'Lament For Ignacio Sanchez Mejias' by Federico García Lorca


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1. Cogida and death

At five in the afternoon.
It was exactly five in the afternoon.
A boy brought the white sheet
at five in the afternoon.
A frail of lime ready prepared
at five in the afternoon.
The rest was death, and death alone.

The wind carried away the cottonwool
at five in the afternoon.
And the oxide scattered crystal and nickel
at five in the afternoon.
Now the dove and the leopard wrestle
at five in the afternoon.
And a thigh with a desolated horn
at five in the afternoon.
The bass-string struck up
at five in the afternoon.
Arsenic bells and smoke
at five in the afternoon.
Groups of silence in the corners
at five in the afternoon.
And the bull alone with a high heart!
At five in the afternoon.
When the sweat of snow was coming
at five in the afternoon,
when the bull ring was covered with iodine
at five in the afternoon.
Death laid eggs in the wound
at five in the afternoon.
At five in the afternoon.
At five o'clock in the afternoon.

A coffin on wheels is his bed
at five in the afternoon.
Bones and flutes resound in his ears
at five in the afternoon.
Now the bull was bellowing through his forehead
at five in the afternoon.
The room was iridiscent with agony
at five in the afternoon.
In the distance the gangrene now comes
at five in the afternoon.
Horn of the lily through green groins
at five in the afternoon.
The wounds were burning like suns
at five in the afternoon.
At five in the afternoon.
Ah, that fatal five in the afternoon!
It was five by all the clocks!
It was five in the shade of the afternoon!



2. The Spilled Blood

I will not see it!

Tell the moon to come,
for I do not want to see the blood
of Ignacio on the sand.

I will not see it!

The moon wide open.
Horse of still clouds,
and the grey bull ring of dreams
with willows in the barreras.

I will not see it!

Let my memory kindle!
Warm the jasmines
of such minute whiteness!

I will not see it!

The cow of the ancient world
passed har sad tongue
over a snout of blood
spilled on the sand,
and the bulls of Guisando,
partly death and partly stone,
bellowed like two centuries
sated with threading the earth.
No.
I will not see it!

Ignacio goes up the tiers
with all his death on his shoulders.
He sought for the dawn
but the dawn was no more.
He seeks for his confident profile
and the dream bewilders him
He sought for his beautiful body
and encountered his opened blood
Do not ask me to see it!
I do not want to hear it spurt
each time with less strength:
that spurt that illuminates
the tiers of seats, and spills
over the cordury and the leather
of a thirsty multiude.
Who shouts that I should come near!
Do not ask me to see it!

His eyes did not close
when he saw the horns near,
but the terrible mothers
lifted their heads.
And across the ranches,
an air of secret voices rose,
shouting to celestial bulls,
herdsmen of pale mist.
There was no prince in Sevilla
who could compare to him,
nor sword like his sword
nor heart so true.
Like a river of lions
was his marvellous strength,
and like a marble toroso
his firm drawn moderation.
The air of Andalusian Rome
gilded his head
where his smile was a spikenard
of wit and intelligence.
What a great torero in the ring!
What a good peasant in the sierra!
How gentle with the sheaves!
How hard with the spurs!
How tender with the dew!
How dazzling the fiesta!
How tremendous with the final
banderillas of darkness!

But now he sleeps without end.
Now the moss and the grass
open with sure fingers
the flower of his skull.
And now his blood comes out singing;
singing along marshes and meadows,
sliden on frozen horns,
faltering soulles in the mist
stoumbling over a thousand hoofs
like a long, dark, sad tongue,
to form a pool of agony
close to the starry Guadalquivir.
Oh, white wall of Spain!
Oh, black bull of sorrow!
Oh, hard blood of Ignacio!
Oh, nightingale of his veins!
No.
I will not see it!
No chalice can contain it,
no swallows can drink it,
no frost of light can cool it,
nor song nor deluge og white lilies,
no glass can cover mit with silver.
No.
I will not see it!



3. The Laid Out Body

Stone is a forehead where dreames grieve
without curving waters and frozen cypresses.
Stone is a shoulder on which to bear Time
with trees formed of tears and ribbons and planets.

I have seen grey showers move towards the waves
raising their tender riddle arms,
to avoid being caught by lying stone
which loosens their limbs without soaking their blood.

