywith the Volkslied; and
he believesthat the authorof the book whichhe is reviewingis well
qualifiedto do so on account of his "liberal literaryeducation,his
knowledgeof the German poets, and his special study of the folk-
song."3
These statementsof Becquer gain still deeper significancewhen
there is added to them what can be learned about the author of
"La Soledad" and the relationof these two men to one another.
1 They are reprinted in F. Schneider, op. cit., pp. 71-74.
2
Obras, II, 106. Ibid., p. 108.
256 F. SCHNEIDER

Through Julio Nombela's chatty "Impressiones y Recuerdos,"

1911,1we learn that Ferran had lived in Munich fromabout 1855
to 1859 in orderto study German. During his extendedstay there
Ferrin became an ardentadmirerof Germanliteratureand of Heine
in particular,for Heine suited his temperamentadmirably. The
practical proofof Ferran's enthusiasmwas that upon his returnto
Madrid in 1859 he foundeda literaryperiodical,El Sdbado, which
was to introduceGerman literatureinto Spain. At the same time
Ferran collected Spanish coplas, in direct imitation,it seems, of
Clemens and Brentano'sDes Knaben Wunderhorn.
Becquer met this enthusiasticadmirerof German literaturein
August, 1860, a few monthsbeforehis reviewof Ferrhn'sbook, and
the two are reportedto have become fast friendsimmediatelyupon
meeting, Becquer dining often at Ferrin's bohemian quarters.'
Becquer's reviewof Ferrin's book, then,was a verypersonalmatter,
and the views expressedthereinwere the views and aims of Ferrin
himself. Ferrin, in turn, broughtBecquer into contact with the
Germanpoets,particularlywithHeine; and such contact,intensified
by Ferran's enthusiasm,could not but make a deep impressionupon
Becquer's poetic nature. The situation,it seems, is quite similar
to that described by Heine regardinghis translator,G6rard de
Nerval. Heine says in the Introductionto the "Intermezzo" and
"La Mer du Nord" ofthe Frencheditionofhis works:3 "Cette Ame
(de Nerval) 6tait essentiellementsympathique,et sans comprendre
beaucoup la langue allemande,G6rard devinaitmieux le sens d'une
po6sie 6crite en allemand, que ceux qui avaient fait de cet idiome
l'6tude de toute leur vie."
If we may assume that Becquer very similarlyobtained his
knowledge of Heine through his poetic sensibilitiesrather than
throughintellectualprocesses,a reasonable explanationis afforded
of the puzzlingfact that, withoutany tangiblecoincidence,thereis
such a clear poetic correspondencebetween the "Rimas" and the
"Lieder."
F. SCHNEIDER
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

1Op. cit., II, 443, and III, 92.

2 L6pez Ndlfez, op. cit., pp. 146-47.
a Henri Heine, Poimes et Ldgends,Paris (Calmann-L6vy), 1900, p. vil.