MANUEL GONZALEZ PRADA AND TWO TRENDS IN

PERUVIAN POETRY

by

MARIAN JOYCE STATTON

B.A., University of B r i t i s h Columbia, 1966

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF ARTS

i n the Department

of

Hispanic and I t a l i a n Studies

We accept t h i s thesis as confirming to the required standard

THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

A p r i l , 1968

In p r e s e n t i n g t h i s t h e s i s i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t o f the r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r an

advanced degree at the U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia, I agree t h a t the

L i b r a r y s h a l l make i t f r e e l y a v a i l a b l e f o r r e f e r e n c e and s t u d y . I f u r t h e r

agree t h a t p e r m i s s i o n f o r e x t e n s i v e c o p y i n g of t h i s t h e s i s f o r s c h o l a r l y

purposes may be g r a n t e d by the Head o f my Department o r by h i s r e p r e s e n ­

t a t i v e s . I t i s u n d e r s t o o d t h a t c o p y i n g o r p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r

f i n a n c i a l g a i n s h a l l not be a l l o w e d w i t h o u t my w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n .

Department o f H i s p a n i c and T h a l i a n a M i d i a B .

The U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia Vancouver 8, Canada

Date 20 A p r i l 1968

ABSTRACT

While Gonzalez Prada was mainly a prose writer and

id e o l o g i s t , he did write poetry throughout his l i f e ,

beginning perhaps even before he began to write prose.

Although his poetry i t s e l f had l i t t l e influence on other

poets, the ideas which l i e behind i t did. The purpose

of t h i s paper i s to show that there are two i n c i p i e n t

trends of Peruvian poetry i n Prada's poems: Modernism

and indigenism.

Prada 1s tendency towards Modernism i s found to be mainly

t h e o r e t i c a l and i d e o l o g i c a l , as his adoption of modernist

s t y l e occurs when Modernism has already been established

by Ruben Darxo, and disappears after the publication of

Exoticas i n 1911.

Chocano serves as a counterpoint to Prada i n showing the

extent to which the l a t t e r had any r e a l influence on the

development of a p a r t i c u l a r modernist poet, and to which

the f u l l development of Modernism d i f f e r e d from the

innovations which Prada had envisioned.

The i n c i p i e n t indigenism i n Prada's poetry i s represented

i n Baladas peruanas, although the point i n which Prada

anticipates twentieth century writers i s that of the use

of poetry as a vehicle for ideas, and as such i s also

i i

evident i n L i b e r t a r i a s and Presbiterianas.

The nature of Prada"s indigenism i s compared to that of

Chocano i n order to show the extent of the modernists'

f a i l u r e to develop the trends which Prada had foreshadowed.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Introduction 1

Chapter One: The nature and extent of Prada 1s Modernism 5

Chapter Two: Prada's influence on Jose Santos

Chocano 39

Chapter Three: Prada's Baladas peruanas 61

Chapter Four: Chocano's modernist treatment of indigenous themes 83

Conclusions 9 8

L i s t of Works Cited 100

INTRODUCTION

Manuel Gonzalez Prada has been regarded by most c r i t i c s as

a thinker and a polemicist who expressed himself mainly

i n prose. His f i r s t d e f i n i t i v e published work was Pajinas

l i b r e s , 189 4. Most of the a r t i c l e s i n that book were written

i n the mid 18 80's and reveal the ideas which characterize

Prada's l a t e r work. In the "Discurso en e l Teatro Olimpo"

he attacks the clergy and p o l i t i c s which are not based on

i d e a l s . 1 In "Conferencia en e l Ateneo de Lima" he attacks 2

academic culture and proclaims, as he does i n many other

a r t i c l e s , " e l Arte l i b r e " based on "lo unico i n f a l i b l e , l a

Ciencia; lo unico i n v i o l a b l e , l a verdad." In "Instruccicn

Catolica" he attacks C h r i s t i a n i t y and Catholicism. ^ In

the "Discurso en e l Politeama" he attacks " l a ignorancia 5

de los gobernados" m which he includes not only the

government i t s e l f , but the Army, the Church, and the entire

s o c i a l order which condones t h e i r actions. In Pajinas l i b r e s

he includes a r t i c l e s on three men whom he looked to as

precedents: V i c t o r Hugo, Renan and V i g i l .

The essay dealing with Heine reveals the extent of Prada's

acquaintance with germanic culture. He mentions Goethe,

S c h i l l e r , Tieck, Ruckert, Uhland, Wilhelm Muller and Wilhelm

Schlegel as well as Schopenhauer and Kant. In "Renan" he

2

shows that he i s acquainted with Spencer, Darwin and Comte. g

In the essay on Valera he mentions Kropotkin. Thus by

the l a s t few years of the 1880's Prada was f a m i l i a r with

the p o s i t i v i s t s and m a t e r i a l i s t s as well as with at least

one anarchist.

Prada's a n t i c l e r i c a l and a n t i p o l i t i c a l orientation had been 9

declared even e a r l i e r , i n 1879. I t i s the tendency to

be against the established order which characterizes

Prada's thought. He never attempted to define i n a

systematic manner the new order which he v i s u a l i z e d , a

fact which i s r e f l e c t e d i n his ultimate espousal of Anarchism.

Indeed at the moment when he had an opportunity to

ac t i v e l y t r y to influence the course of events i n Peru,

Prada chose rather to absent himself i n Europe where he

remained for seven years and where he published Pajinas

l i b r e s . In 1871 Prada published a number of poems i n Corte's' Parnaso

10 . . peruano. Later while he was l i v i n g i n the country he

began to write some of the ballads which are included i n

Baladas peruanas. Through the Chilean occupation

Prada v o l u n t a r i l y imprisoned himself and spent a great deal

of time writing s a t i r i c a l pieces as well as poems. I t was

at t h i s time that most of his experimentation i n verse form

3

began. Thus Prada began writing poetry before his polemical

prose and continued to do so as his prose developed. The

poems written before 1880, that i s a l l those mentioned

above, reveal l i t t l e of the influence of Prada's develop­

ing ideology. The f i r s t book of Prada's poetry was pub­

lishe d i n 1901, not of his own v o l i t i o n , but by his wife.

I t i s not on the whole, polemic or propagandistic, although

a few of the poems do r e f l e c t the ideas Prada was at the

time expressing i n prose. The same might be said of

Exo'ticas, 1911. Although there i s some evidence of the

influence of the modernists i n Minusculas, i t becomes more

pronounced i n Exoticas. Presbiterianas, however, published

i n 1909, represents Prada's development of verse as a

vehicle for his ideas, as do L i b e r t a r i a s , Grafitos, and

Trozos de Vida a l l published i n the 1930"s. The relationship

of these two trends i n Prada's poetry can best be seen at

two points, as they come together i n t h e i r plenitude i n

Minusculas and Ex6ticas and when they appear together i n

i n c i p i e n t form i n Baladas peruanas.

4

INTRODUCTION

1 Manuel Gonzalez Prada, "Discurso en e l Teatro Olimpo", Pajinas l i b r e s , ed. Luis Alberto Sanchez, 3rd ed. (Lima, 1946), pp. 36-48.

2 Prada, "Conferencia en e l Ateneo de Lima", Pajinas l i b r e s , p. 21.

3 i b i d . , p. 27.

4 Prada, "Instrucci6n C a t d l i c a " , Pajinas l i b r e s , pp. 107-136.

5 Prada, "Discurso en e l Politeama", Pajinas l i b r e s , p. 66.

6 Prada, "Conferencia en e l Ateneo de Lima", Pajinas l i b r e s , . p . 12.

7 Prada, "Renan", Pajinas l i b r e s , p. 196.

8 Prada, "Valera", Paj.inas l i b r e s , p. 215.

9 Merida (Aureliano Villaran) , Cuartos de hora (Lima,. .1879) .

10 Jos4 Galindo Cortes, Parnaso peruano, (Valparaiso, 1871.)

CHAPTER I

C r i t i c s considered Manuel Gonzalez Prada a pe^cursor

of Modernism. The t i t l e of an a r t i c l e by Luis Alberto

Sanchez designates Prada as an "olvidado p'ejtrcursor del

Modernismo": x forgotten, not i n the sense of unrecognized,

but i n the sense of neglected. Max Henriquez Urena i n

his Breve h i s t o r i a del Modernismo devotes two pages to

Prada, c a l l i n g him "un modernista 'avant l a l e t t r e ' " on

the basis of his "prosa a g i l y r e c i a " and his various 2

innovations i n poetic form , but mainly because: S i Gonzalez Prada s i g n i f i e d en e l mariejo de l a prosa y del verso una revolucion, precursora del modernismo y despues coexistente con ese movimiento, mas honda fue l a que encarn6 en e l orden de las^ideas, a p a r t i r del famoso discurso que pronuncio en e l Teatro Politeama en 1886.

Pedro Henriquez Urena m Lit e r a r y Currents i n Hispanic

America also mentions Prada's innovations i n poetry and his 4

f o r c e f u l prose. He says "The t r a n s i t i o n from romanticism

to 'modernismo' began with writers l i k e Gonzalez Prada ..."

Sanchez, who proposes to reaffirm Prada's position as a

precursor of modernism, bases his argument on Prada's

s t y l e i n prose and poetry. Although much has been written

about Prada's i d e o l o g i c a l influence, i n p a r t i c u l a r ,

Chang-Rodriguez's study of Prada, Mariategui and Haya de l a

Torre , the relationship of his ideology to his poetry,

the extent to which his poetry embodies the s p i r i t of

6

modernism, and the extent to which he may have

influenced Jose Santos Chocano, whom Max Henriquez Urena *7

c a l l s the "modernista autentico" of Peru, has been

ignored.

The desire for change of a l l kinds which i s evident i n

the modernist movement as a whole i s apparent very early

i n Prada's prose writings. In Pajinas l i b r e s , i n p a r t i c u l a r

i n the "Conferencia en e l Ateneo de Lima" which Prada gave

i n 1886, he expressed a desire for innovation and renovation

with respect to l i t e r a t u r e . He often attacked formalism

i n language, as he does i n the following l i n e s :

Los idiomas se vigorizan i retemplan en l a fuente popular, mas que en las reglas muertas de los gramaticos i en las exhumaciones pre-hi s t o r i c a s de los eruditos. De las canciones, refranes i dichos del vulgo brotan las palabras o r i j i n a l e s , las frasesgraficas, las construcciones atrevidas.

Even the s p e l l i n g changes he uses correspond to his desire

to reform the use of language )so that i t i s not concerned

so much with the p u r i t i e s of form, but with the p u r i t i e s

of the idea, and with the exact expression of the idea:

I n u t i l r e s u l t a r i a l a emancipacion p o l i t i c a , s i en l a forma nos limitaramos a l exajer^ado purismo de Madrid ... Despojandonos de l a tendencia que nos induce a p r e f e r i r e l f o l l a j e de las palabras a l fruto de las ideas, i e l repiqueteo del consonante a l a mdsica del ritmo, pensemos con l a independencia jermanica ...

7

P r a d a e x p r e s s e s i n the f o l l o w i n g l i n e s the same a t t i t u d e

t o l a n g u a g e , i n s i s t i n g t h a t language must express the

i d e a i n the c o n t e x t o f i t s own t i m e :

V e r d a d en e s t i l o y l e n g u a j e v a l e t a n t o como v e r d a d en e l f o n d o . H a b l a r h o i con i d i o t i s m o i v o c a b l o s de o t r o s s i g l o s , s i g n i f i c a m e n t i r , f a l s i f i c a r e l i d i o m a . Como l a s p a l a b r a s e s p r e s a n i d e a s , t i e n e n su medio p r o p i o en que nacen i v i v e n ; i n j e r i r en un e s c r i t o moderno una f r a s e a n t i c u a d a , e q u i v a l e a i n c r u s t a r en l a f r e n t e de un v i v o e l o j o c r i s t a l i z a d o de • 10 una momia. u

He a l s o e x p r e s s e d the e c l e c t i c i s m t y p i c a l of the m o d e r n i s t s

i n h i s p r o s e . He p o i n t s out t h a t V a l e r a need f e e l no

o b l i g a t i o n t o e x p o r t " e l e s p i r i t u moderno" t o South

A m e r i c a b e c a u s e : " l e r e c i b i m o s d i r e c t a m e n t e de A l e m a n i a ,

I n g l a t e r r a i F r a n c i a . . . " ^

About " E s c u e l a s l i t e r a r i a s " Prada says the f o l l o w i n g :

Sobre l a s f o r m u l a s p a s a j e r a s y v a r i a b l e s , sobre l a s c l a s i f i c a c i o n e s a r b i t r a r i a s de generos y e s c u e l a s , sobre l o s p r e j u i c i o s de n a c i o n a l i d a d y s e c t a , se e l e v a e l a r t e supremo y humano que p r a c t i c a dos p r i n c i p i o s : l a v e r d a d en., l a i d e a , l a c l a r i d a d en l a e x p r e s i o n .

He d e c l a r e s an e c l e c t i c i s m w h i c h i m p l i e s i n d i v i d u a l i s m

i n the f o l l o w i n g l i n e s :

Debemos c o n s e r v a r y d e f e n d e r n u e s t r a i n d i v i d u a l i d a d , marchar s iempre l i b r e s y s o l o s , s i n a f i l i a r n o s a n i n g u n a e s c u e l a n i someternos a n i n g u n a r e g l a m e n t a c i o n . Nada de c a p o r a l i s m o s l i t e r a r i o s .

8

Several arguments have been made by Luis Alberto Sanchez,

and others can be made, to support the thesis that Prada

was a precursor of Modernism.

Sanchez argues that, chronologically, Gonzalez Prada i s

one of the f i r s t precursors of modernism:

S i tomamos a Ruben como punto de r e f e r e n d a , tendremos que Gonzalez-Prada fu4. 19 anos mayor que e l ; Marti y Diaz Mirdn, 14; Gutierrez-Najera, 8; Casal y Vargas V i l a , 4; S i l v a , 2. Practicamente, los tres ultimos son pues sus contemporaneos.

Gonzalez-Prada se i n i c i a poeticamente entre 186 8 y 1871. ... Jose Marti comienza entre 1870 y 1873; Diaz Miron, entre 1870 y 1873, tambie'n; Ndjera hacia 1877 - 80;, S i l v a , despues de 1880; Casal hacia 1881; Dario entre 1884 y 1886.

Thus Prada began to write poetry e a r l i e r than any of the

other accepted precursors of-modernism. Indeed when Prada

began writing i n 1868, Ruben was barely one year old.

Sanchez c i t e s Prada 1s "plenitud" as occurring between 1886

and 1889, r e f e r r i n g s p e c i f i c a l l y to the "Discurso del

Ateneo", "del Teatro Olimpo", and to the formation of

the "Circulo l i t e r a r - i o " . One must note, however,

that t h i s i s his i d e o l o g i c a l "plenitud". His "plenitud"

with respect to his poetic production i s more d i f f i c u l t to

i d e n t i f y with such p r e c i s i o n . Most of the poems which I

w i l l show to be of a modernist nature were published i n

1901 i n Minusculas and i n 1911 i n Exoticas, although the

9

poems themselves are undated. Judging from the fact that

Minusculas was edited without Prada's knowledge for his 17

birthday i n January 1901, we can assume that the poems

i n that volume were written at least by the end of 1900.

At least one of the poems, "Aves de paso" was written by

1885, when Sanchez notes that Prada read i t i n the "Club 18

l i t e r a r i o " . The "Conferencia en e l Ateneo de Lima",

which took place i n 1886 deals mainly with poetry, so i t

i s obvious that Prada was divulging his poetry and his

ideas about poetry i n the mid 1880's. Azul, Ruber's f i r s t

r e a l l y modernist work, was published i n 1888, when Prada

was forty years old and had been expressing a modernist

attitude to l i t e r a t u r e for several years. Sanchez points out as i n d i c a t i v e of modernism the technical

innovations which appear i n Minusculas:

Las novedades metricas que aporta Gonzalez Prada entre 1871 y 1901 son Rondeles, T r i o l e t s , Balatas, Pantums, Rispettos, Espenserinas, Estornelos, Ritmos s i n rimas, un ensayo de ritmo alkmanico; un romance que combina versos de 12 y 8 y en otros casos de 10 y 12; ademas un rondel-romance ... Despue's de 1901, Gonzalez-Prada anade a sus innovaciones formales los Laudes, V i l l a n e l a s , Gacelas, Polirritmos ... y Cuartetos Persas. Ademas, ensaya un endecasilabo con acentuacidh en l a 3 a y 7a ... 19

Sanchez mentions other facts to support the argument that

Prada i s an "olvidado percursor del Modernismo". He c i t e s

10

the poets whom Prada paraphrases i n Minusculas: Gautier,

Van Hasselt, Shelley, Heine, Herbert Spencer, Catulle

Mendes, Th. de B a n v i l l e , Maurice R o l l i n a t , Leopardi, and

mentions translations of Goethe, S c h i l l e r , Ruckert, Von

Chamisso, Klopstock, Heine, Omar Khayyam, and K i p l i n g 20

which Prada had made. Sanchez writes: ... imitara a l s a g i t a r i o Quevedo y escuchara

a Gracian. Dira e l elogio de Cervantes. Des'testara a Becquer, elogiara en c i e r t o modo a Nunez de Arce y Campoamor; denostara a Castelar; rendira p l e i t o homenaje a Hugo y a Renan, a Louis Menard y a Michelet, c a s i todo antes de 1894; conocera a Verlaine, de leidas y en persona, desde luego, antes de esa misma fecha.

Sanchez gives none of the evidence which exists i n Prada's

work to support these statements. "La di v i n a podre" i n f 2 2

Exoticas , seems very close to the s p i r i t of Quevedo.