For stone gathers seed and clouds,
skeleton larks and wolves of penumbra:
but yields not sounds nor crystals nor fire,
only bull rings and bull rings and more bull rings without walls.

Now, Ignacio the well born lies on the stone.
All is finished. What is happening! Contemplate his face:
death has covered him with pale sulphur
and has place on him the head of dark minotaur.

All is finished. The rain penetrates his mouth.
The air, as if mad, leaves his sunken chest,
and Love, soaked through with tears of snow,
warms itself on the peak of the herd.

What is they saying? A stenching silence settles down.
We are here with a body laid out which fades away,
with a pure shape which had nightingales
and we see it being filled with depthless holes.

Who creases the shroud? What he says is not true!
Nobody sings here, nobody weeps in the corner,
nobody pricks the spurs, nor terrifies the serpent.
Here I want nothing else but the round eyes
to see his body without a chance of rest.

Here I want to see those men of hard voice.
Those that break horses and dominate rivers;
those men of sonorous skeleton who sing
with a mouth full of sun and flint.

Here I want to see them. Before the stone.
Before this body with broken reins.
I want to know from them the way out
for this captain stripped down by death.

I want them to show me a lament like a river
wich will have sweet mists and deep shores,
to take the body of Ignacio where it looses itself
without hearing the double planting of the bulls.

Loses itself in the round bull ring of the moon
which feigns in its youth a sad quiet bull,
loses itself in the night without song of fishes
and in the white thicket of frozen smoke.

I don't want to cover his face with handkerchiefs
that he may get used to the death he carries.
Go, Ignacio, feel not the hot bellowing
Sleep, fly, rest: even the sea dies!



4. Absent Soul

The bull does not know you, nor the fig tree,
nor the horses, nor the ants in your own house.
The child and the afternoon do not know you
because you have dead forever.

The shoulder of the stone does not know you
nor the black silk, where you are shuttered.
Your silent memory does not know you
because you have died forever

The autumn will come with small white snails,
misty grapes and clustered hills,
but no one will look into your eyes
because you have died forever.

Because you have died for ever,
like all the dead of the earth,
like all the dead who are forgotten
in a heap of lifeless dogs.

Nobady knows you. No. But I sing of you.
For posterity I sing of your profile and grace.
Of the signal maturity of your understanding.
Of your appetite for death and the taste of its mouth.
Of the sadness of your once valiant gaiety.

It will be a long time, if ever, before there is born
an Andalusian so true, so rich in adventure.
I sing of his elegance with words that groan,
and I remember a sad breeze through the olive trees.

Editor 1 Interpretation

Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias: A Masterpiece of Spanish Poetry

Federico García Lorca is one of the most celebrated poets of the Spanish language, and his elegy "Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias" is considered one of his masterpieces. The poem was written in 1935, in honor of the famous bullfighter Ignacio Sanchez Mejias, who died in the ring after being gored by a bull. The poem is a powerful expression of grief, love, and admiration for a man who embodied the spirit of Spain and its culture.

The Structure of the Poem

"Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias" is a complex poem that consists of five parts, each with its own structure and tone. The first part is an introduction that sets the stage for the poem and establishes the emotional tone. The second part is a series of elegiac verses that describe the death of Ignacio Sanchez Mejias and the grief of his friends and followers. The third part is a series of nostalgic verses that evoke the memory of the bullfighter and his life. The fourth part is a series of dramatic verses that describe the bullfight itself and the death of Ignacio Sanchez Mejias. The final part is a conclusion that sums up the poem and its themes.

The Themes of the Poem

"Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias" is a poem that explores several themes, including death, love, bravery, and the relationship between man and nature. The poem is a tribute to a man who stood up to the forces of nature and faced death with courage and dignity. The poem also celebrates the beauty and power of the natural world, as represented by the bull and the bullfight. Finally, the poem is a meditation on the nature of love and its ability to transcend death and time.

The Use of Language

One of the most striking features of "Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias" is Lorca's use of language. The poem is written in a rich and complex style that blends traditional poetic forms with modernist techniques. Lorca uses vivid imagery, metaphor, and symbolism to create a powerful and evocative portrait of the bullfighter and his world. The language of the poem is both lyrical and dramatic, reflecting the intensity of the emotions it expresses.

