Miguel de Unamuno
An Anthology of his Poetry
Published on 31. January 2016
Book
Hardback
168 pages
978-1-910572-27-6 (ISBN)
Description
Miguel de Unamuno, one of Spain's foremost literary figures, is better known for his essays and novels than for his poetry. Yet it was as a poet that he wished to be remembered and it is in his poems that he reveals the most intimate and sensitive part of his complex personality. To truly get to know Unamuno as creator it is necessary to read his poetry. This anthology of 50 poems, though modest in comparison to his large poetic output, offers the reader some of his most characteristic poems, with an English version prepared by a well-known Unamuno scholar. The English renderings are sufficiently free to allow for the use of rhyme and regular metre, but strive to capture Unamuno's highly personal way of looking at our human circumstance and destiny. In effect the anthology offers a way of approaching Unamuno that differs significantly from an approach via his prose works: it projects a more meditative and warm-hearted individual than the combative Unamuno of popular perception.
The 50 poems, each with a short commentary relating it to Unamuno's personal circumstances and to his thought, are arranged under six headings: (1) Family and Home; (2) God and Mortality; (3) The Land; (4) Exile; (5) Language and Poetry; (6) Philosophical Meditations. The anthology thus offers a microcosm of Unamuno's poetic world and should be useful to those who have little or no knowledge of him. It provides a way of learning something about the man and the writer through a part of his production that has received less attention than it deserves and which projects a significantly different image from the widespread view we have of him. The poems are preceded by a substantial introduction which explores the importance and relevance of Unamuno's poetry, his major themes, and his style.
The 50 poems, each with a short commentary relating it to Unamuno's personal circumstances and to his thought, are arranged under six headings: (1) Family and Home; (2) God and Mortality; (3) The Land; (4) Exile; (5) Language and Poetry; (6) Philosophical Meditations. The anthology thus offers a microcosm of Unamuno's poetic world and should be useful to those who have little or no knowledge of him. It provides a way of learning something about the man and the writer through a part of his production that has received less attention than it deserves and which projects a significantly different image from the widespread view we have of him. The poems are preceded by a substantial introduction which explores the importance and relevance of Unamuno's poetry, his major themes, and his style.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Liverpool University Press
Dimensions
Height: 210 mm
Width: 148 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-910572-27-6 (9781910572276)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
C. A. Longhurst is Emeritus Professor of the University of Leeds and was for eight years Visiting Professor at King's College London. He has published over twenty books and articles on Unamuno
Content
Introduction 1
Unamuno's Poetic Production 1
Poetic Themes 7
The Translation 18
Editions of Unamuno's Poetry 22
Select Bibliography 24
I Family And Home
1 Volviendo a casa / Returning Home 28
2 El hogar / Home 30
3 Dulce, silencioso pensamiento / Sweet, Silent Thought 32
4 Al nino enfermo / To the Sick Child 34
5 En la muerte de Concha / Upon the Death of Concha 38
6 En mi estudio / In my Study 40
7 El nino y el muneco / The Child and the Doll 44
8 La presencia de Concha / Concha's Presence 46
II God And Mortality
9 Silencios vacios / Empty Silence 52
10 Para despues de mi muerte / After I Cease to Be 54
11 Leyendo un libro vivo de un amigo muerto /
Reading the Living Book of a Dead Friend 60
12 A la espera / Waiting 62
13 Rios de mi vida / Rivers of my Life 64
14 Irrequietum cor / Restless Heart 66
15 La oracion del ateo / The Atheist's Prayer 68