I t i s quite f a l s e , however, to say that Prada detested

Becquer. He detested Becquer's imitators, but praised

Becquer i n the following l i n e s :

Imita s i n perder l a individualidad; su obra no consiste en traducir con i n f i e l maestria versos de poetas jermanicos, sino en dar a l e s t i l o l a simpleza, l a injenuidad, l a trasparencia, l a delicada i r o n i a , en una palabra, todo e l sabor del 'lied' aleman.

while he found f a u l t with Becquer 1s imitators:

11

Pero las composiciones f u j i t i v a s de los verdaderos poetas son chispas de b r i l l a n t e s o f r i s o s de marmol pentelico, mientras las cuartetas asonantadas de los becqueristas son fragmento de sustancias opacas i amorfas. 24

While Ruben rejected most Spanish authors once he became

fa m i l i a r with the post-romantic French schools, before

t h i s time, before Azul, he imitated Becquer i n his Rimas,

as Henriquez Urefia points out:

Sus Rimas ... se inspiran en Becquer, pues fueron es c r i t a s para un certamen en e l que se o f r e c i a premiar "composiciones po^ticas del ge'nero sugestivo e insinuante de que es ti p o e l poeta espanol Gustavo Adolfo Becquer. 25

Campoamor, who Sanchez says Prada praises i n a certain

fashion, also influenced Ruben's early work, i n p a r t i c u l a r

Abrojos which, "es, segun confesidn propia, un remedo de 2 6

las Humoradas de Campoamor". Campoamor, however,

unlike Becquer, did not ultimately f i n d a place i n the

modernist's models.

The " c i e r t o modo" i n which Sanchez finds Prada praising

Nunez de Arce must be a very obscure one indeed. Prada

writes of "Los Fragmentos de Luzbel": "Abundan f r a s e o l o j i a s ,

prosaismos i revoques usados por malos versificadores 27

para resanar grietas del e d i f i c i o . "

12

Ruben wrote i n "Palabras liminares" to Prosas profanas:

LY l a c u e s t i 6 n metrica? "jY e l ritmoi" Como cada palabra tiene un^lma, hay en cada verso, ademas de l a harmonia verbal, una melodia i d e a l . La musica es solo de l a idea, muchas veces. 34

Contact with the French schools since romanticism, and

the influence of one or several of them, must be seen

as e s s e n t i a l for the consideration of an author as a

modernist. Mapes c i t e s the influence of the Goncourt

brothers, Catulle Menders, and Theophile Gautier amongst

others i n Ruben's A z u l r ^ while Max Henriquez Ureria

c i t e s the possible influence of Mallarme i n the t i t l e of

the book. 2 9 In G r a f i t o s , Prada shows his a f f e c t i o n for

The.ophile Gautier:

Verne a l pie de tu sepulcro, 0 maestro de l d e c i r , ...

No te ofrezco yo las f l o r e s De un efimero j a r d i n : Solo murmuro tus versos, Condoliendome de t i .

and for the Goncourts:

Coloristas del vocablo; Despue's de Homero y V i r g i l i o , Apreciaron como nadie E l valor de un adjetivo. 30

Ruben included an a r t i c l e on Verlaine i n Los Raros published

i n 1896, and Verlaine's influence i s evident i n Prosas

profanas. Sanchez states that Prada knew Verlaine i n

13

person and through his works before 1894. Prada was

i n Europe between 1892 and 1898, while Dario was there

for short periods i n 1892-93 and again i n 1900. Many of

Prada's poetic experiments were attempts to free poetry

from the imprisonment of rhyme:

Sueno con ritmos domados a l yugo r i g i d o acento,

Libres del rudo carcan de l a rima;

Ritmos sedosos que efloren l a idea, cual plumas de un cisne

33 Rozan e l agua tranquila de un lago.

Verlaine's "Art poetique" expresses a s i m i l a r p o s s i b i l i t y :

Tu feras bien, en t r a i n d'energie, De rendre un peu l a Rime assagie. S i l'on n'y v e i l l e , e l l e i r a jusqu'ou?

0 qui d i r a les torts de l a Rime? Quel enfant sourd ou quel negre fou Nous a forge ce bijou d'un sou Qui sonne creux et faux sous l a lime?

35 De l a musique encore et toujours!

Prada also praised Verlaine's poetry i n Grafitos :

En sus versos amalgama La ceniza con l a llama, Lo b e s t i a l con lo divino, La salud con l a gangrena, E l cantar de l a sirena _fi

Con e l gruriir del gorrino.

Sanchez attributes the o r i g i n of Prada's rondels and 3 t r i o l e t s to Banville's divulgation of them i n 1870

14

Although i t i s also possible that the ballads are

influenced by Verlaine's, the rather decadent romantic

tone of Prada"s early poetry lends credence to the influence

of B a n v i l l e .

While Ruben's Azul may have taken i t s t i t l e from Mallarme,

i t i s equally possible that there i s an echo of Hugo 38

i n i t . I t i s perhaps i n his fondness for Hugo that

Prada i s most t y p i c a l as a precursor with regard to the

l i t e r a r y figures admitted by modernists. In the poem

"Victor Hugo y l a tumba" dated 1885, Hugo's influence on

Ruben i s most patent:

ese que asicamina, con l a l i r a en l a d i e s t r a , l a armonia en los labios, l a fe en e l corazon, ese ha vertido e l anfora del bien y de l a vida con que cura sus ulceras l a Humanidad caida: ese profeta es aguila, y es alondra y es leon. 39

The influence of Hugo on Ruben can be seen even i n Azul, 40

as Mapes points out, and Ruben himself c i t e s him as 41

a precedent i n Prosas profanas. As I w i l l discuss Hugo's influence on Chocano, I w i l l only point out here

42 that Prada's essay on Hugo i s also dated 18 85. Hugo's influence i s evident even i n l a t e r modernists such as Lugones,

_ 4 3 i n p a r t i c u l a r i n Las montanas del pro published i n 1897.

15

Lugones only arrived i n Buenos Aires i n 1896 and therefore

entered the modernist movement when i t had already begun

to e s t a b l i s h i t s e l f with Ruben as i t s head.

I t i s clear that Prada's poetic preferences, running the

gamut from Becquer, through Hugo, to the post-romantic

French schools, i n p a r t i c u l a r the symbolists, not only

r e f l e c t , but actually forerun those of the modernists

i n general and of Ruben i n p a r t i c u l a r .

The most evident modernist exoticism i n Prada's work

occurs i n poems which deal with Greek l i t e r a t u r e or

mythology. His prose writings often express the same

ideas as his poetry. For instance, the basis of his

appreciation of Greek culture as expressed i n "Memoranda"

i s s i m i l a r to that expressed i n several of his poems

re f e r r i n g to Greek l i t e r a t u r e . In "Memoranda", Prada

writes: "Con e l advenimiento d e l Cristianismo, l a

l i t e r a t u r a , e l Arte, perdieron e l germen l i b r e y p o s i t i v o 44

de Grecia". and Como las decadencias a r t i s t i c a s y l i t e r a r i a s

de Occidente se corrigieron siempre con ;un regreso a las fuentes del Helenismo, a s i l a decadencia del e s p i r i t u humano se corrige con l a ^ sabia y moderada inoculacion del e s p i r i t u pagano.

16

Prada describes the " e s p i r i t u pagano" as "Paganismo

inmortal" i n the poem "Prelusion" which serves as a prelude

to Exoticas. Prada describes Greek l i t e r a t u r e as an

eternal i n s p i r a t i o n for poets:

Dura e l poeta, s i en c r i s o l antiguo Acendra el r*oro-broza' de sus cantos. En e l ja r d i n poetico de Grecia Es todo grande, todo perfumado, Desde l a encina p a t r i a r c a l de Horaero A l a efimera rosa de Meleagro. 46

In Prada's description of Pan as e t e r n a l l y renewing, Pan

represents the s p i r i t of the "jardin portico de Grecia":

Eternamente joven y fecundo, Recorre Pan los mares y los llanos Vertiendo vida en e l oscuro fondo De las saladas ondas, despertando En los f e r t i l e s surcos de l a gleba Al perezoso, entumecido grano. 47

Ruben described Pan i n a very s i m i l a r way:

iOh, l a selva sagrada! ... (Oh, l a fecunda

fuente cuya v i r t u d vence a l destino'.

Bosque i d e a l que l o r e a l complica,

A l i i va e l dios en celo tras l a hembra Y l a caha de Pan se alza del lodo: l a eterna vida sus semillas siembra. 48

Both poets begin with an image of water which evolves

into a image of land, both connected with renewed l i f e :

Prada: Vertiendo vida en e l oscuro fondo De las saladas ondas.

Ruben: Oh, l a fecunda fuente cuya v i r t u d vence a l destino.

17

Prada: despertando En los f e r t i l e s surcos de l a gleba A l perezoso, entumecido grano.

Ruben: y l a cana de Pan se alza del lodo: l a eterna vida sus semillas sembra.

In Prada's poem there i s a r i g i d system of c o r r e l a t i o n

o r i g i n a t i n g i n the elements "mares" and "llanos" and

continuing i n " e l oscuro fondo", "los f e r t i l e s surcos",

and "de las saladas ondas", "de l a gleba". The verbal

forms "vertiendo vida" and "despertando" are also

p a r a l l e l i s t i c i f one omits the l a s t l i n e which i t s e l f

gains impetus from the fact that i t f a l l s outside the

c o r r e l a t i v e structure and contains the ultimate object

of both verbal ideas. Prada s t i l l , however, preserves

the sensation of du a l i t y by using two adjectives to modify

"grano". Such c o r r e l a t i v e structures are very frequent i n

Prada's poetry and i n fact could be c a l l e d t y p i c a l of i t .

I t seems obvious from the s i m i l a r i t i e s i n Rube'n's and

Prada's poem that one must be an echo of the other. Ruben's

poem i s dated 190 4 while Prada's, l i k e most of h i s , i s not

dated. I t was published i n 1911, and since i t was not

included i n Minusculas must be dated between 19 01 and 1911.

The fa c t that there are two poems i n Minusculas, "Ritmo 49

s i n rima" and "Rondel" , which deal with a si m i l a r theme,

must be seen as evidence that even i f the images of "Prelusidn"

18

are a reminiscence of Rube'n, the idea of Greek culture

as a source of i n s p i r a t i o n i s not. Thus the images may

be Ruben's influence on Prada but the theme has i t s

basis i n Prada's own ideas.

While Prada venerated Greek poetry, Ruben once described 50

his own poetry as "un renovar de notas del Pan griego" and wrote:

Amo mas que l a Grecia de los griegos l a Grecia de l a Francia, ...

and as i f to prove i t c a l l e d Verlaine "iPanida! iPan j 52 tu mismo . . . 1 " Prada must have f e l t the same way,

both that his poetry was a renewal.of the Greek s p i r i t

and that the French inte r p r e t a t i o n of Greece was most

desirable, as he chose to precede his poem with two lines

from Sainte-Beuve:

Paganisme inmortel, es-tu mort? on le d i t ;

Mais Pan Tout bas s'en moque/ et l a Sirene en r i t .

Prada recognizes the effectiveness of the r h e t o r i c a l

question and uses i t throughout the poem.

There are several other instances where the significance

Prada gives Greek figures corresponds to that which Ruben

gives them. Prada describes the e f f e c t of Greek art as

exemplified i n a statue of Venus whom he c a l l s "Diosa de

las diosas":

19

Todos quedan sepultados En divino arrobamiento Nadie siente en sus entrafias E l aguijdn de un deseo. 54

Rube'n attributes the same e f f e c t to art i n general i n a

more personal reference:

Y s i hubo aspera h i e l en mi existencia m e l i f i c o toda acritud e l Arte. 55

Ruben agrees that the absence of " e l aguijon de un deseo"

i s one of.the advantages of Pan's "bosque i d e a l " :

Bosque i d e a l que lo r e a l complica, a l i i e l cuerpo arde y vive y Psiquis vuela; mientras abajo e l s a t i r o f o r n i c a , 56

Prada often describes Greek figures i n terms of human

beauty:

Siempre a mis ojos, vestida de gracia, desnuda del peplum, Reine l a griega beldad

Casta blancura l i l i a l , desnudez impecable y divina, Siempre a mis ojos l u c i d . 57

Conversely he attributes the beauty of Greek godesses to

humans:

i A ddnde vas tan hermosa Con beldad tan sobrehumana, Que pareces una diosa?

Con pie cpe vuela y no posa Igualandote con Diana IA donde vas tan hermosa? 58

He places the beauty of Greek mythology above that of other

exotic places:

20

Fuera alabanza i n j u r i o s a Llamarte reina 6 sultana 5» Que pareces una diosa.

The e r o t i c theme so basic i n Ruben's poetry also

exists i n Prada's:

En t i confiado y entusiasta creo, Forma tangible:

Te a c a r i c i o con mis manos, te veo con mis ojos. De t i no dudo, Candida b e l l e z a femenina,

Aspiro e l ambar en tu alie n t o , sorbo e l nectar en tus labios .

Gozo e l placer en tus ardientes, vibradoras carnes

Vosotros sois mi fe, vosotros mi verdad. ^

Ruben i n "Carne, celeste came ..." refers to women i n

general through mythological figures. As Prada uses

the form "tu" to refe r to personal woman i n the lines

above, Ruben uses i t to refer to women i n general:

Eva y C i p r i s concentran e l misterio del corazon del mundo.

Pues en t i existe Primavera para e l t r i s t e , labor gozosa para e l fuerte, nectar, anfora, dulzura amable, iPorque en t i existe

e l placer de v i v i r ...

There are certain s i m i l a r i t i e s of language i n the two

poems. "Nectar" i s common to them with the corresponding

"anfora" i n Ruben and "ambar" i n Prada, both beginning

i n "a", having a sim i l a r sound and meaning. Ruben uses

21

"gozoso", Prada, "gozo". Both use " e l placer", Ruben

saying "en t i existe", Prada saying "en tus ardientes,

vibradoras carnes". Rube'n though c a l l s his poem "Carne,

celeste carne", so that "en t i " 'takes on the significance

of "en tu carne". The s i m i l a r i t y i n meaning i s obvious.

Rube'n i n the same poem writes:

En e l l a esta l a l i r a ^ en e l l a esta l a rosa

thus associating women with art and beauty, as Prada does

i n a rather more dif f u s e manner than Ruben:

E l ritmico vuelo de l a estrofa alada y e l rayo de ardiente, pasional mirada, Encierran lo b e l l o , lo mejor del mundo. iAmor! iPoesiai .... Lo restante ^nada!

En los a r t i s t i c o s seres De l a forma enamorados, Valen t a l vez las miradas Lo que valen lbs abrazos.

In the f i n a l two lines of the following passage, Prada

expresses the same idea as Rube'n i n "En e l l a estci l a ro sa," .

The rest of the verse i s quoted merely to show another

instance of Prada"s use of language si m i l a r to that of

"Carne, celeste carne:"

Amor, suprema dulzura; Miel.no existe mas sabrosaj No hay bien i g u a l a tus bienes Ni g l o r i a i g u al a tus g l o r i a s . Solo e l que ama y es amado Sabe e l precio de las rosas.

A l l of Ruben's poems quoted are from Cantos de vida y

esperanza, los cisnes y otros poemas published i n 1905.

Prada's are from Exoticas, 1911, and thus admit the

p o s s i b i l i t y of some influence by Ruben. This influence

i s obvious i n the images and the language. The theme

of Greek culture appears i n the"Conferencia en e l Ateneo de 66

Lima" i n 1886. The theme as i t i s transformed by

modernist s t y l e , however, i s barely recognizable as

Prada's. The e r o t i c theme i s the main note of "Adoracion",

the l a s t poem of which was written i n 1885. Thus,

again, the basic conception i s Prada's, but the lexicon and

images are influenced by Rube/n.

I t i s evident i n Minusculas that Prada was aware of a need

to renovate Spanish poetry, and, furthermore, that his

attempts to do so were i n harmony with those of the

modernist movement.

In "Ritmo sonado", s u b t i t l e d "Reproducci6n barbara del

metro alkmanico", Prada expresses a preference for rhythmic

unrhymed forms:

Sueno con ritmos domados a l yugo r i g i d o acento, Libres del rudo carcan de l a rima

Ritmos sedosos que efloren l a idea, cual plumas de un cisne

Rozan e l agua tranquila de un lago. °

23

Considering the mention of Ruben's emblem the swan, and

the idea of finding a form adequate to the idea, these

lines can hardly be considered anything but modernist i n

orientat i o n . Another poem, "Ritmo s i n rima", leads one

to a s i m i l a r conclusion. Prada demonstrates a technique

which i s prevalent throughout his poetry, the use of the

r h e t o r i c a l question for emphasis:

ISon i n v i o l a b l e s doncellas los lexicos? \Son las palabras sagrados cadaveres, Momias de reyes, en petreos sarcofagos?

Son las palabras l i b e l u l a s vivas: Yo, las atrapo, s i rasan mis sienes; Yo, palpitantes, las clavo en mis versos.

Vengas de Londres, de Roma o Paris, Se bienvenida, oh ex6tica voz S i amplio reguero derramas de luz. 69

Some of the exotic lexicon which occurs i n Minusculas are

the following expressions: " e l rebafio de Panurgo, l a

rosa, seraficas notas, e l hada en o r i e n t a l region, La boreal

aurora/ Del f r i o Septentrion, cisne, griego c r i s o l , l a

purpura de tu alma, rojo pielago, nubes de ambar y opalo,

Libo nectar y miel, arrojan nectar y ambrosia, crisantemo,

mirto, l a u r e l , rosa, Gacela hermosa carmm y rosa, lobrega

laguna, Fenix, E l trebol mistico profana/ A l mirto griego y

a l acanto .

Prada expresses very succinctly the aim to which his

experimentation i n form and lexicon was directed: " E l

24

e&critor no debe decirse: Yo voy a ser e s p i r i t u a l i s t a

o m a t e r i a l i s t a ; c l a s i c o o romantico; simbolista o

p o s i t i v i s t a ' , sino 1 Yo voy a ser yo: dar l i b r e rienda 71

a su personalidad." I t i s the same point which Ruben < ' 1 2 makes when he writes "Mi l i t e r a t u r a es 'mia' en mi".