The Symbolism of the Bull

The bull is a central symbol in "Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias." The bull represents the forces of nature and the power of life and death. The bullfight is a metaphor for the struggle between man and nature, and the death of Ignacio Sanchez Mejias represents the ultimate sacrifice of man to the forces of nature. The bull also represents the spirit of Spain and its culture, which Lorca sees as a unique blend of beauty, violence, and passion.

The Role of Death

Death is a recurring theme in "Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias." The poem is a meditation on the nature of death and its role in human life. Lorca sees death as a natural and inevitable part of life, but also as a source of beauty and meaning. The death of Ignacio Sanchez Mejias is presented as a moment of transcendence, a moment when the bullfighter becomes one with the forces of nature and achieves a kind of immortality.

The Role of Love

Love is another recurring theme in "Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias." Lorca sees love as a powerful and transformative force that can transcend death and time. The love that the poet and his friends feel for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias is presented as a source of strength and inspiration, a way of keeping his memory alive and preserving his legacy. The final lines of the poem, which describe the eternal love between the poet and the bullfighter, are among the most moving and powerful in Spanish poetry.

Conclusion

In conclusion, "Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias" is one of the great masterpieces of Spanish poetry. It is a powerful and moving expression of grief, love, and admiration for a man who embodied the spirit of Spain and its culture. Through its use of language, imagery, and symbolism, the poem explores some of the most fundamental themes of human life, including death, love, courage, and the relationship between man and nature. It is a testament to the enduring power of poetry to capture the essence of human experience and to transcend time and place.

Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation

Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias: A Masterpiece of Spanish Poetry

Federico García Lorca, one of the most celebrated poets of the 20th century, wrote Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias in 1935, as a tribute to his friend and fellow poet, who died in a bullfighting accident. The poem is considered a masterpiece of Spanish poetry, and it is a powerful reflection on life, death, and the human condition.

The poem is divided into five sections, each of which explores a different aspect of Ignacio's life and death. The first section sets the scene, describing the bullfighting arena and the crowd's anticipation of the spectacle. The second section introduces Ignacio, the torero, or bullfighter, and describes his skill and bravery in the ring. The third section is a lament for Ignacio's death, and the fourth section is a reflection on the transience of life and the inevitability of death. The final section is a tribute to Ignacio's memory and his legacy as a poet and torero.

The poem is written in free verse, with no set rhyme or meter, which gives it a natural and spontaneous feel. Lorca's use of imagery and metaphor is particularly striking, as he uses vivid and often surreal images to convey the emotions and themes of the poem. For example, in the first section, he describes the arena as a "black well" and the crowd as "a sea of bulls," creating a sense of foreboding and danger. In the second section, he compares Ignacio to a "green tree," suggesting his vitality and strength, and describes the bull as a "great flower," emphasizing its beauty and power.

One of the most powerful aspects of the poem is its exploration of the relationship between life and death. Lorca suggests that life is fleeting and fragile, and that death is an inevitable part of the human experience. In the third section, he writes:

"Death laid him out in the dark of the plaza, laid him out with his cape on top of him, and with a single thrust, opened up his heart."

This image of death as a sudden and violent force is both shocking and poignant, and it emphasizes the finality of Ignacio's death. In the fourth section, Lorca reflects on the transience of life, writing:

"Life, what is it? A frenzy. What is it? An illusion, a shadow, a fiction, and the greatest good is small; for all of life is a dream, and dreams, dreams are."

This passage is a powerful reminder that life is fleeting and that we must make the most of the time we have. It also suggests that our perceptions of reality are subjective and that our lives are shaped by our own perceptions and beliefs.

Another important theme of the poem is the relationship between art and life. Lorca suggests that Ignacio's legacy as a poet and torero is intertwined with his life and death, and that his art is a reflection of his experiences and emotions. In the final section, Lorca writes:

"Green how I love you green. Green wind. Green branches. The ship out on the sea and the horse on the mountain."

These lines are a tribute to Ignacio's poetry, which often celebrated the natural world and the beauty of life. They also suggest that Ignacio's art is a way of preserving his memory and his legacy, and that his poetry is a testament to his life and his experiences.

In conclusion, Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias is a masterpiece of Spanish poetry, and it is a powerful reflection on life, death, and the human condition. Lorca's use of imagery and metaphor is particularly striking, and his exploration of the relationship between life and death is both poignant and thought-provoking. The poem is a tribute to Ignacio's memory and his legacy as a poet and torero, and it is a testament to the power of art to transcend death and preserve the beauty of life.

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