16 Salmo II / Psalm II 70
III The Land
17 Salamanca / Salamanca 76
18 Tierra del Tormes / Land of the Tormes 80
19 Al Tormes / To the River Tormes 82
20 La pena de Francia / The Rock of France 84
21 El lago de San Martin / The Lake at San Martin 86
22 Medina de Rioseco / Medina de Rioseco 88
23 La voz de la campana / The Voice of the Bell 90
24 Portugal (i) / Portugal (i) 92
25 Portugal (ii) / Portugal (ii) 94
IV Exile
26 Mi otro sino / My Other Fate 98
27 Olas lejanas / Distant Waves 100
28 Betancuria / Betancuria 102
29 Fuerteventura / Fuerteventura 104
30 En el exilio / In Exile 106
31 Romances fronterizos / Frontier Ballads 108
32 Orhoit gutaz / Remember Us 110
33 El cementerio de Hendaya / The Cemetery at Hendaye 114
V Language and Poetry
34 Las caras de la poesia / The Faces of Poetry 120
35 La labor del poeta / The Task of the Poet 122
36 La palabra que vibra / The Vibrant Word 124
37 La palabra cruel / The Cruel Word 126
38 La palabra simbolo / The Word as Symbol 128
39 Non omnis moriar / Not All of Me Will Die 130
40 El nombre del Hombre / The Name of Man 132
41 Los hijos de silencio / The Children of Silence 134
VI Philosophical Meditations
42 Kant y la rana / Kant and the Frog 140
43 ?Libres? / Are we Free? 144
44 Dios y la palabra / God and the Word 146
45 Entropia / Entropy 148
46 Las agujas del reloj / The Hands of the Clock 150
47 Filosofemas / Philosophemes 152
48 La ultima palabra de Hamlet / Hamlet's Last Word 154
49 Anamnesis / Reminiscence 158
Conclusion
50 La muerte es sueno / Death is a Dream 162
Commentaries on the Poems 165
Unamuno's Poetic Production 1
Poetic Themes 7
The Translation 18
Editions of Unamuno's Poetry 22
Select Bibliography 24
I Family And Home
1 Volviendo a casa / Returning Home 28
2 El hogar / Home 30
3 Dulce, silencioso pensamiento / Sweet, Silent Thought 32
4 Al nino enfermo / To the Sick Child 34
5 En la muerte de Concha / Upon the Death of Concha 38
6 En mi estudio / In my Study 40
7 El nino y el muneco / The Child and the Doll 44
8 La presencia de Concha / Concha's Presence 46
II God And Mortality
9 Silencios vacios / Empty Silence 52
10 Para despues de mi muerte / After I Cease to Be 54
11 Leyendo un libro vivo de un amigo muerto /
Reading the Living Book of a Dead Friend 60
12 A la espera / Waiting 62
13 Rios de mi vida / Rivers of my Life 64
14 Irrequietum cor / Restless Heart 66
15 La oracion del ateo / The Atheist's Prayer 68
16 Salmo II / Psalm II 70
III The Land
17 Salamanca / Salamanca 76
18 Tierra del Tormes / Land of the Tormes 80
19 Al Tormes / To the River Tormes 82
20 La pena de Francia / The Rock of France 84
21 El lago de San Martin / The Lake at San Martin 86
22 Medina de Rioseco / Medina de Rioseco 88
23 La voz de la campana / The Voice of the Bell 90
24 Portugal (i) / Portugal (i) 92
25 Portugal (ii) / Portugal (ii) 94
IV Exile
26 Mi otro sino / My Other Fate 98
27 Olas lejanas / Distant Waves 100
28 Betancuria / Betancuria 102
29 Fuerteventura / Fuerteventura 104
30 En el exilio / In Exile 106
31 Romances fronterizos / Frontier Ballads 108
32 Orhoit gutaz / Remember Us 110
33 El cementerio de Hendaya / The Cemetery at Hendaye 114
V Language and Poetry
34 Las caras de la poesia / The Faces of Poetry 120
35 La labor del poeta / The Task of the Poet 122
36 La palabra que vibra / The Vibrant Word 124
37 La palabra cruel / The Cruel Word 126
38 La palabra simbolo / The Word as Symbol 128
39 Non omnis moriar / Not All of Me Will Die 130
40 El nombre del Hombre / The Name of Man 132
41 Los hijos de silencio / The Children of Silence 134
VI Philosophical Meditations
42 Kant y la rana / Kant and the Frog 140
43 ?Libres? / Are we Free? 144
44 Dios y la palabra / God and the Word 146
45 Entropia / Entropy 148
46 Las agujas del reloj / The Hands of the Clock 150
47 Filosofemas / Philosophemes 152
48 La ultima palabra de Hamlet / Hamlet's Last Word 154
49 Anamnesis / Reminiscence 158
Conclusion
50 La muerte es sueno / Death is a Dream 162
Commentaries on the Poems 165