Prada i n s i s t s on the e c l e c t i c nature of l i t e r a t u r e :

Un error comun a todas las generaciones l i t e r a r i a s es figurarse que descubren un nuevo mundo desconocido a las generaciones anteriores, cuando no hacen mas que evolucionar en vez de revolucionar, v e r i f i c a r un v i a j e de regresion en lugar de i r adelante, a l t e r a r en vez de crear. 73

The modernist movement i s perhaps exemplary of a

generation which regressed to many d i f f e r e n t points of

l i t e r a r y h i s t o r y to a l t e r contemporary forms and s t y l e s .

The great preoccupation for form and s t y l e evident i n

Prada 1s own poetry and ih'that of the'modernist movement

as a whole, i s described i n the following terms:

En Arte no conoce mas moral que e l respeto a l a forma. Nada de leyes n i trabas, que e l tiempo depurara las obras y concedera a lo bueno e l lugar debido. La ley de seleccidn es tambien una ley a r t i s t i c a : lo b e l l o en l a forma y e l fondo concluye por t r i u n f a r . 7 4

The f i r s t poem of Minusculas, s u b t i t l e d "A manera de prologo",

and separated from the re s t of the book by a d i f f e r e n t

type, reveals Prada's feelings about poetry and i t s place

25

i n society. The poem i s preceded by two lines by A. de

Belloy which are translated into Spanish to form the l a s t

quartet of the poem:

Cedons, puis q u ' i l le faut, soumettons-nous en prose Mais protestons en vers pour le l i s et l a rose.

The f e e l i n g that poetry i s not accepted or appreciated by

the world at large preoccupies the poet throughout the

poem:

iVersos? Nadie los estima, No cuadrando a gentes graves Eso de ritmo y de rima.

\Que adelanto s i e l poeta Cambiara l i r a s y Musas Por azadon y piqueta! 76

S i sois b r u t a l mayoria LQue haremos hoy los amantes De l a hermosa Poesia?

Prada mentions e l burgues, thinking perhaps along the

lines of Ruben's " E l Rey burgues" ^8 w h i c h deals with a

lack of s e n s i t i v i t y and i n t e r e s t i n poetry. The use of

"azucena" and "rosa" i n the poem as emblems of the per­

fe c t i o n of poetry i s a d i s t i n c t l y modernist choice.

The extent to which the theme of t h i s poem i s the

theme of Prada's poetry as a whole, i s debatable. I t i s

applicable largely to Minusculas and Exdticas but even

i n these books certain poems tend to r e f l e c t Prada's b e l i e f

that a man of l e t t e r s should contribute to an "obra de

26

/ 79 r e g e n e r a c i o n s o c i a l " . Even i n the poem I have been

q u o t i n g , " P o r l a r o s a " , Prada does not r e f r a i n from

t a u n t i n g the saperf i c i a l m o r a l i t y he so o f t e n a t t a c k e d : Es e l beso a c c i o n impura S i n e l santo m a t r i m o n i o , S i n b e n d i c i o n e s d e l c u r a .

P r a d a t r i e s t o e x p l a i n the a p p a r e n t c o n f l i c t between

p u r e l y a e s t h e t i c i d e a l s a n d ' s o c i a l i d e a l s w i t h r e s p e c t

t o p o e t r y by l i n k i n g the two: " E l Parnaso de l a s Musas ,

como e l Olimpo de l o s D i o s e s , se h a l l a n en l a T i e r r a ; y

e l Pegaso , e l s i m b o l o de l a p o e s i a , t i e n e a l a s p a r a

81

v o l a r a l a s n u b e s , cascos p a r a t r o t a r en e l s u e l o . "

H i s d e f i n i t i o n o f the beauty o f A r t , a l t h o u g h u n f i n i s h e d ,

s u g g e s t s b o t h a e s t h e t i c and s o c i a l c o n n o t a t i o n s : " . . . e l

A r t e r e a l i z a l o b e l l o . . . . P e r o , como nada e x i s t e mas

b e l l o que l a s cosas v e r d a d e r a s o l a s i n s t i t u c i o n e s j u s t a s , 8 2

e l a r t e v e r d a d e r o . . . . "

I t appears f rom the f o l l o w i n g l i n e s f rom M i n u s c u l a s t h a t

P r a d a h e l d a b a s i c a l l y a r i s t o c r a t i c c o n c e p t of the p o e t :

No a r r a s t r e s , o h , p o e t a , L a p u r p u r a de t u alma En e l l o d o y l a s m i s e r i a s De l a s c a l l e s y l a s p l a z a s : No des t u n o b l e c o r a z o n de p a s t o A l p i c o de l o s b u i t r e s y l o s g r a j o s . No hagas p a p e l de j u s t o y m e r c e n a r i o ; _ Lengua de a p o s t o l , sangre de l a c a y o .

27

The poet i n these lines i s pictured i n a manner si m i l a r to

Ruben's i n : "/Torres de Dios,', jPoetasi, Pararrayos celestes."

However, Prada i s not r e a l l y contradicting his idea of

the s o c i a l obligation of the poet, as i s evident i n the

following lines where he defines that o b l i g a t i o n : "Dejese

l a boberia de; llamar ap6stoles o profetas a los escritores

de buenos versos; pero no se olvide que e l bUen poeta

s i n t e t i z a las ideas a n a l i t i c a s de su epoca, i sirve de

intermediario entre e l sabio abstruso i las multitudes 85

i n c i p i e n t e s . " Thus the c o n f l i c t i n these two passages

does not l i e i n aesthetic ideals as opposed to s o c i a l

i d e a l s , but i n p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t y versus s o c i a l i d e a l s , the

former being unworthy of the poet because he i s capable of

influencing society by the sheer force of his expression

and the v a l i d i t y of his ideas. For Prada, the a r i s t o c r a t i c

nature of the poet l i e s i n his being able to express his

ideology i n an enduring form of a r t . V i c t o r Hugo, who

i s exemplary of Prada's admiration of a poet, on just t h i s

basis. . He praises Hugo as being representative of his age: Para estudiar e l e s p i r i t u de nuestro siglo. necesitamos leer las paginas del gran poeta: conociendo a v i c t o r Hugo, sabemos lo que fuimos, lo que somos, l o que anhelamos ser. Mas que e l t i p o de una raza, debe llamarse e l hombre representative de una epoca. 86

He also praises the s o c i a l importance of Hugo's poetry:

28

lanzandola a l a tribuna parlamentaria, a l club jacobino i a l a plaza publica, l a hizo relampaguear como Mirabeau, tronar como Danton i h e r i r como las encolerizadas i j u s t i c i e r a s muchedumbres del 93. La lectura de V i c t o r Hugo ... hace brotar ideas. 87

There are a number of poems i n Exoticas which f a l l outside

the region of modernist s t y l e . Aside from certain verses

within otherwise modernist poems, l i k e the one beginning

" E l culto a l a b e l l e z a y a l a gracia" which I have already

quoted from "Prelusion", these poems are mainly based on

the idea of determinism.

For instance i n a poem c a l l e d "Determinismo" Prada writes:

No es criminal e l milano A l comerse las Palomas, Ni culpable l a serpiente Al segregar su ponzona.

No may malos dignos de mengua Ni buenos dignos de g l o r i a : Existen solo instrumentos De las fuerzas creadoras. 88

The techniques which contribute largely to the e f f e c t of

Prada's poetry i n the modernist idiom are also noticeable

i n t h i s poem. The f i r s t verse and the f i r s t two li n e s

of the second verse quoted are based on r e p e t i t i o n of a

certai n significance within a p a r a l l e l structure. The

f i r s t l i n e of the second stanza repeats i n the form of a

general concept the significance of the two p a r a l l e l

parts of the previous stanza. The second l i n e repeats the

sig n i f i c a n c e of the f i r s t i n p a r a l l e l but opposite terms.

29

Thus i n t h i s p a r t i c u l a r poem, Prada does not use the

modernist idiom, but an almost epigrammatic s t y l e suitable

to the concise expression of his ideas.

Prada repeats the technique of parallel.constructions

throughout "Determinismo", expanding with each new element

the s i g n i f i c a n c e of the previous elements. For instance:

No abominemos las manos Que desgarran o destrozan Ni maldigamos las fauces Que de sangre vienen rojas. 89

which can be interpreted as an application of the theory

of the s u r v i v a l of the f i t t e s t mentioned at the beginning

of the poem to human l i f e , and thus as an exhortation

to violence i n the i n t e r e s t of s u r v i v a l . Certainly t h i s

i s not out of keeping with Prada's adoption of anarchy 90

exemplified i n Anarquia published posthumously xn 1938.

In another poem i n Exdticas, Prada i s e x p l i c i t about the

rela t i o n s h i p of violence to i d e a l s : Sangre que moja las manos v i r i l e s de heroicos rebeldes Nunca s a l p i c a n i mancha l a faz de l a Idea. 91

Logical as he may have f e l t violence to be, Prada confined

his own a c t i v i t i e s to propagating " l a Idea".

Another theme which inspired Prada to abandon the modernist

mode i n Exoticas was that of a n t i c l e r i c a l i s m . The f i r s t

verse of the s a t i r i c a l poem " E l Borrico" describes the

30

burro:

Mi hermano e l burro (lo digo Con franciscana humildad) Mi hermano e l burro camina, S i arrastrarse es caminar.

The si g n i f i c a n c e of "arrastrarse" i s developed i n the

poem to deride C h r i s t i a n i t y :

La Cruz - e l perfido nuncio De j u s t i c i a y caridad, E l oprobioso instrumento Del s u p l i c i o universal

La l l e v a e l asno en sus lomos; Y l a llevan muchos mas, No por fuera, s i por dentro Sin dejarlo sospechar.

In the f i r s t verse quoted Prada again uses a type of

p a r a l l e l i s m with contradictory meaning, i n th i s case to

an i r o n i c end. The two elements of the t h i r d l i n e of

the second stanza are not only p a r a l l e l and opposite i n

meaning, but each i s related to one of the other p a r a l l e l

l i n e s : "por fuera-el asno, por dentro - muchos mas."

In "La Esperanza" Prada opposes the progressive influence

of reason and science to the detrimental one of r e l i g i o n ,

an opposition which i s evident i n such prose works as

"Instruccidn c a t o l i c a " . Again p a r a l l e l i s m i s the basis

of the s t y l e :

La Ciencia t r i u n f a , l a Raz6n domina .. Y e l reino e s t e r i l de l a Fe sucumbe;

31

While i n the poems I have just mentioned Prada

expresses his ideas i n d i s t i n c t l y non-modernist terms,

indeed i n an almost prosaic language, i n the poem "Le tour

du propietaire" he combines modernist elements with other

elements, such as p a r a l l e l i s m , t y p i c a l of the s t y l e of

a l l h is i d e o l o g i c a l poems. Prada begins three of the

stanzas with the following p a r a l l e l l i n e s :

Nada escucha e l burgues: Nada huele e l burgues: g,-Nada mira e l burguds:

The references and lexicon of the following stanza, however,

are d i s t i n c t l y modernist i n tone:

Naturaleza, en vano Almibaras tu almibar, hermoseas tu hermosura, Y como regio donf/ ofreces a los hombres

Tu desnudez olimpica y g l o r i o s a . E l burgues, e l binario de Harpagdh, y de Tartufo No te comprende a t i , l a madre s i n hipocritas remilgos

A t i , l a prodiga divina; A t i , l a gran pagana.

He echoes the modernist b e l i e f that poetry i s valued only

by a minority:

E l gran sehor no mira, no huele n i escucha Que luz, amor, bel l e z a y poesia 97

Nunca fueron productos cotizables en l a bolsa.

Even i n Minusculas certain poems occur which f a l l outside

the scope of modernist s t y l e . For instance, the following

which again suggests the epigrammatic form used i n Grafitos :

Para verme con los muertos, Ya no voy a l campo santo. Busco plazas, no desiertos, Para verme con los muertos. iCorazones hay tan yertos! iAlmas hay que hieden tanto!

A l l these non-modernist poems occurring i n modernist books

have two things i n common: t h e i r s t y l e and the fact that

they are vehicles for the expression of ideas which Prada

has already stated i n prose. Their s t y l e i s polemic,

d i d a c t i c and i n t e l l e c t u a l , just as Prada's prose s t y l e .

The use of p a r a l l e l i s m and r e p e t i t i o n , for instance,

i s used as i t i s i n prose, to repeat concepts, ideas,

rather than images and emotional connotations.

Although, as I have shown, the ideas which inspired the

modernist movement, appeared i n Prada's work before the

modernist period r e a l l y began, and thus permit Prada's

designation as a precursor, the appearance of modernist

s t y l e i n Prada's poetry begins by 1900 and continues

u n t i l 1911. Thus, as far as s t y l e i s concerned, Prada

i s only a follower. Indeed, the occurrence of i d e o l o g i c a l

poems i n Exoticas and Minusculas, and the publication of

Presbiterianas i n 1909, the ideas of which a l l f i n d t h e i r

origins i n Prada's early work, and i n the p o s i t i v i s t

orientation of his own generation, suggest that the

appearance of poems i n a modernist s t y l e presents a cert a i n

anomaly. Prada, quite naturally, clung to the basic ideas

33

which he had developed i n his youth, and, although he

made some e f f o r t to adjust to the next generation's

orientation to modernism, i t proved impossible. For

Prada, the renovation which Modernism produced i n

l i t e r a t u r e was only a small token of the vast changes

which he bad envisioned, and although i t had some basis

i n his ideas, i t proved too lim i t e d to embody them a l l .

In f a c t , Modernism as i t became enclosed i n i t s "torre de

m a r f i l " , increasingly abandoned Prada's most previous

i d e a l , that of l i t e r a t u r e as a weapon for s o c i a l change.

The fa c t that Prada could have influenced a writer such

as Chocano who represents the f u l l e s t r e a l i z a t i o n of a

trend which Prada himself had rejected i s evidence of

the enduring influence of Prada's work and of the fa c t

that i t embodied the essence of the l i t e r a r y developments

of the next two generations i n Peru.

34

CHAPTER I

1 Luis Alberto Sctnchez, "Gonzalez Prada, olvidado precursor del Modernismo", Cuadernos Americanos, VI (Nov.-Dec, 1953), 225-234.

2 Max Henriquez Urefia, Breve h i s t o r i a del Modernising, 2nd ed. (Mexico 1962), p. 333.

3 i b i d . , p. 234.

4 Pedro Henriquez Urena, L i t e r a r y currents i n Hispanic America, (Cambridge, Mass., 1949), p. 154.

5 i b i d . , p. 165.

6 Eugenxo Chang-Rodriguez, La l i t e r a t u r a p o l i t i c a de Gonzalez Prada, Maricttegui y Haya de Ika Torre, (Mexico

1957). s

7 Max Henriquez Urena, p. 333. 8 Prada, "Conferencia en e l Ateneo de Lima", Pajinas

l i b r e s , p. 22.

9 i b i d . , p. 26 .

10 Prada, "Discurso en e l Teatro Olimpo", Pa jinas l i b r e s , p. 45.

11 Prada, "Valera", P a j i n a s l i b r e s , p. 217.

12 Prada, "Escuelas l i t e r a r i a s " , E l Tonel de Diogenes (Mexico 1945), p. 143.

13 Prada, "Memoranda", E l Tonel de Diogenes, #66.

14 Sanchez, "Gonzalez-Prada, olvidado precursor", p. 226.

15 Sanchez, p. 227.

16 l o c . c i t .

17 Luis Alberto Sanchez, "Noticia" i n Minusculas, Manuel Gonzalez Prada, 4th ed. (Lima, 1947). p. 11.

18 Luis Alberto Sanchez, Don Manuel (Santiago, Chile, 19 37), p. 102.

35

19 S a n c h e z , "Gonzalez P r a d a , o l v i d a d o p r e c u r s o r " , p . 230.

20 i b i d . , p . 232.

21 l o c . c i t .

22 Manuel G o n z a l e z P r a d a , E x o t i c a s ( L i m a , 1911), p . 77.

23 P r a d a , " C o n f e r e n c i a en e l Ateneo de L i m a " , P a j i n a s l i b r e s , p . 13.

24 i b i d . , p . 18.

25 Max H e n r i q u e z Uref ia , Breve h i s t o r i a , p . 91 .

26 l o c . c i t .

27 P r a d a , "Los Fragmentos de L u z b e l " , P a j i n a s l i b r e s , p . 234.

28 E r w i n K . Mapes, L ' i n f l u e n c e f r a n c a i s e dans l ' o e u v r e de Rubdn Dario, ( P a r i s , 19 2 5 ) . p . 18.

29 Max H e n r i q u e z U r e n a , Breve h i s t o r i a , p . 93.

30 S a n c h e z , " G o n z a l e z P r a d a , o l v i d a d o p r e c u r s o r " , p . 232.

31 Mapes, p . 72.

32 S a n c h e z , " G o n z a l e z P r a d a , o l v i d a d o p r e c u r s o r " , p . 232.

33 P r a d a , M i n u s c u l a s , p . 43.

3 4 Rub6n Dario, P o e s i a s completas ( M a d r i d , 195 4 ) . p . 6 1 3 .

35 P a u l V e r l a i n e , Oeuvres poet iques* completes ' ' ( P a r i s , .1954) , p . 207. >

36 P r a d a , G r a f i t o s , p . 59.

37 S a n c h e z , " G o n z a l e z P r a d a , o l v i d a d o p r e c u r s o r " . , p . 228.

3 8 Max H e n r i q u e z Uref ia , Breve h i s t o r i a , p . 93.

39 Ruben Dario, p . 436.

40 Mapes , p . 41.

41 Ruben D a r i o , p . 613.

42 P r a d a , " v i c t o r H u g o " , P a j i n a s l i b r e s , p . 183.

36

43 Max Henriquez Ureria, Breve h i s t o r i a , p. 190.

44 Prada, "Memoranda", E l Tonel de Diogenes, #140.

45 Ibid, #1.

46 Prada, Exdticas, p. 6.

47 i b i d . , p. 5.

48 Ruben Dario, p. 70 7.

49 Prada, Minusculas, p. 54.

50 Rube'n Dario, p. 70 6.

51 Rube'n Dario, p. 619.

52 Rubdn Dario, p. 667.

53 Prada, Exdticas, p. 5.

54 i b i d . , p. 14.

55 Ruben Dario, p. 707.

56 lo c . c i t .

57 Prada, Exdticas, p. 104.

58 i b i d . , p. 19.

59 i b i d . , p. 20.

60 i b i d . , p. 114.

61 Ruben Dario, p. 756.

62 Rube'n Dario, p. 755.

63 Prada, Exdticas, p.29.

6 4 ibid:-., p. 37.

65 ibid::, p. 57.

66 Prada, "Conferencia en e l Ateneo de Lima", Pajinas l i b r e s , p. 11-29.

37

6 7 Sanchez, "Noticia" i n Minusculas, p. 77.

68 Prada, Minusculas, p. 43.

69 i b i d . , p. 51.

70 i b i d . , passim.

71 Prada, "Memoranda", E l Tonel de Didgenes, #130.

72 Rubdn Dario, p. 611.

73 Prada, "Escuelas l i t e r a r i a s " , E l Tonel de Didgenes, p. 143.

74 i b i d . , # 49.

75 Prada, Minusculas, p. 13.

76 i b i d . , p. 14.

77 i b i d . , p. 15.

78 Ruberi Dario, " E l Rey burguds", Azul (Buenos Aires, 1948), pp. 29-34.

79 Prada, "Propaganda; Ataque", Pajinas l i b r e s , p. 166.

80 Prada, Minusculas, p. 62.

81 Prada, "Memoranda", E l Tonel de Didgenes, #154.

82 i b i d . , #155.

83 Prada, Minusculas, p. 62.

84 Ruben Dario, Poesias, p. 7 21.

85 Prada, "Los Fragmentos de Luzbel", Pajinas l i b r e s , p. 244.

86 Prada, "Vxctor Hugo", Pajinas l i b r e s , p. 177.

87 i b i d . , p. 179.

88 Prada, Exoticas, p. 60.

38

89 loc. c i t .

90 Manuel Gonzalez Prada, Anarquia, 4th ed. (Lima, 1948).

91 Prada, Exoticas, p. 131.

92 i b i d . , P- 47.

93 i b i d . , P. 48.

94 i b i d . , P- 119.

95 i b i d . , P- 106.

96 i b i d . , P- 107 .

97 l o c . c i t .

9 8 Prada, Minusculas, p. 60.

99 Sanchez, "Gonzalez Prada, olvidado precursor", p. 234.

39

CHAPTER I I

The e v i d e n c e of the e x i s t e n c e o f s t r o n g l i t e r a r y and

p e r s o n a l c o n t a c t s between Manuel G o n z a l e z Prada and Jose

Santos Chocano i s c o n s i d e r a b l e .

In 1899, P r a d a s a t on a b o a r d o f judges which awarded

C h o c a n o ' s "Epopeya d e l morro" the p r i z e i n the "Ateneo

de L i m a ' s " l i t e r a r y c o n t e s t t o commemorate the P e r u v i a n

A r m y ' s a c t i o n a t A r i c a i n 1881. L a t e r , i n 1910, P r a d a 2

wrote the p r o l o g u e f o r C h o c a n o ' s Poesias c o m p l e t a s .

P r a d a ' s p e r s o n a l esteem f o r Chocano i s e v i d e n t i n h i s

d e d i c a t i o n o f the 89th copy o f M i n u s c u l a s t o him i n 1903.

A s i d e from Unamuno, Chocano i s the o n l y v e r y w e l l - k n o w n

l i t e r a r y f i g u r e among the d e d i c a t i o n s which L u i s A l b e r t o

Sanchez has succeeded i n i d e n t i f y i n g .

Chocano a l s o h e l d P r a d a i n h i g h esteem. Sanchez notes

t h a t he appeared a t meet ings o f the " C l u b l i t e r a r i o " o f 4

w h i c h P r a d a was a member, and where he r e a d " R o n d e l " .

I t i s a l s o p o s s i b l e t h a t Chocano was p r e s e n t a t P r a d a ' s

speech i n the P o l i t e a m a . Sanchez c i t e s some q u o t a t i o n s

w h i c h Chocano makes from Prada as b e i n g from t h a t d i s c o u r s e

One o f the q u o t a t i o n s , however , i s from the e s s a y " C a s t e l a r

and the o t h e r i s d e f i n i t e l y not from the P o l i t e a m a speech

40

i n Sanchez 1 own e d i t i o n of i t . One might conclude from t h i s t h a t Chocano's knowledge of Prada's prose was f a i r l y e x t e n s i v e . That he was famihar w i t h the Politeama speech i s evident i n many phrases of h i s poetry which I w i l l quote l a t e r .

One of the poems i n Chocano's e a r l y c o l l e c t i o n , F l o r i l e g i o , i s e n t i t l e d "A Manuel Gonzalez Prada" and dated January 1891. He p r a i s e s Prada's reason, antidespotism and a n t i c l e r i c a l i s m :

iHasta m o r i r , que t u raz6n a r d i e n t e Combata e l yugo y e l e r r o r combata!

i S i aplastas l a cabeza a l venenoso Nauseabundo r e p t i l d e l despotismo Sube a l z e n i t t u nombre esplendoroso'. iY a l atacar e l c l e r i c a l cinismo Tu genio es mar que azota borrascoso E l minado pehon d e l fanatismo ...!

S i g n i f i c a n t l y Prada and Chocano both p r a i s e d i n V i g i l the same q u a l i t i e s which Chocano admited i n Prada. Chocano w r i t e s of Prada:

Y e l genio de V i g i l sobre t u f r e n t e Con toda su grandeza se r e t r a t a ! ...

Prada, i n e x t o l l i n g V i g i l ' s r e f u s a l to mix i n m i l i t a n t p o l i t i c s , h i s r e n u n c i a t i o n of C a t h o l i c i s m i n favor of philosophy, and a t t r i b u t i n g to him the task of "propagandista

g

i defensor d e l Estado contra l a I g l e s i a " , ob v i o u s l y recognizes him as a precedent f o r h i s own a t t i t u d e s .

41

Prada praised Chocano's poetry largely because of i t s

s o c i a l s i g n i f i c a n c e , comparing him to Montalvo:

Es l a poesia de cdleras y odios, de imprecaciones y d i a t r i b a s : Chocano l a maneja como nadie en e l Peru y muy pocos en America. Por sus furibundos ataques 'al tir a n o ' , hace pensar en Montalvo anatematizando a Rosas, en un "Montalvo poeta" clamando por l a exterminacio'n de Garcia Morena ... t i r a r a^la cara de un hombre una l l u v i a de buenos endecasilabos salpicados de maldiciones y denuestos, es algo como g abofetearle con rosas mo.jadas en v i t r i o l o .

The q u a l i t y of s t y l e which Prada found lacking i n V i g i l

("las obras de V i j i l ... jeneralmente pecan de i n d i j e s t a s ,

porque no poseen l a majia del e s t i l o " . ) ^ i s not

fa u l t i n g i n Chocano as the l a s t l i nes of Prada's comment

show. Prada i s i n fac t praising Chocano's s t y l e and

v e r s a t i l i t y :

... nunca l e f a l t a n vocablos n i giros para manifestar sus ideas y d e s c r i b i r e l mundo entero. Con tanta f a c i l i d a d maneja e l verso suelto, como e l asonantado y e l consonantado; y l o mismo cince l a un soneto y una decima que una octava r e a l o un terceto.

Ningun metro l e arredra; y sale tan airoso del a r t i s t i c o endecasllabo, como del popular octasilabo ... A l a variedad en las formas ^ responde l a diversidad en e l e s t i l o y l a manera.

Prada also praises Chocano's prose:

S i de muchos hombres se ha dicho que vivie r o n en "estado de gracia", Chocano puede afirmarse que vive en "estado de poesia". Naci6 tan formado para cernerse en l a esfera de l a imaginacidn, y ha vivido tan consagrado a vaciar las ideas en e l verso, que a l descender a la:, prosa denuncia su idolo de poeta y merece que le apliquen e l

42

citado verso de Le Mierre. Meme quand l'oiseau marche On sent q u ' i l a des a i l e s .

Chocano says almost the reverse of Prada i n 1930-1, stating

that Prada only found his f i n a l mode of expression

afte r the War of the P a c i f i c :

Hasta los t r e i n t a y cinco anos don Manuel Gonzalez Prada es un cultor del verso en forma discreto, s i n e l vigor de l a personalidad que se revela luego en eI,teniendo que convenirse en que no fueron bastantes a imponer l a g l o r i a de t a l nombre los rondeles y sonetos en que ensaya l a pluma, ignorante entonces de su origen oculto bajo e l ala del aguila de Patmos. La produccidn de don Manuel Gonzalez Prada antes de l a Guerra, es l a de un e s p i r i t u sofrenado, cohibido o desconocedor de s i mismo.

Despuds de l a guerra ... don Manuel Gonzalez Prada aparece en todo e l vigor de su lirismo heroico. t ,

No usa. e l para su poesia e l verso, pero s i una suerte de ver s i c u l o caracterizado por l a concision acerada o por l a vibracidh nerviosa, ...

... e l verbo nuevo de don Manuel'Gonzalez Prada sorprende a l Peru entero, que reconoce a l escucharle l a voz de su conciencia. La verdad aparece dicha en forma de belleza^y con una acentuacidn grandilocuente y p r o f e t i c a .

Both i n the above passage and i n the following one i t i s

obvious that i t i s hot Prada"s poetry which Chocano

admires, but his prose,

Don Manuel Gonzalez Prada, en l a plentitud de supersonalidad, fue un producto del ambiente formado por l a Guerra, como lo fue tambien mi poesia. E l se s i n t i d profeta; poeta naci yo. ^

43

Chocano obviously recognies a certain community of s p i r i t

between himself and Prada based largely on t h e i r common

formation i n the Peru of the War of the P a c i f i c and on

th e i r common revolutionary and l i b e r t a r i a n i d e a l s . Thus

when Chocano says of Prada " e l Peru entero ... reconoce

a l escucharle l a voz de su conciencia", he must be including

himself.

Chocano recognizes Prada as his precursor as far as the

"tono mayor" of his poetry i s concerned:

El. ambiente f e s t i v o de Lima ya no ahogaba e l liri s m o ; y, por e l co n t r a r i o , , l a voz pr o f e t i c a de don Manuel Gonzalez Prada habia acostumbrado e l oido publico a l tono mayor. E l poeta no tenia por que ya presentarse en actitud temerosa, n i menos dolido de su suerte: a s i se explica l a arrogancia con que lance mi Selva Virgen, no sol i c i t a n d o , sino exigiendo e l favor publico.

La guerra del 79 habia,formado e l ambiente de que s.urgio una prosa b i b l i c a y luego una poesia v i r i l , un profeta y luego un poeta, don Manuel Gonzalez Prada y luego yo. 1

I have already quoted passages of Prada's prose and poetry

which reveal his t h e o r e t i c a l adhesion to the modernist

movement, as well as one passage i n which he praises

Chocano's experimentation i n form and s t y l e . Chocano

himself declares the e c l e c t i c nature of his poetry i n

F i a t Lux of which he says:

44

Esta di v i d i d o en tres partes: "Poemas c l a s i c o s , Poemas romanticos, Poemas modernistas." No c r e o ^ n poesia anticuada n i futura, sino en poesia eterna .... Mi lema es inv a r i a b l e : en e l Arte caben todas las escuelas como en un rayo de s o l todos los colores.

Like Prada, Chocano refuses to be a part, or a leader, of

any school, and, l i k e both Ruben and Prada, he emphasizes

the d i s t i n c t l y personal nature of his poetry:

Ni quiero ser l a oveja, n i quiero ser e l cjuia: Mi verso es para todos, pero mi Musa es mia.

Chocano i n s i s t s on maintaining his personality i n his

poetry, at the same time refuting the necessity for merely

formal perfection:

Amala feiusaj a s i , desnuda del ropaje de un arte impropio, a l t i v a en su franqueza; dejala que se burle del encaje; porque no ignora que e l primor del t r a j e sera elegancia, pero no belleza Amo e l arte cual tu, no cual l a tropa cautiva solo de l a forma fatua; ^

Chocano c a l l s t h i s poem "Arte sincere" Prada expresses

a s i m i l a r idea using the word s i n c e r i t y i n the following

l i n e s :

Quiza e l arte de e s c r i b i r se resume en: sinceridad en e l fondo y cl a r i d a d en l a forma .... un e s p i r i t u l i b r e , independiente y hasta huraho cuadra bien a l a r t i s t a .... Nada de caporalismos l i t e r a r i o s . ^

45

A f a i r l y early poem published i n Cantos del P a c i f i c o i n

190 4, shows certain s i m i l a r i t i e s of thought to Prada's

"Prelusion". Both poems suggest that Greek poetry w i l l

not die and that there w i l l be someday a renewal of the

s p i r i t which engendered i t :

Chocano En l a tricorde l i r a con que e l griego hablo a los brutos y encant6 a las gj.edras, nunca l a G l o r i a apagara su fuego.

Prada 0 g l o r i a de l a T i e r r a y de los Cielos Paganismo inmortal I has muerto acaso? x^

In both selections the word " g l o r i a " i s applied to Greek

culture and the implication e x i s t s , by means of a purely

r h e t o r i c a l question i n Prada's verse, that Greek culture

has not and w i l l not die. Chocano's poem i s f a i r l y short

and c a l l e d "Fragmentos de un poema" thus giving the

impression of being not quite finished whereas Prada's

i s longer and a finished work, revealing c a r e f u l l y

thought out images and form. Chocano shows the influence

of poetry on nature, as I have pointed out that Ruben and

Prada both did through the image of Pan. Both Prada and

Chocano mention not only poetry but also the "sabio", thus

drawing Chocano's thought nearer to Prada's than to Ruben's,

Chocano c a l l s poetry:

46

cruz de sangre en l a cota del guerrero, nimbo de e s t r e l l a s en l a sien del sabio y alas abiertas sobre e l mundo entero. 20

Prada also mentions both the attributes of the "guerrero"

and of the "sabio" i n a most prosaic verse:

E l culto a l a be l l e z a y a l a gracia, La aspiracion a los' v i r i l y sano,

E l i n f a l i b l e metodo del sabio, Bienes son por e l v i e j o Paganismo A l a moderna Humanidad legados. 21

Both Chocano and Prada marvel at the a b i l i t y of the "alma"

of Greece to survive the greatest d i s a s t e r s :

Chocano: y a s i , triunfando sobre cada ruina, morira sdlo cuando muera e l alma! 22

Prada: Pudo a l empuje arrollador de Roma Caer e l Qiego y arrastrarse esclavo, Pudo l a raza de Soldn y Esquilo Rendirse a l ferreo yugo de Bizancio; Mas no sucumbe e l alma de l a Grecia, No muere e l noble e s p i r i t u pagano, 23

Both Chocano and Prada predict a r e b i r t h :

Chocano: Mas vigorosa en e l futuro d i a

ha de volar por las celestes salas l a larva de l a v i e j a Poesia. 24

Prada: Que s i una Grecia vieron ya los s i g l o s , Segunda Grecia no veran acaso. 25

The reminiscence of Prada 1s "Rondel" which repeats the

phrase "Aves de paso" three times, i n Chocano's "De Viaje"

dated 1895, must surely be more than a coincidence. Sanchez

47

says that Prada read the poem i n the Club l i t e r a r i o i n 26

1885. I t appeared i n the Anales del Circu l o l i t e r a r i o 27 / • i n 1888. I t l a t e r appeared i n Minusculas of which

Chocano had a copy. I t seems unlikely that Prada would

have inscribed a copy of Minusculas to a person who was

not aware of and interested i n his poetry.

Chocano modifies Prada"s "Aves de paso" to "ave de paso"

and uses the phrase only once, i n the opening l i n e , alone,

to embody i n one metaphor the significance of a l l the

lin e s to follow. Prada's technique was prec i s e l y the

opposite. His f i r s t mention of "Aves de paso" i s i n the

f i r s t l i n e , but occurs i n a descriptive passage and thus

has l i t t l e metaphorical s i g n i f i c a n c e . The second and t h i r d

mentions occur at the end, alone, of the second and t h i r d

stanzas respectively and embody the significance of the

preceding l i n e s . Where Prada's f i n a l two li n e s read:

... eternos caminantes, Aves de paso. 28

Chocano's i n i t i a l two read:

Ave de paso Fugaz v i a j e r a desconocida.

The phrase "Ave de paso" i s used for the same e f f e c t by

both poets i n conjunction with an image of t r a v e l l e r s .

This suggests that Chocano did remember Prada's poem.

48

The use i n Chocano's poem of the phrase " l a g l o r i a del

paganismo" which I have already related to Prada's poetry

and of a l i n e consisting of three substantives which i s

t y p i c a l of Prada's s t y l e , and i n fact appears i n "Rondel",

also indicate Prada's influence. Prada wrote: "Son e l 30

amor, l a g l o r i a y e l contento", Chocano: "fue s6lo un

sueno, solo un capricho, sdlo un acaso;"

Thus the echoes of Prada's modernist poetry i n Chocano

are lim i t e d , understandably so, as Chocano's own statements

indicate that he hardly considered Prada a poet. They do

e x i s t , nevertheless, i n the t h e o r e t i c a l proclomation of

the modernist s p i r i t , references to Greek culture as i d e a l

and eternal, and at least one d i s t i n c t reminiscence of

language and s t y l e . Prada's influence must not, however,

be underestimated, for Chocano himself attributes the "tono

mayor" of his poetry to Prada. Indeed, i t i s the "tono

mayor" which continues i n and characterizes Chocano's

poetry long af t e r any d i s t i n c t evidence of Prada's influence

i s present. Between 1892 and 1898 when Prada was i n

Europe and thus no longer a d i r e c t influence on Chocano's

work, many of Chocano's modernist c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s appear.

It was before 1892, however, when Prada was i n Peru

that the "tono mayor" of Chocano"s poetry originated.

49

I t appears quite clear that Prada's was the main

i d e o l o g i c a l influence on Chocano's early poetry. I t i s

through his i d e o l o g i c a l influence that his influence on

the tone of Chocano's poetry i s evident. The poem

e n t i t l e d "A Manuel Gonzalez Prada" i s dated January 1891,

while the f i r s t poem dedicated to Ruben, " E l sermon de

l a montana" occurs i n Iras santas, 189 3-9 5.

The poem i n which Chocano f i r s t expresses his poetic

ideals occurs i n Notas (1890-91) , the same book i n which

the poem "A Manuel Gonzalez Prada" appears. Both, i n thi s

poem, "Deseos" and i n the composition of the c o l l e c t i o n

as a whole, the influence of Prada"s ideas, p a r t i c u l a r l y

those of Pajinas l i b r e s , including the "Discurso en e l

Politeama" and the "Discurso en e l Teatro Olimpo" both

given i n 1888, i s evident.

The three main ideas i n "Deseos" can be traced to Prada.

The poem begins with a rej e c t i o n of the romantic attitude

to poetry:

I

No quiero ser poeta, de aquellos quejumbrosos Romanticos que cantan las penas de su amor; De aquellos i n f e l i c e s que llevan misteriosos La vida que otros tiempos llevaba e l trovador...

50

I I

iNo quiero ser poeta, de aquellos tan galantes Que solo vierten versos y f l o r e s de salon, Que adulan las mujeres con frases elegantes,. 3 3

Prada, i n the "Discurso en e l Teatro Olimpo" laments the

lack of poets who w i l l r e j e c t romanticism i n favour of a

poetry of ideas:

E l Peru no cuenta hoi con un l i t e r a t o que por e l caudal i atrevimiento de sus ideas se levante a l ' a l t u r a de los escritores europeos, n i que en e l e s t i l o se l i b e r t e de l a imitacion seudo pu r i s t a o del romanticismo trasnochado. Hai gala de arcaismos, lujo de refranes i hasta choque de palabras grandilocuentes; pero; i. donde brotan las ideas? 3 4

Chocano lin k s the break with romanticism to the embracing

of a poetry of ideas based on science, or, as he says,

reason:

iiYo quiero ser poeta, de aquellos pensadores Que por aureola ostentan l a ley de l a Razdn, Que mucho hablan de ideas, que poco hablan de amores, Que otro cerebro tienen en vez del corazdn . . . I ! 35

S i m i l a r l y , Prada recommended as a basis for a program for

the Circ u l o l i t e r a r i o " l a verdad en e l e s t i l o i l a verdad 36

en las ideas" and exhorted "Empiece ya en nuestra 37

l i t e r a t u r a e l reinado de l a Ciencia." In "Memoranda"

Prada makes a statement si m i l a r to that i n the l a s t l i n e of the verse quoted from Chocano: " E l hombre no es e l

corazon, ese trozo de carne que recibe y arroja sangre,

51

es l a cabeza, esa forforescencia cerebral que piensa y

quiere. La l l u v i a y l a luz vienen de lo a l t o ; los grandes 3 8

sentimientos bajan del cerebro."

The t h i r d idea present i n "Deseos" i s the following: o

/ Yo quiero ser poeta, de aquellos vxgoros@s Que azotan con sus versos, que matan con su voz, Que rompen los g r i l l e t e s t i r a n i c o s y odiosos, Que a l Pensamiento adoran como se adora a un Dios ... I

There are r e a l l y two points to be considered: the use of

poetry as a weapon against tyranny and the idea of reason

as naturally leading to l i b e r t y . Prada expressed the l a t t e r

i n the Politeama speech: S i l a ignorancia de los gobernantes i l a servidumbre de los gobernados fueron nuestros vencedores, acudamos a l a Ciencia, ese redentor que nos ensena a suavizar l a t i r a n i a de l a Naturaleza, adoremos l a Libertad, esa madre enjendradora de hombres fuertea 40

He suggests the p o l i t i c a l uses of l i t e r a t u r e i n his speech

i n the Teatro Olimpo: "Una juventud, eri f i n , que se

impacienta por suprimir obstaculos y abrirse camino para

enarbolar l a bandera roja en los desmantelados terreones 41

de l a l i t e r a t u r a naeional." Cuando llegue l a hora oportuna ... e l Peru contemplara una cruzada contra e l espxritu decrepito de l o pasado, una guerra contra todo lo que implique retroceso en l a Ciencia, en e l Ate i en l a L i t e r a t u r a . 42

Not only do Prada and Chocano express the same objectives

52

for l i t e r a t u r e , but both look to the French revolution and

Hugo as exemplary, becoming most eloquent when r e f e r r i n g

to t h e i r merits. Prada's essay on V i c t o r Hugo i s dated

1885, Chocano's poem 1891. Sanchez claims that except for 43

Hugo, French poetry hardly existed for Chocano. Prada

wrote "La lectura de Victor Hugo, como poderoso estimulante,

hace brotar ideas; sus palabras actuan en e l cerebro, 44

como abono en l a t i e r r a " . Chocano wrote: iTodo un mundo de luz siempre chispea, En l a cancion que hace brotar tu mano A los calidos soplos de l a idea ... I

Both Prada and Chocano re l a t e the influence of Hugo's

writing to p o l i t i c a l action. Prada:

E l quito a l a Poesia las inmaculadas alas de s e r a f i n , que Lamartine le habia revestido, e l l a saco de l a ebdrnea torre donde A l f r e d de Vigny l a qiiso mantener encerrada, e l I' a l e j d d e l palacio donde un tiempo se gozaba en murmurar mondtonos cantos de servidumbre i lanza'ndola a l a tribuna parlamentario, a l club Mirabeau, tronar como Dantdn i h e r i r como las encoler-izadas i j u s t i c i e r a s muchedumbres del 93.

Chocano:

fCiencia es l a espada que esgrime Robespierre en l a tribuna, Cuando habia de l a fortuna Que "a los derechos oprime; Ciencia es l a pluma sublime Del inmortal V i c t o r Hugo, Que a l apostrofar e l yugo Del rey que lo estrecha todo Va salpicando de lodo La conciencia del verdugo!

53

Y c i e n c i a es Dantdn hablando De l a luz en e l santuario Cuando hiere a l opresario Y l o u l t r a j a y l o desprecia ... 47

Thus both authors appear to consider the figures of the

French revolution as symbolic of the s p i r i t of emancipation.

As Prada says: " e l romanticismo franee's ... se fu4 modificando

con V i c t o r Hugo hasta s i g n i f i c a r emancipaci6n del

pensamiento, quiere decir, l i b e r t a d en l a Ciencia, en 48

e l Arte i en l a Li t e r a t u r a . " I t i s as a function of

emancipation i n t h i s broad sense that Prada, and Chocano

i n his i n i t i a l works, interpreted l i t e r a t u r e and the poet.

I have already pointed out the li n e s i n which Chocano

praises Prada for his a n t i c l e r i c a l i s m . Even before those

l i n e s were written i n 1891 Chocano had declared his

atheism: La vida es un sistema de eaaciones Con incognitas m i l ; Cuantas menos incognitas existan Es mas f a c i l v i v i r !

Por eso elimine de mis creencias A Dios, que es una i n c o g n i t a de mas ...! 49

He declares atheism to be a r e s u l t of reason:

Eso nos manda e l Dios que han fabricado Los que quieren sonar,

iConformarse! Ipalabra s i n sentido! jNunca puede emana: de l a raz6n ... 50

54

Prada usually d i r e c t s his c r i t i c i s m not against God but

against those who create and propagate the idea of his

existence. His c r i t i c i s m also i s based on the i r r a t i o n a l i t y

of b e l i e f : He c a l l s clerics, "los hombres del error, de 51

l a oscuridad i de l a muerte." He also opposes science

to r e l i g i o n : "muere l a mentira con las lucubraciones

metafisicas i t e o l d j i c a s , nace l a verdad con l a Ciencia ... „ 52 p o s i t i v a .

Chocano, nevertheless, uses "Dios" for poetic e f f e c t to

embody any i d e a l i n a way which Prada only uses the Greek

gods. For instance, of V i g i l Chocano writes:

iDios es Dios y V i g i l es su profeta I

ILos profetas de Dios se Haitian sabiosl ...

What Prada said of V i g i l well describes Chocano"s concept

of God at thi s point: " V i g i l , en su evolucidn r e l i j i o s a ,

se despoj6 de las creacias c a t o l i c a s , para v i v i r confinado en una especie de cristianismo l i b e r a l o vago teismo

54 c r i s t i a n o " . A s i m i l a r poetic use of the word "Dios" i s found i n "Inj u r i a " with reference to Hugo:

En vano quiere e l f r a i l e con l a i n j u r i a A V i c t o r Hugo h e r i r

iLos seres grandes no se ofenden nunca! iNunca se da por ofendido Dios!

Chocano evokes the same n o n - c l e r i c a l "Dios" i n r e l a t i o n to

love:

Ahora, s i , creo en Dios; porque ya creo En e l bien, que l o encuentro en e l amor. 'iEn brazos del amor no hay hombre ateo! I E l hombre que ama, rinde culto a Dios I 5 6

55

Prada expresses a si m i l a r idea but s t i l l does not resort

to using the word "Dios":

Nunca pude veneer un imposible, E l imposible de creer en algo.

Mas yo de t i no dudo, 5 7

Vosotros s o i s mi fe, vosotros mi verdad.

Chocano i n s i s t s on the purely f i g u r a t i v e significance

of his "Dios" i n the following l i n e s : Ese Dios se esconde incomprensible: iNo existe en realidad I E l verdadero Dios es e l Dios mio: iQue es l a ley natural I

Pero a pesar de todo ...

lYo creere en e l Dios de los cr i s t i a n o s mientras exista un angel como tu', 5 8

Chocano quite obviously i s w i l l i n g to put the in t e r e s t of

poetic e f f e c t ahead of ideology whereas Prada i s not.

Even Prada's modernist poetry remained consistent with

his ideology whereas Chocano's ideals are mainly evolved

within his poetic expression as he himself admits:

A traves de mi h i s t o r i a resonante y f l o r i d a , he de hacer yo del Arte mi mejor fe de vida, y he de hacer de l a vida mi mejor obra de Arte ... 59

Chocano not only echoed many of Prada's ideas about poetry,

but also a certa i n well-known phrase of h i s : "\Los viejos 60

a l a tumba, los jovenes a l a obra!" In "Toque" from

Notas, 1890-91, Chocano wrote:

i Alz ate j uventud! iJovenes a luchar! ^

56

and i n " C a t i l i n a r i a " from Iras santas, 1893-95:

Es de l a juventud l a gran tareal ... Es de l a juventud l a mision noble ^ de hacer triunf.ar l a redentora idea.

In this poem Chocano relates the "gran tarea" to the f i g h t

i n the name of "pensamiento" and "razon" against tyranny

and c i t e s Hugo as exemplary of i t , just as I have shown

that Prada does.

Although I have chosen to quote only poems which

demonstrate a close s i m i l a r i t y with Prada's thought, the

many coincidences evident throughout the Versos de

adolescencia and Iras santas, with the exception of some

of the very early "Rimas", indicate that Prada's i s the

main i d e o l o g i c a l influence on Chocano's early poetry.

Certain reminiscences of Prada do occur l a t e r , but generally

they are not s i g n i f i c a n t . For instance i n "Yunque" written

i n 1901 but published i n 190 4 one reads:

Ya no canto e l amor que l a t e a solas, encarcelado en pechos de egoismo; porque se dialogar como las olas y no monologar como e l abismo.

La poesia cerebral, l a idea, r e s a l t a sobre e l fondo mas obscuro, como l a viva imagen que chispea con p e r f i l e s de fosforo en un muro ...

La vida empieza en sensacion y acaba por ser idea; ... 3

57

The theme of youth as leaving the old behind i s present

i n " L e t i t i a e " from F i a t Lux, 1907:

iAlegrate, juventud!

Sobre las tumbas de tus padres debes pasar tu arado; ... ^4

The paucity of echoes of Prada i n Chocano 1s l a t e r poetry

merely tends to emphasize the abundance of them i n his

e a r l i e r work. Undoubtedly, Prada's influence on Chocano

was a major one, not only i n i t s immediate e f f e c t , but

also on the. development of his l a t e r poetry. While Prada

attempted to use prose and poetry as a vehicle for the

expression of the s o c i a l ideals which his polemic

attitude led him to regard as a kind of poetic r e a l i z a t i o n

i n themselves, Chocano adopted poetry as the prime

vehicle for the r e a l i z a t i o n of his combative temperament.

I t i s the basic coincidence of temperament i n the two

authors which led Chocano to recognize something of himself

i n , and to be influenced by the tone and ideas of Prada's

prose.

58

CHAPTER II

1 Luis Alberto Sanchez, Aladino o Vida y obra de Jose Santos Chocano (Mexico, I960), p. 83.

2 Jose Santos Chocano, Poesias completas (Barcelona, 1910), I. 5-14.

3 Prada, Minusculas, p. 10.

4 Sanchez, Don Manuel, p. 102.

5 Luis Alberto Sanchez, ed. Obras completas, by Jose Santos Chocano (Mexico, 1954), p. 1467, note 1.

6 Prada, "Castelar", Pajinas l i b r e s , p. 228.

7 Chocano, Obras, p. 54.

8 Prada, " V i g i l " , Pajinas l i b r e s , pp. 91-106.

9 Prada, "Pr6logo" i n Chocano, Poesias completas, I, 6.

10 Prada, " V i g i l " , Pajinas l i b r e s , p. 106.

11 Prada, "Prologo", p. 12.

12 Chocano, Obras, p. 1466.

13 i b i d . , p. 1467.

14 i b i d . , p. 1468.

15 i b i d . , p. 482.

16 i b i d . , p. 484.

17 Prada,"Memoranda", E l Tonel de Diogenes, #66.

18 Chocano, Obras, p. 308.

19 Prada, Exoticas, p. 5.

20 Chocano, Obras, p. 308.

21 Prada, Exdticas, p. 7.

59

22 Chocano, Obras, p.30 8.

23 Prada, Exdticas, p. 8.

24 Chocano, Obras, p. 308.

25 Prada, Exdticas, p. 7.

26 Sanchez, Don Manuel, p. 102.

27 Vicente Garcia Calderon, Parnaso peruano (Barcelona), p. 132.

28 Prada, Minusculas, p. 21.

29 Chocano, Obras, p. 194.

30 Prada, Minusculas, p. 21.

31 Chocano, Obras, p. 194.

32 i b i d . , p. 81.

33 i b i d . , p. 57.

34 Prada, "Discurso en e l Teatro Olimpo", Pajinas l i b r e s , p. 39.

35 Chocano, Obras, p. 57..

36 Prada, "Discurso en e l Teatro Olimpo", Pajinas l i b r e s , p. 43.

37 i b i d . , p. 47.

38 Prada, "Memoranda", E l Tonel de Didgenes, #60.

39 Chocano, Obras, p. 57.

40 Prada, "Discurso en e l Politeama", Pajinas l i b r e s , p. 66.

41 Prada, "Discurso en e l Teatro Olimpo", Pajinas l i b r e s , p. 37.

42 i b i d . , p. 38.

43 Sanchez, Aladino, p. 544.

44 Prada, " v i c t o r Hugo", Pajinas l i b r e s , p. 179.

60

45 Chocano, Obras, p. 54.

46 Prada, "Victor Hugo", Pajinas libres, p. 179.

47 Chocano, Obras, p. 50.

48 Prada, "Victor Hugo", Pajinas l i b r e s , p. 173.

49 Chocano, Obras, p. 48.

50 i b i d . , p. 50.

51 Prada, "Discurso en e l Teatro Olimpo", Pajinas l i b r e s , p. 43.

52 i b i d . , p. 46.

53 Chocano,' Obras, p. 57.

54 Prada, " V i j i l " , Pajinas l i b r e s , p. 102.

55 Chocano, Obras, p. 65.

56 i b i d . , p. 62.

57 Prada, Exoticas, p. 114.

58 Chocano, Obras, p. 60.

59 i b i d . , p. 657.

60 Prada, "Discurso en e l Politeama", Pajinas l i b r e s , p.

61 Chocano, Obras, p. 68.

62 i b i d . , p. 76.

63 i b i d . , p. 305.

64 i b i d . , p. 494.

61

CHAPTER III

Just as Chocano said that he and a l l Peru recognized i n

Prada " l a voz de su conciencia" after the War of the

P a c i f i c , so did the writers of the next generation, who,

reje c t i n g the aestheticism of Modernism, developed a

poetry of s o c i a l protest. They re f e r , of course, to

Prada's prose, and i n p a r t i c u l a r to his indigenous poetry.

Nevertheless there are certain notes i n Baladas peruanas

which suggest the i n c i p i e n t modernist treatment of

indigenous themes.

Some of Prada"s Baladas peruanas represent his attempt to

express s o c i a l ideals and to attack s o c i a l abuses i n poetry.

They have been recognized as such by twentieth century

writers who have t r i e d to use poetry for the same purpose

as Aida Cometta Manzoni shows:

Aparecido en l a ultima mitad del s i g l o XIX y perteneciente a l a generaci6n romantica de los postreros afios, l a i n f l u e n c i a de Gonzalez Prada, pasada l a etapa modernista, va a tener una enorme repercusidn en l a escuela indigenista que aparece en e l s i g l o XX con s o l i d a base de rei v i n d i c a c i o n s o c i a l . 1

They also, however, reveal the relat i o n s h i p which Prada had

with his own generation and that preceding him. As

Manzoni says., he belonged to the f i n a l years of the

romantic generation. During these years Prada began to

write.

In 1871 several of Prada's poems were coll e c t e d i n Corte's'

Parnaso peruano. Juana Manuela G o r r i t i who had been born

i n 1818 and written La quena at the age of eighteen was

s t i l l conducting "veladas l i t e r a r i a s " i n Lima i n 1877,

when Clorinda Matto de Turner was "coronada". Thus there

i s a d i s t i n c t l i n k between the romantic treatment of

indigenous themes and the new s o c i a l approach which Matto

and Prada represented. I t was mainly a personal l i n k ,

however, and one which was broken i n 1886 when the "Circulo

l i t e r a r i o " formed i n opposition to the "Club l i t e r a r i o " .

Ricardo Palma had been present at many of Juana Manuela

G o r r i t i ' s veladas and evidently considered Clorinda Matto

one of his followers as a r e s u l t of such works as Tradiciones

cuzquenas, Leyendas, biografias y hojas sueltas. Clorinda

Matto, however, joined the "Circulo l i t e r a r i o " when i t was 2

formed i n 1886 , thus i n e f f e c t a l l y i n g herself with Prada

who was to c r i t i c i z e Palma's legends i n the 18 88 speech i n

which he accepted the presidency of the "Circulo l i t e r a r i o " : en l a prosa reina siempre l a mala t r a d i c i o n , ese monstruo enjendrado por las f a l s i f i c a c i o n e s agridulcetes de l a h i s t o r i a i l a caricatura microsc6pica de l a novela. 3

Nevertheless, as Sanchez points out, one can see Palma's

legends as a basis for Clorinda Matto's and Prada's

writings on indigenous themes with the exception that

the l a t t e r dwell on the least developed aspects of Palma's

legends: the indigenous t r a d i t i o n s , and the s o c i a l

63

4 implications of the Indian's s i t u a t i o n .

While Clorinda Matto de Turner i s the most obvious

precedent for the aspect of s o c i a l protest i n Prada's

indigenous ballads, Rocca de Vergallo serves as a possible 5

precedent i n other respects. He was born i n 1846 i n Lima,

but wrote mainly i n French. In 1870, just when Prada

was beginning to write poetry, he published La mort

d'Atahoualpe i n Lima. In 1879 he published Le Livre 7

des Incas i n Pa r i s . Supposedly i t was between the years 1871 and 1879, during his stay at Mala that Prada wrote

8 many of his Baladas peruanas. The p o s s i b i l i t y that

Prada was aware of Rocca's work i s an i n t e r e s t i n g one,

for he also wrote a poetic manifesto "La Poetique Nouvelle"

i n which he proclaims innovation, individualism as opposed

to imitation i n poetry, as well as the need for the a r t i s t

to be firmly attuned to his time, to observe the paths

that Humanity i s taking, to study what has passed and 9

foresee what i s to come. In his indigenous poems, Rocca

de Vergallo has Pizarro and Atahualpa speak and sympathizes

with the l a t t e r . Dialogue occurs i n ahiost a l l of Prada's

indigenous poems, and indeed, i n a poem e n t i t l e d "La cena de

Atahualpa" Prada sympathizes with the l a t t e r ' s speech: Y, murmura en s i , volviendo Afable rostro a Pizarro:

"Licor mas puro y sabroso Bebere muy pronto acaso: La sangre v i i de extranjeros En l a copa de tu craneo." * - l

The p o s s i b i l i t y of Prada's awareness of Rocca de Vergallo's

techniques and indigenous poems must, therefore not be

dismissed.

Although the ideas which Prada expressed i n some of his

indigenous poems are si m i l a r to Clorinda Matto's, many

of his ballads have no i d e o l o g i c a l content, and thus appear

closer to the poetry of perhaps Rocca de Vergallo or Prada's

f r i e n d , Rossell. Rossell, however, also appeared i n 12

Juana Manuela G o r n t t i ' s veladas . Thus his poems,

Palma's legends and Matto's early legends,any of which may

have served as a precedent to Prada have a common element

i n t h e i r romantic o r i g i n . The s o c i a l aspect, the attempt

to use poetry as a sword i s novel i n Prada's ballads and

i n Matto's Aves s i n nido.

The fa c t that the "Circulo l i t e r a r i o " became i n 1891 the

nucleus of the r a d i c a l "Partido union nacional" i s i n d i c a t i v e

of the orientation of that group from i t s o r i g i n s . Clorinda

Matto and Prada found i n i t the opportunity to develop a

new kind of l i t e r a t u r e i n Peru, a l i t e r a t u r e which they

hoped would help to bring about broad s o c i a l change. In

1889 Matto de Turner published Aves sin nido i n which she

revealed that she shared i n the a n t i c l e r i c a l i s m which Prada

65

had declared i n 1879, and i n which she pictured the 13

Indxan as abused by socxety. Prada followed her lead by publishing i n E l peru i l u s t r a d o his most famous

14 xndxgenous ballad " E l mxtayo". The movement toward

s o c i a l l y - o r i e n t e d indigenous l i t e r a t u r e continued i n an

a r t i c l e by Emilio Gutierrez de Q u i n t a n i l l a and i n the

second e d i t i o n of Aves s i n nido which was dedicated to

Prada. as well as i n Matto's novel Indole written i n 1891.

Clorinda Matto, however, was forced to leave Peru on

Pidrola's v i c t o r y while Prada also l e f t for Europe i n 1891. ^

Thus ttie movement towards s o c i a l l i t e r a t u r e i n Peru became

i n s i g n i f i c a n t as the modernist movement began to assert

i t s e l f i n a l l South America and i n p a r t i c u l a r i n Peru

i n the person of Jose Santos Chocano.

The poems i n which Prada does show an element of s o c i a l

protest against the Indian's oppression are mainly those

dealing with the encounter of Indian and Spaniard during

the conquest.

"La cena de Atahualpa" and "Las flechas del Inca", both 16

of which Prada published before 1900 are e f f e c t i v e

poetic expressions of the Indians hatred of t h e i r conquerors.

In both poems i t i s through the use of dialogue that

Prada manages to express the Indians' feelings without

66

sounding dogmatic or propagandistic.

The f i r s t part of "La cena de Atahualpa" sets the scene

through a description of the embattled land:

Suena e l ronco clamoreo De enfurecidos soldados, Y r e s t a l l a n arcabuces, Y retumban f i e r o s tajos.

Bajo e l f i l o de l a espada, A los pies de los caballos, Agonizan y sucumben Nifios , mujeres y ancianos .

Not u n t i l the l a s t stanza of t h i s f i r s t part does the

poet pass any judgment on the combattants, and, even

then, he does not d e f i n i t e l y refer to Spaniards alone.

He sets the tone for the dialogue which w i l l follow:

No hay compasidn en las almas, En e l h e r i r : no hay descanso; Es e l eco un ay. de muerte* Cajamarca un rojo lago.

The f i r s t stanza of the second part which describes the

more precise setting of the dialogue has a d i s t i n c t l y

i r o n i c e f f e c t 'in view of the meaning of the preceding

verse :

Cual amigo con amigo Atahualpa con Pizarro, Departen, cenan y beben, Sorbo a sorbo, lado a lado.

The same verse serves as an i r o n i c counterpoint to the

dialogue which follows. The irony i s maintained i n the

dialogue i t s e l f by the following verse which occurs between

6 7

Pizarro's speech and Atahualpa's speech:

Y, murmura en s i , volviendo Afable rostro a Pizarro:

"Licor mas puro y sabroso Beber^ muy pronto acaso: La sangre v i i de extranjeros En l a copa de tu craneo." 18

Thus, i n t h i s poem, Prada riot only describes the conquest

but renders the Indians' reactions i n a r e a l i s t i c manner

through dialogue.

Speech and irony i s used s i m i l a r l y i n "Las flechas del

Inca". The e f f e c t of t h i s poem i s based largely on

r e p e t i t i o n i n conjunction with a series leading to a

culmination. The f i r s t s i x lines of each e i g h t - l i n e verse

are the same with the exception of the number which forms

the s e r i e s , "primera, segunda, tercera":

Tuvo tres flechas en l a mano e l Inca Y, alegre, a l a primera pregunt6:

"Amiga f i e l , envenenada flecha Di'lque me pides hoy?"

"Fuerte guerrero de i n f a l i b l e pulso, De bravo corazon, 19

The f i n a l two lines of the three stanzas are respectively:

Te pido solo destrozar las alas De condor volador".

Te pido solo desgarrar e l seno De t i g r e acechador".

Te pido s6lo atravesar e l pecho De v i i conquistador". 19

68

T.he modifying e f f e c t of the structure of each stanza,

on i t s f i n a l two li n e s i s such that these lines also w i l l

be f e l t as repetitious and climac t i c i n t h e i r s i g n i f i c a n c e .

That i s , each element to be destroyed w i l l be seen as a

v i l e and threatening natural enemy to the Indian, with the

greatest vileness and threat being i n the l a s t element, the

conqueror. Therefore, t h i s poem gains a l l i t s e f f e c t from

the use of poetic devices within the dialogue so that

there i s no p o s s i b i l i t y of Prada's voice as poet intervening

to force his point.

Several poems i n Baladas peruanas describe i s o l a t e d

relationships between Indian and Spaniard. The advantage

of these anecdotal poems i s , of course, that they allow

the poet to protest not i n general, but i n . p a r t i c u l a r .

For instance i n " E l chasqui" a Spaniard abuses an Indian

for the sake of his own pleasure:

"Desiertos, montes y r i o s De t i me apartan, oh E l i s a ; Mas pisare tu morada Con l a aurora vespertina.

Pronto, en marcha, imbecil Indio, Se mi chasqui, se mi guxa: Ve delante a mi caballo; S i cejas, \ay de tu vida!" 20

Prada again takes advantage of the p o s s i b i l i t y of dialogue

to show the Spaniard's cruelty and juxtaposes i t to one

l i n e of dialogue showing the Indian's helplessness:

"iPiedad, piedad, Viracocha!" He repeats the Indian's

plea at the beginning of the f i n a l stanza of each of the

f i r s t four sections of the poem so that i t gains impact

as the poet describes the increasing d i f f i c u l t y of the

t r i p he i s forced to undertake. Each of the three middle

parts describes a d i f f e r e n t part of the t r i p : desert,

mountains and r i v e r s . Each part has a sim i l a r structure

for the description: f i r s t stanza, description of the

set t i n g , second stanza, insitence on the uninhabited and

wild nature of each set t i n g , t h i r d stanza, persistence of

the Spaniard's horse i n the face of grave d i f f i c u l t i e s .

Thus there i s a r e p e t i t i v e element i n the structure of

the poem. The t h i r d stanza of each of these sections,

by showing how d i f f i c u l t i t i s for the horse to continue,

serves to i n t e n s i f y the cruelty of the Spaniard when, i n

the stanza immediately following, he thrashes the Indian

just as he spurs the horse on. The l a s t section of the

poem departs from the r e p e t i t i v e structure to depict the

a r r i v a l of the group at the ranch. In the f i n a l stanzas

the author pictures the Spaniard and his lady on one l e v e l

and the chasqui and the horse on another to reveal the

inhumanity of the Spaniard toward the Indian. The very

harshness of t h i s idea expressed i n prose when i t i s com­

pared to the lines of the poem i t s e l f shows the success of

70

Prada's technique:

En t i e r r a s a l t a e l j i n e t e , A l Indio arroja l a ba?ida, Un dulce nombre modula Y l a b e l l a estancia pisa.

En l a sombra e s t a l l a un beso Y en e l campo un ay expira, Que delante del caballo Exhala e l chasqui l a vida.

Some of Prada's ballads reveal the Spaniards'

motivation by greed. Two such poems are "La cadena de

Huascar" and "La India". The l a t t e r i s again an

anecdotal poem based on dialogue. The Spaniard says 2 3

"Todo juro por mi amor" when the Indian asks whether

he w i l l keep silence i f she shows him her vast treasure.

He i s supposed to remain blind-folded u n t i l he has entered

the hiding place but tears the b l i n d - f o l d off i n order

to see the entrance. The poem ends 33 follows: -"Insensato, d i "t que h i c i s t e ? " -"Ver l a entrada \voto a bri o s ! " -"Pierdes mi amor, oh perjuro". -"Quiero e l oro, no tu amor". -'VOro no, l a muerte!" exclama La i n d i a , ciega de furor, Y un purial agudo clava En e l pecho a l espanol. 24

Again, the c o n f l i c t occurs i n the context of the conquest

and any judgment occurs within the action of the poem, not

i n comments or inter p r e t a t i o n by the poet.

71

In "La cadena de Huascar" a judgment exists i n the symbolic

action of the poem. An Inca o f f e r s a Spanish Captain a

chain of gold:

-"Ven, avanza con denuedo, Valeroso Capitan, Y l a cadena de Huascar En tus manos cogeras".

Ya l a planta mueve e l Joven, La cadena toca ya; Mas se sumerge en las aguas, Y en e l viento suena un ay. 25

Other of the ballads are based on the Spaniards' abuse

of the Indians by forcing them to work. In 'El cacique

f i l i c i d a " the Indian speaks for himself:

-"Fui Senor de veinte pueblos, Fui valido d el Monarca: Soy ya juguete y escarnio De implacable y fuerte raza

Prole v i i de v i l e s senos, iQue te queda, que te aguarda? La servidumbre, e l trabajo, La mina oscura y helada ..."

Se oye l a queja de un nino, Un sordo choque en las aguas, E l rumor de lentos pasos, Y despues, e l eco, y nada. 26

" E l mitayo" i s one of the poems which Cometta Manzoni

refers to as i n d i c a t i v e of Prada's influence on indigenism.

" E l mitayo", however, i s a d e f i n i t e h i s t o r i c a l reference,

i n spite of the fac t that Prada did protest i n prose about

the p l i g h t of the Indian i n contemporary Peru, and

compare^ i t to the h i s t o r i c a l s i t u a t i o n he recreates i n the

72

Baladas peruanas:

E l substratum nacional o e l Indio permanece como en tiempo de l a dominacio'n espafiola: envuelto en l a misma ignorancia i abatido por l a misma servidumbre, pues s i no siente l a vara del Correjidor, jime bajo l a f e r u l a de 1 1autoridad o del hacendado 1 ... Hasta vamos haciendo e l milagro de matar en e l l o que rara vez muere en e l hombre: l a esperanza. 28

In " E l cacique f i l i c i d a " as well as i n " E l mitayo"

and "Cancidn de l a India", i t i s the p o s s i b i l i t y of hope

which i s vanquished.

In " E l mitayo" the Indian speaks out and judges the white

man's law as he has not done i n other ballads:

-"La i n j u s t a ley de los Blancos Me arrebata del hogar: Voy a l trabajo y a l hambre, Voy a l a mina f a t a l . " 29

A lack of hope i s evident i n the expression "mina f a t a l "

as well as i n the l a s t l i n e s when the Indian promises to

return when Hie white man i s moved by compassion, but adds:

-"Hijo, e l pecho de los Blancos No se conmueve jama's." 30

The clima c t i c e f f e c t of the series of r h e t o r i c a l questions

and equally r h e t o r i c a l answers i s enhanced by the fact

that each question i s i n fact a r e p e t i t i o n of the previous

answer. The e f f e c t of the f i n a l l i n e s i s due largely to

the fa c t that they break the s t r u c t u r a l pattern of r e p e t i t i o n .

73

An additional element which i n t e n s i f i e s t h e i r significance

i s the r e p e t i t i o n of the sense of i m p o s s i b i l i t y inherent

i n the r h e t o r i c a l answers, but i n thi s case i n concrete,

non-rhetorical terms. Therefore, i t i s not only because

of the theme that this poem has been pointed, out as one

of Prada's best, but also because i n i t one finds the

f u l l e s t use made of his own p a r t i c u l a r s t y l e and techniques.

The abundance of p a r a l l e l structures and repetitions i n

the poems i s i n d i c a t i v e of Prada's i n t e l l e c t u a l rather

than emotional approach to poetry. His main concern l i e s

i n the cle a r , f o r c e f u l and objective expression of ideas

rather than i n the subjective evocation of emotions.

In "Cancion de l a India" the Indian again speaks out

against i n j u s t i c e :

i Ay pobre del Indio, Sin leyes n i amparo Muriendo en las garras De inicuos tiranos! 31

This poem creates a p a r t i c u l a r l y urgent tone by the use

of lines of s ix s y l l a b l e s which give an impetuous sound

to the speech. The use of r h e t o r i c a l questions, series 32

of lines l i k e the following " iadios, oh mi chozal" and the r e p e t i t i o n of the r e f r a i n :

iMaldita l a guerra I iMalditos los Blancos! 32

7 4

at the end of each stanza contribute to the e f f e c t .

The poems i n which Prada protests against the oppression

of the Indian must then be considered from two points of

view. On one hand, the protest i s always i n a h i s t o r i c

context, and thus reveals the romantic origins of the

poems i n legends. On the other hand, the fac t that the

Baladas have been considered precedents for the twentieth

century writers of s o c i a l protest and Prada's own expressions

i n prose of the need for the author to use l i t e r a t u r e as

a vehicle for his ideas, as well as his expressions of

sympathy for the Indian and the publication of " E l Mitayo"

i n r e l a t i o n to Clorinda Matto's novels, indicate the forward-

looking innovations which, they represent.

As t h e i r romantic origins would indicate, however, Prada's

Baladas do not only carry the seed for the development

of the twentieth century i n d i g e n i s t school, but also for

the modernist orientation to Americanism. This i s not

to say that his indigenous poems were a major influence on

either development, but rather to point to Prada's position

as a very advanced writer i n a t r a n s i t i o n a l period, through

the existence of two pot e n t i a l poetic orientations i n his

poetry. In Peru, one of the trends developed f i r s t :

modernist Americanism, and, once past the modernist interlude,

75

the other took root. Yet both existed i n embryonic form

i n Prada's Baladas, themselves ori g i n a t i n g i n Romanticism.

Thus i t i s impossible to accept the c r i t e r i o n of such

c r i t i c s as Manzoni and Mariategui who seem to consider

the forms of indigenism expressed by the romantics and

modernists as i n f e r i o r and t o t a l l y unrelated to twentieth

century indigenous poetry. The fact that i n Prada these

three trends found a common expression disproves t h i s

theory. I t i s i n part the discovery and evaluation of

the Indian past and culture which occurs through the

exoticism of the romantic and modernist movements that

contribute to the reconsideration of the Indians' s o c i a l

p o s i t i o n . The d i s t i n c t element.in twentieth century

in d i g e n i s t poetry i s i t s p o l i t i c a l intent. This originated

i n Prada, not only i n his Baladas, but i n his prose and

other poems, as well as i n his contemporaries such as

Clorinda Matto.

Ruben expressed the poetic p o s s i b i l i t i e s of American themes

i n the following words: "Si hay poesia en nuestra

America, e l l a esta en las cosas v i e j a s j en Palenke y

Utatlan, en e l indio legendario, y e l inca sensual y 3 3

f i n o , y en e l gran Moctezuma de l a s i l l a de oro." Ruben's

idea i s c l e a r l y an application of the modernist search

for exoticism to America, as Henriquez Urena points out:

"Un reflorecimiento del "americanismo l i t e r a r i o " habia

ido suplantando otras tendencias entre los modernistas,

empezando por e l exotismo y l a constante fevocaci6n de

^pocas p r e t e r i t a s de otros pueblos y otras c i v i l i z a c i o n e s . "

To a li m i t e d extent Prada*s Baladas foreshadow t h i s exotic

orientation. For example, he chose to precede his book

with several lines by Andre Chenier which describe Inca

c i v i l i z a t i o n i n an exotic manner:

Sous ces bois Strangers que couronnent ces monts, Aux vallons de Cusco, dans ces antres profonds, S i chers A l a fortune et plus chers au genie, Germent des mines d'or, de g l o i r e et d 1harmonie. 35

As far as exoticism implies exhuberance of fauna and

f l o r a , however, as i t did to Chocano, Prada's Baladas

show l i t t l e evidence of i t . Indeed i n Pajinas l i b r e s Prada

wrote:

I no tomemos por americanismo l a p r o l i j a enumeracion. de nuestra: fauna i de nuestra f l o r a o l a minuciosa pintura de nuestros fenomenos meteorol6jicos, en lenguaje saturado de provincialismos ociosos y rebuscados. 36

Neither i s Prada an exponent of the superiority of

pre-Columbian culture: "no f a l t a n "chauvins" que en los

modernos espanoles vengarian l a degollaci6n de Atahualpa

n i lacrimosos l i t e r a t o s que con l a perdida de l a poesia

77

i n c a i c a v i v a n t a n i n c o n s o l a b l e s como Sancho con e l robo

37 de a l f o r j a s 1 f i a m b r e . " He does see i n d i g e n o u s c u l t u r e

as a b a s i c i n f l u e n c e on the development o f P e r u :

D e l e s p a f i o l nos s e p a r a n y a l a s i n f l u e n c i a s d e l c l i m a , l o s c r u z a m i e n t o s e t n o g r a f i c o s , e l i n t i m o r o c e con l o s e u r o p e o s , l a e d u c a c i o n a f r a n c e s a d a i 64 anos de tempestuosa v i d a r e p u b l i c a n a . . . Vamos p e r d i e n d o y a e l desapego a l a v i d a , desapego t a n marcado en l o s a n t i g u o s e s p a n o l e s , i nos c o n t a j i a m o s con l a t r i s t e z a jemebunda que d i s t i n g u e a l i n d i j e n a p e r u a n o . 38

In s e v e r a l b a l l a d s P r a d a at tempts t o express the I n d i a n s 1

" t r i s t e z a jemebunda" t h r o u g h a s y m b o l , f o r i n s t a n c e ,

the " q u e n a " , and the " l l o r a - m u e r t o " . There i s an element

of e x o t i c i s m i n h i s t r e a t m e n t o f these themes, j u s t as

t h e r e i s i n Rube'n's t r e a t m e n t of o r i e n t a l themes. The

p o e t t r i e s t o i n c o r p o r a t e a symbol p e c u l i a r t o one

p a r t i c u l a r c u l t u r e i n t o h i s own p o e t i c w o r l d by g i v i n g

i t a u n i v e r s a l s i g n i f i c a n c e .

In " I n v e n c i 6 n de l a quena" Prada d e s c r i b e s the w a i l i n g

sound o f the qiena i n terms of i t ' s o r i g i n . The l e g e n d i s

t h a t the I n c a cannot f i n d e x p r e s s i o n f o r h i s a n g u i s h at

the d e a t h of h i s b e l o v e d a n d , i n P r a d a ' s w o r d s :

E s c a r b a e l I n c a l a tumba; Y , d e l f u n e b r e e s q u e l e t o , A l a i n c i e r t a l u z d e l r a y o L a b r a musico i n s t r u m e n t o .

78

E l Inca v i e r t e su l l a n t o ; Y, a las lagrimas de fuego, Las duras rocas se ablandan Y se d i r r i t e n los h i e l o s .

E l Inca toca l a Quena; Y, a los lugubres acentos, Lloran lagrimas los vivos Y se estremecen los muertos. 39

In the second stanza the poet emphasizes the in t e n s i t y

of the Inca's emotion by a t t r i b u t i n g to i t an influence

over nature. In the f i n a l stanza he attributes to i t

an influence over other men.

In " E l llora-muerto" the g r i e f at the loss of a beloved

i s coupled with the b e l i e f i n a f a t a l i s t i c death omen.

Indeed, i t i s the i n a b i l i t y to express s u f f i c i e n t g r i e f

i n l i f e which brings about the appearance of the death

omen. Thus i t i s the g r i e f which causes death:

-"No cantes, oh Poeta: Voces lugubres quiero Que de pena y angustia Despedacen mi pecho." 40

The Inca's subjects o f f e r to bring him the llora-muerto:

"Un pajaro s i n i e s t r o : Su voz quebranta penas, Se llama e l Llora-muerto." 40

The e f f e c t of the bird's laments on the Inca i s described

i n the l a s t three stanzas:

E l pajaro se queja, Y, a su primer acento, Lanza e l Rey de los Incas Un g r i t o lastimero.

E l pa j arc- se queja, Y, a su segundo acento, L l o r a e l Rey de los Incas Dos lagrimas de fuego.

E l pajaro se queja, Y, a su tercer acento, Queda e l Rey de los Incas Mudo, inmovil y muerto. 41

The technique used i s a simple and frequent one i n Prada's

poems. The r e p e t i t i o n of the f i r s t l i n e of each stanza

i s continued i n the second l i n e with the additional e f f e c t

of a s e r i e s , "primer, segundo, tercer", leading to a

climax. The same two elements are present i n the t h i r d

l i n e of each stanza; r e p e t i t i o n i n " e l Rey de los Incas"

and the series i n "lanza, l l o r a and queda". In the f i n a l

l i n e s of the f i r s t and second stanzas quoted, the system

of repetion of grammatical structure i s maintained, i n

that the elements of each l i n e form the object of the

Inca's actions. In the f i n a l stanza, however, the poet

breaks the system for greater e f f e c t . In that stanza, there

i s no corresponding action or object. On the contrary,

the l i n e s describe complete inaction, which i s rendered

mainly through the use of three adjectives which r e i t e r a t e

the same s i g n i f i c a n c e : s t i l l n e s s and death. Within the

three there i s also a certain element of progession with

"muerto" as i t s culmination. The Indians' s o c i a l s i t u a t i o n

i s i r r e l e v a n t to the sign i f i c a n c e of both poems.

80

The element i n which Prada's Baladas foreshadow the

Peruvian development of modernist Americanism i s i n the

heroism of t h e i r characters, i n p a r t i c u l a r the Indian

ones. Prada pictures, for instance, the heroism of

Tupac-Amaru who continues to f i g h t for the freedom of

the Indians i n spite of an oracle which indicates that 42

he i s doomed to f a i l . Prada describes an Inca king: Vencedor, jamas vencido, Lleno de triunfos y honores, Llega e l Rey a l Apurimac. 43

There i s even an element of heroism i n the picture of

the "Cacique f i l i c i d a " who k i l l s his son to save him 44

the humiliation of slavery under the Spaniards.

In the l a s t poem of Baladas, Prada attributes a d i s t i n c t

kind of heroism to each of the epochs of Peruvian history

and t r i e s to capture i t s significance by having the

exemplary leader of each period express his ambition.

Manco: "Sembrare grandeza y dicha Con mi poder y mis leyes."

Pizarro:"Es /mi ley l a ley del fuerte; A mi l a plata y e l oro; Tiembla, oh Peru, y obedece."

Bol i v a r : ..."America, juro Tu l i b e r t a d , o l a muerte." 45

The element of heroism which Prada sees i n the three

epochs of Peruvian his t o r y i s one i n which he anticipates

Chocano's modernist treatment of i t .

81 CHAPTER III

1 Aida Cometta Manzoni, E l Indio en l a poesia de America Espanola (Buenos Aires, 1939), p. 220.

2 Luis Alberto Sanchez, La L i t e r a t u r a peruana, derrotero para una h i s t o r i a e s p i r i t u a l del Peru (Asuncion, 1951), VI, 215.

3 Prada, "Discurso en e l Teatro Olimpo", Pajinas l i b r e s , p. 39.

4 Sanchez, Li t e r a t u r a peruana, VI, 215.

5 i b i d . , p. 222.

6 i b i d . , p. 223.

7 i b i d . , p. 225.

8 Sanchez, Don Manuel, p. 75.

9 Sanchez, L i t e r a t u r a peruana, VI, 233.

10 i b i d . , p. 230.

11 Manuel Gonzalez Prada, Baladas peruanas (Santiago, C h i l e , 1935), p. 100.

12 Juana Manuela G o r r i t i , Veladas l i t e r a r i a s de Lima 1876-1877 (Buenos Aires, 1892), I, passim.

13 Clorinda Matto de Turner, Aves s i n nido (Cuzco, 1958).

14 Sanchez, L i t e r a t u r a peruana, IV, 167.

15 i b i d . , p. 216-217.

16 Cometta Manzoni, p. 220.

17 Prada, Baladas peruanas, p. 99.

18 i b i d . , p. 100.

19 i b i d . , p. 121.

20 i b i d . , p. 121-23.

21 i b i d . , p. 124.

22 i b i d . , p. 127.

82

23 i b i d . , p. 113.

24 i b i d . , p. 115.

25 i b i d . , p. 118.

26 i b i d . , p. 119.

27 Cometta Manzoni, p. 223.

2 8 Prada, "Propaganda i Ataque", Pajinas l i b r e s , p. 164.

29 Prada, Baladas peruanas, p. 133.

30 i b i d . , p. 134.

31 i b i d . , p. 150.

32 i b i d . , p. 149.

33 Ruben Dario, Poesias, p. 612.

34 Max Henriquez Urena, Breve h i s t o r i a , p. 32.

35 Prada, Baladas peruanas.

36 Prada, "Conferencia en e l Ateneo de Lima", Pajinas l i b r e s , p. 26.

37 Prada, "Valera", Pajinas l i b r e s , p. 219.

38 Prada, "Conferencia en e l Ateneo de Lima", Pajinas l i b r e s , p. 25.

39 Prada, Baladas

40 i b i d . , P- 67.

41 i b i d . , P- 68.

42 i b i d . , P- 145.

43 i b i d . , P. 79.

44 i b i d . , P- 119.

45 i b i d . , P- 153.

83

CHAPTER IV

Jose Santos Chocano's use of indigen i s t themes represents

the modernist form of Americanism at i t s height. Max

Henriquez Urena refers to Chocano as one of the "otros

poetas menores que fueron a abrevar su inspiracidn en los . 1

temas autoctonos." Ureha points, as does Cometta Manzoni,

to the l i n k between modernist americanism and romantic

americanism, i n the following manner: E l americanismo l i t e r a r i o no era, ciertamente, una novedad. Habia recibido su impulso i n i c i a l durante l a epoca romantica en e l Rio de l a Plata y llego a c o n s t i t u i r un movimiento de alcance continental. 2

Thus, any romantic note i n Chocano 1s indigenous poems i s

not out of keeping with the h i s t o r i c a l development of

Americanism as I have shown i t with reference to Prada.

On the other hand, to c a l l Chocano an exponent of l i t e r a r y

Americanism i s by no means to deny that, as Sanchez

maintains, he was the i n i t i a t o r of the mundonovista trend 3 ' — i n Peruvian l i t e r a t u r e . Indeed Henriquez Urena sees

various trends growing out of Americanism: "Ademas, del

americanismo l i t e r a r i o se derivaron orientaciones diversas 4

que disfrutaron de larga boga, como e l indigenismo ..."

Henriquez's statement that: "Parecio, por un momento, que

con l a preferencia concedida a lo exotico tendia a desterrar

84

l a tendencia americanista, pero sucedid l a contrario: Fue

e l americanismo l i t e r a r i o e l que se i n f i l t r d en e l movimiento 4

modernista" indicates that i t was because of the exotic

nature of Americanism that i t found a place within Modernism.

As far as Chocano's Americanism i s concerned, such i s the

case. Henriquez Ureiia suggests one possible influence on the

development of Americanism within Modernism which may have

some bearing on Chocano:

ilnf l u y o en e l l o l a frase recogida por Jose Enrique Rod6:

"iNo es e.1 poeta de America'." a l r e f e r i r s e a Ruben Dario, con motivo de l a publicacidn de Prosas profanas? Quizd s i . 5

g

Rodo's a r t i c l e i s dated 1899. Chocano had already

c r i t i c i z e d Los Raros i n 189 7 on the basis that i t was too

concerned with French schools and not enough with t h e i r

American origins or with the development of a t r u l y American

poetry: iQue f i n a r t i s t i c o ha querido Ruben Dario en Los Raros? S i hacer de su obra un misal para l a r e l i g i o n del nuevo arte americano, se equivoca; porque hay entre nosotros algunos lo bastante capaces para no encerrar en e l cartabon frances, exclusivamente, sus producciones. S i hacer una exposicion comentada de autores nuevos, para darlos a conocer, tambien se equivoca, porque Gomez C a r r i l l o , en su L i t e r a t u r a Extranjera le aventaja, s i n duda, desde e l punto de v i s t a c r i t i c o .

85

Pobre l a l i t e r a t u r a americana que resultase de l a transfusion de esa sangre gastada en nuestras venas de juventud:

Ruben no repara en que todas esas ramificanciones de Baudelaire y todas esas cabriolas de l a musa actual, tienen su r a i z en las Americas, en un cerebro americano: e l de Edgar A l l a n Poe. 7

E l Modernismo puede y debe americanizarse entre nosotros; y a e l l o e l prodigioso Ruben Dario tiene a l f i n que tender, porque e l poeta y e l a r t i s t a no pueden ver con los ojos impasibles estas naturalezas formidables.

Rube'n Dario nos debe otra obra en que sea menos franees y m^s americano. 8

The following declaration which Chocano wrote i n 1906 and

placed at the begining of Alma America also suggests that he

was aware of Rodo's phrase: "Mi poesia es objetiva; y, en t a l 9

sentido, solo quiero ser Poeta de America." The following lines by Rodd serve as a prelude to the book:

Reconoci en usted a l poeta que, por raro y admirable consorcio, une l a audacia a l t i v a de l a i n s p i r a c i o n con l a firmeza e s c u l t o r i c a de l a forma; y que, con g^eneroso designio, se propone devolver a l a poesia sus armas de combate y su mision c i v i l i z a d o r a , acertando con el. derrotero que,

• en mi s e n t i r , sera e l de l a poesia americana. 10

Chocano must, then, have had a d i s t i n c t sense of being not

a mere follower, but ofopening new paths. He declared at

once his modernist tendency and his determination to remain

an i n d i v i d u a l i s t i n poetry:

Aunque mis revistas sirven de organos del "modernismo", conservo en todo momento mi independencia de c r i t e r i o personal. 11

In his own words: "0 encuentro camino, o me l o abro." 12

.86

I t i s through American nature, that Chocano finds his

poetic personality, and thus i t happens that he exhalts

America's character just as he does his own. In " E l primer

v i a j e de Simbad" Chocano relates how he found himself and

an undiscovered poetry i n the selva.

E l poeta en mi s a l i o de l a p r i s i o n y se marchd a l a selva 13

E l c u l t i v o de cafe que me decidid a hacer e l v i a j e , ya no me interesa. , Me interesa e l c u l t i v o de l a poesia que en e l v i a j e he sentido. E l p^rimer v i a j e de mi vida hace que me encuentre a mi mismo. 14

He also describes the sensations which the f l o r a and fauna

of the selva awoke i n him:

La exuberancia de l a vegetacidn me produce sucesivamente, asombro, entusiasmo, extasis y f a t i g a . 1458. 15

La f l o r a m u l t i p l i c a , como en v i s i d n de encantamiento .. La vida animal hierve en l a lente de l a lampara maravillosa y l a selva se puebla de una fauna f a n t a s t i c a . 16

Mi sorpresa de limeno l l e g a a saber, estremecida de una sublimidad penetrante, lo que es e l trueno, lo que es e l rayo, l o que es l a l l u v i a . 17

This exuberance of nature i s only one aspect of Chocano's

Americanism, although an exhuberant tone pervades a l l his

poetry. In Alma America there are several poems which descri

nature i n t h i s manner, i n p a r t i c u l a r "Las Selvas":

87

Cada selva en su pompa de rumores, sobre l a ostentacion de los f o l l a j e s , copia e l f r u f r u de los sedosos trajes y en l a seda despuds pinta sus f l o r e s .

Luce insectos de gasa b r i l l a d o r e s , pcijaros de vivxsimos plumajes, f i e r a s dignas de verse en los paisajes de una a r t i s t i c a alfombra de colores. 18

This i s the aspect of Chocano's Americanism which aroused

Marstegui's c r i t i c i s m :

Jose Santos Chocano pertenece, a mi j u i c i o , a l periodo c o l o n i a l de nuestra l i t e r a t u r a . Su poesia grandilocua tiene todos sus origenes en Espana. Una c r i t i c a v e r b a l i s t a l a presenta somo una traduccidn del alma autoctona. Pero, este es un concepto a r t i f i c i o s o , una f i c c i d n r e t o r i c a . S u l d g i c a , tan simplista como f a l s a , razona a s i : Chocanoes exuberante, luego es autdctono.19

The c r i t i c i s m i s v a l i d as far as i t s reference to c r i t i c s

i s concerned. To c a l l Chocano autoctonous would be equivalent

to c a l l i n g Ruben French. Chocano merely interpreted America

within the framework gf his modernist orientation.

He expressed his desire to be "Boeta de America" i n various

poems of Alma America, i n p a r t i c u l a r i n "Troquel" where he

describes the nature of his American poetry:

Mi culto no es e l culto de l a pasada gente, n i me es bastante e l vuelo solemne del Pegaso: los tropicos avivan l a flama en que me abraso; y en mis oidos suena la-voz de un Continente.

Yo bebere en las aguas de caudalosos r i o s , yo cruzare otros bosques lozanos y bravios, yo buscare a otra Musa que asombre a l Universe

88

Yo de una r i m a f r a g i l hare mi c a r a b e l a ; me s e n t a r e en l a p o p a ; d e s a t a r e l a v e l a ; y z a r p a r d a l a s I n d i a s , como un C o l o n d e l v e r s o . . . 20

In the f i r s t s t a n z a he sugges ts t h a t A m e r i c a i s f o r him a

c u l t and t h r o u g h the r e f e r e n c e s t o "pasada g e n t e " and

"Pegaso" t h a t he i s t h i n k i n g i n the e x o t i c terms o f

Modernism. The r e f e r e n c e t o the "Musa que asombre a l

U n i v e r s o " i n the second s t a n z a r e i n f o r c e s t h i s e f f e c t .

In the second s t a n z a he r e v e a l s the e s s e n t i a l l y " P a i s a j i s t a "

n a t u r e o f h i s A m e r i c a n i s m . The t h i r d s t a n z a g i v e s s u b s t a n c e

t o M a r i a t e g u i ' s c l a i m t h a t C h o c a n o ' s A m e r i c a n i s t p o e t r y i s

b a s i c a l l y c o l o n i a l i n o u t l o o k . C l e a r l y , by c a l l i n g h i m s e l f

a " C o l o n d e l v e r s o " Chocano i m p l i e s b o t h d i s c o v e r y and

c o l o n i a l i s m .

A s i d e from the d i f f e r e n c e i n m o t i f s another b a s i c d i f f e r e n c e

i n C h o c a n o ' s and P r a d a ' s a m e r i c a n i s t poems i s o b v i o u s i n

the above s t a n z a s . Chocano speaks o f A m e r i c a as he i n t e r p r e t s

i t and he does so w i t h h i s own v o i c e . Prada speaks o f

A m e r i c a as I n d i a n l e g e n d i n t e r p r e t s i t a n d , when not w i t h an

i m p e r s o n a l commentator 's v o i c e , he speaks w i t h the I n d i a n ' s

v o i c e . In s p i t e of P r a d a ' s e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n i n f o r m ,

e x o t i c r e f e r e n c e s , and d e c l a r a t i o n s o f i n d i v i d u a l i s m i n

l i t e r a t u r e , he never r e v e a l s the e x a l t e d p e r s o n a l i s t i c tone

i n p o e t r y t h a t c h a r a c t e r i z e s Chocano and o t h e r m o d e r n i s t s t o

8:9

such an extent.

Chocano's suggestion i n the following stanza that he feels

equally Indian and Spanish reveals at once the fact that

i t i s the heroic and exotic nature of both which a t t r a c t

him and the fac t that his i n t e r e s t bears no r e l a t i o n

whatever to s o c i a l problems.

Soy e l cantor de America autoctono y salvaje;

La sangre es espafiola e incaico es e l l a t i d o ; iy de no ser Poeta, quizas yo hubiese sido un bianco Aventurero o un indio Emperador! 21

Certainly t h i s i s very much i n keeping with his early

choice of heroes, Hugo, Danton and Robespierre. The

i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of "Poeta" with "Aventurero" and "Emperador"

throws a good deal of l i g h t on Chocano's idea of poetry.

Poetry i s a heroic task for the e l i t e . Although Chocano

t r i e d to exemplify the heroic i n his l i f e , undoubtedly the

li m i t a t i o n s of p o l i t i c s made him see i n the evocation of the

past i n poetry the only possible unbounded expression of

heroism. I t i s only i n the past where one sees heroism i n

l i f e : Velazquez suma aquella d i n a s t i c a osadia que encaden6 a su trono dos mundos en un dia , que e q u i l i b r o los astros, que redonded e l planeta y en cada gran guerrero c r i s t a l i z d un poeta. 22

In "Avatar" Chocano mentions the heroic nature of poetry

i n r e l a t i o n to his Spanish and Indian past:

90

ICuantas veces he nacido! iCuantas veces me he encarnado! Soy de Ame'rica dos veces y dos veces espanol. S i Poeta soy ahora, f u i Virrey en e l pasado, Capitan por las conquistas y Monarca por e l Sol.

Ya no soy aquel gran Inca, n i aquel epico Soldado, n i e l Virrey de aquel Alcazar con que sueles gonar tu Pero, ahora, soy Poeta: soy divino, soy sagrado. 23

As one might expect, Chocano portrays the conquest as an

epic struggle between two equally heroic peoples. Naturally,

the episode which best exemplifies t h i s interpretation i s

that of the lengthy resistance of the Araucanian Indians.

Chocano describes the c o n f l i c t :

Es l a t r i b u araucana: e l l a a p o r f i a r e s i s t e a l espanol, que, siempre noble, se entusiasma ante aquella rebeldia.

Previo l a muerte; y combatio s i n miedo y s i n reposo; y cuanto mas brego, se hizo mas fuerte. 24

The main i n t e r e s t i n Chocano 1s poem l i e s i n an episode

which increases the heroism attributed to the Indians,

Lautaro's decision to place himself amongst the defeated.

In t h i s poem, as i n "Cahuide" there i s no element of protest

against the cruelty of the conquest, or the abuse of the

Indian, as there i s i n some of Prada"s poems which deal with

the conquest. "Cahuide" i s p a r t i c u l a r l y revealing of thi s

difference i n that i t pictures a s o l i t a r y Indian defending^

h e r o i c a l l y his post. Yet the Indian does not speak out

against his inevitable defeat as he might i f the poem were

Prada's. Chocano's poem merely pictures a momentary

s i t u a t i o n . The poet characterizes the Indian as being

inspired by the i d e a l of heroism, not by any attachment

to his land or home:

Como un penon que corta las aguas de un torrente, se yergue en l a osadia de su locura vana; y evoca, en los recuerdos de l a v i r t u d pagana, a l heroe s o l i t a r i o que defendk un puente. 25

Certain of Chocano's poems dealing with Indian themes

can be compared with Prada's. For instance, Chocano 1s

"La frusta" bears a s i m i l a r i t y to Prada's " E l arbol maldito"

Prada's poem i s shorter and less elaborate than Chocano's,

but they deal with the same subject: an Indian g i r l k i l l s

her Spanish pretender: i n Prada's poem, by t e l l i n g him to

wait for her under the shade of a certain tree, which has

a f a t a l e f f e c t ; i n Chocano's poem by putting poison on her

l i p s and then k i s s i n g him. In Chocano's poem there i s an

additional element i n that the g i r l and her Indian lover

also die. Aside from the theme, there i s a s i m i l a r i t y of

technique. Both authors use dialogue, frequent i n Prada,

but not i n Chocano. Both poems have an element of irony,

Prada's of a more subtle nature. In his poem i t l i e s i n

the contrast between his description of the Indian g i r l

with the Spaniard where she reveals only good intentions

and the f i n a l outcome of her action:

92

"LVes aquel erguido leno Coronado de a l t a copa? A su fresco abrigo espera, Yo volvere con las sombras."

Asx murmura l a Indiana, Entre esquiva y amorosa, Sonriendo a l Castellano Que l a bendice y l a adora.

No despierta mas e l Joven, Pues e l arbol de a l t a copa, Es e l arbol maldecido Que da muerte con su sombra. 26

Chocano's irony i s much more e x p l i c i t :

En e l dia siguiente, fue Peralta enterrado con magnificas pompas; y l a i n d i a a su lado: los hispanos quisieron e l hacer de esa suerte que, a traves de los s i g l o s , fuera suya en l a muerte, l a que solo en l a vida se entregara un momento ...

No hay un alma espariola que no logre su intento! 27

The idea involved i n Chocano's irony occuis i n another of ^

Prada's poems "La h i j a del Curaca" where the Indian who

k i l l s his daughter because she loves a Spaniard j u s t i f i e s

his act i n the following words:

"Hallo en medio de mi pena Una gran consolacion: /

S i tu f u i s t e y no eres mia, No sera's del espanol." 28

Thus there i s a cer t a i n coincidence i n Chocano's and Prada's

treatment of the relationship of Indian g i r l s to Spanish

men i n that both suppose a c o n f l i c t based on the loyal t y of

the Indian to her own race.

93

Both Prada and Chocano wrote poems about the "quena".

Prada, as I have already pointed out, bases his poem on a

legend explaining the invention of the "quena" which accounts

for the p l a i n t i v e sound of the instrument. The f e e l i n g

that the sound of the "quena" gives the l i s t e n e r i s des­

cribed only i n d i r e c t l y , through the description of the

reactions of the legendary Inca and others to i t . Chocano's

poem,, however, makes no reference to legend, but attempts

to describe the sound and e f f e c t of the instrument:

Desgranando las perlas de su l l o r o , a veces hunde e l musical lamento en e l hueco de un cantaro sonoro;

y entonces finge, en l a nocturna calma, soplo d e l alma convertido en viento, soplo del viento convertido en alma ... 29

The sound of the "quena" was one of the things that had

impressed Chocano i n his t r i p to the selva:

Cuando todo ha cesado, de lo profundo de l a obscuridad ya tranquila, l l e g a hasta mi en t a l noche l a lamentaci6n musical de una quena que, a l l l o r a r en e l hueco de un cantaro e l dolor de l a raza aborigen, me hace asomar a l a ventana del cuarto del hotel en que me hospedo, levantando mis ojos hacia e l c i e l o , otra vez est r e l l a d o , en donde e l son dolorido que se alarga en l a limpieza del ambiento, parece que r i g i e r a , de las constelaciones. 30

Thus, once again, Chocano uses an Indian theme as poetic

material, but interprets i t i n such a way that i t s indianism

i s of no consequence i n the f i n a l poem.

94

While Chocano g e n e r a l l y a r r i v e s at h i s d e s c r i p t i o n of the s p i r i t of Spaniard and Indian through t h e i r m a n i f e s t a t i o n i n the p a s t , he does attempt to describe the s p i r i t of the Indian i n the present i n "Notas d e l alma indxgena". These d e s c r i p t i o n s appear t o correspond to Chocano's disc o v e r y of the s p i r i t of the Indian through h i s v i s i t to the s e l v a :

F o r t a l e z a y me l a n c o l i a son l a s dos notas p s i q u i c a s d e l Ande. A s i es e l alma indigena. 31

I t i s the element of " f o r t a l e z a " which comes out most s t r o n g l y i n "Notas". In "Quien sabe" the streng t h i s revealed i n i n d i f f e r e n c e :

jOh, raza antigua y m i s t e r i o s a de impenetrable corazon, que s i n gozar ves l a a l e g r i a y s i n s u f r i r ves e l d o l o r : eres augusta como e l Ande, e l Grande Oceano y e l S o l ! Ese t u gesto que parece como de v i i r e s i g n a c i d n , es de una s a b i a i n d i f e r e n c i a y de un o r g u l l o s i n rencor ... 32

"A s i sera" contains a s i m i l a r expression of the Indian's s t r e n g t h :

iOh, raza firme como un a r b o l que no se agobia a l huracan, que no se queja bajo e l hacha y que se impone a l pedregal'. 33

Chocano uses a l l the poems as a basis f o r a c o n s i d e r a t i o n of himself w i t h respect to h i s Indian h e r i t a g e , so he

"9 5

c e r t a i n l y does not renounce his personal int e r p r e t a t i o n

of the Indian. He does, however, give the impression that

he i s interpreting the Indian i n his own way by having an

imaginary Indian i n his poem repeat certain phrases such

as "otra vez sera"; "Quien sabe, senor", "Ahi no mas" and

"Asi sera" which succinctly express the Indian s p i r i t .

This technique i s , s i m i l a r to Prada's use of dialogue,

and i t s use d e f i n i t e l y adds to the authenticity of the

expression of indigenism. Indeed, i f as Mariategui seems

to imply, i t i s desirable to be "autoctono", the author

must actually be an "indigena", or f a i l i n g that, pretend to

be, i n order to speak with an indigenous voice. Prada did

t h i s i n his Baladas peruanas, but Chocano did so only to the

very limited extent I have shown i n "Notas", because he

did not care to abandon his own modernist voice and

in t e r p r e t a t i o n of the indigenous s p i r i t . Thus Chocano i s

exemplary of the modernist who developed only the aesthetic

aspect of Prada's embryonic treatment of indigenous themes.

-96

CHAPTER IV

1 Max Henriquez Urena, Breve h i s t o r i a , p. 32.

2 i b i d . , p. 33.

3 Sanchez, Aladino, p. 550.

4 Max Henriquez Urena, Breve h i s t o r i a , p. 33.

5 i b i d . , p. 32.

6 Jose Enrique Rodo, Obras completas (Madrid, 1957), p. 187.

7 Chocano, Obras, p. 947.

8 i b i d . , P- 948.

9 i b i d . , P. 362 .

10 ibid.., p. 369 .

11 i b i d . , P- 1453.

12 i b i d . , P- 363.

13 i b i d . , P- 1455.

14 i b i d . , P. 1459.

15 i b i d . , P- 1458.

16 i b i d . , P- 1459.

17 i b i d . , P. 1458.

18 i b i d . , P- 383.

19 Jose Carlos Mariategui, Siete ensayos de interpretacion de l a realidad peruana (Santiago, Chile, 1955) , p. 201.

20 Chocano, Obras, p. 371.

21 i b i d . , p. 381.

22 i b i d . , p. 384.

23 i b i d . , p. 399.

24 i b i d . , p. 407.

25 i b i d . , p. 425.

26 Prada, Baladas peruanas

27 Chocano, Obras, p. 431.

28 Prada, Baladas peruanas

29 Chocano, Obras, p. 435.

30 i b i d . , p. 1458.

31 i b i d . , p. 1457.

32 i b i d . , p. 828.

33 i b i d . , p. 829.

9 8

CONCLUSIONS

Throughout his l i f e Prada exhorted Peruvians to use l i t e r a t u r e

as he did, as a vehicle for p o l i t i c a l and s o c i a l i d e a l s .

While his poetry does not represent his major accomplishment,

i t does r e f l e c t his p o s i t i o n with r e l a t i o n to his own,

the preceding and the following generation. While his

supposed precursorship of Modernism i s based, i n keeping

with the nature of Prada as an i d e o l o g i s t , on his advanced

ideas, paradoxically/ these ideas have the i r origins i n the

p o s i t i v i s t thought against which the Modernists reacted.

The proof of t h i s l i e s i n the i d e o l o g i c a l nature of Prada's

influence on Chocano and the l a t t e r 1 s recognition of V i g i l

as a precedent to Prada.

Yet i t i s Chocano's poetry which, representing the height

of the Modernist movement, reveals i t s development into

the opposite of what Prada had seen as desirable. I t was

the "art for art's sake" attitude which i s evident i n

p a r t i c u l a r i n Chocano's poetry on indigenous themes i n

comparison to Prada's, which prevented the l a t t e r from

adopting Modernist for more than a b r i e f interlude.

Prada's use of poetry as a vehicle for his ideas also had

i t s origins i n the previous generation, but found no imitators

i n the following one. Indeed, i t appears that, as i n

Prada 1s own work, i n Peru, Modernism was but an interlude

after which writers undertook a new voyage of regression,

back to Prada's writing, from where they began to evolve

i n the d i r e c t i o n which he had indicated, but which

Modernism had so d r a s t i c a l l y d istorted.

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Cometta Manzoni, Aida. E l Indio en l a poesia de America Espafiola. Buenos Aires, 1939 .

Cortes, Jose Galindo. Parnaso peruano. Valparaiso, 1871.

Dario, Ruben. Azul. 8th ed., Buenos Aires, 19 48. Poesias completas. Madrid, 1954

Garcia Calderdn, Vicente. Parnaso peruano. Barcelona.

Gonzalez- Prada, Manuel. Anarquia. 4th ed. Lima, 1948. Baladas peruanas. Santiago, Ch i l e , 1935. E l Tonel de Didgenes. Mexico, 1945. Exdticas"! Lima, 1911. Graf itos". Paris, 1937. L i b e r t a r i a s . Paris, 1938. Minusculas. 4th ed., Lima, 19 47. Pajinas l i b r e s . 3rd ed., Lima, 1948. Presbiterianas. 2nd ed., Lima, 1928.

G o r r i t i , Juana Manuela. Veladas l i t e r a r i a s de Lima 1876- 1877. 2 vols., Buenos Aires, 189 2.

Henriquez Urena, Max. Breve h i s t o r i a del Modernising. 2nd ed., Mexico, 19 62.

Henriquez-Urena, Pedro. < L i t e r a r y Currents i n Hispanic America. Cambridge, Mass., 1949.

Mapes, Erwin K. ^ ' i n f l u e n c e francaise dans l'oeuvre de Ruben Pario"! Paris f 1925.

Mariategui, Jose Carlos. Siete ensayos de interpretacidn de l a realidad peruana. Santiago, Chile, 19 55.

Matto de Turner, Clorinda. Aves s i n nido. Cuzco, 1958.

Merida (Aureliano V i l l a r a n ) . Cuartos de hora. Lima, 1879.

101

Rod6, Jose E n r i q u e . Obras c o m p l e t a s . M a d r i d , 1957.

S a n c h e z , L u i s A l b e r t o . A l a d i n o o V i d a y o b r a de Jose Santos Chocano. M e x i c o , 1960. Don M a n u e l . , 2nd e d . , S a n t i a g o , C h i l e , 1937. " G o n z a l e z P r a d a , o l v i d a d o p r e c u r s o r d e l M o d e r n i s m o , " Cuadernos A m e r i c a n o s , V I ( N o v - D i c , 1953) , 225-234. L a L i t e r a t u r a p e r u a n a , d e r r o t e r o p a r a una h i s t o r i a e s p i r i t u a l d e l P e r d . 6 v o l s . A s u n c i o n , 1951.

Santos Chocano, J o s e . Obras c o m p l e t a s , M e x i c o , 1954. P o e s i a s c o m p l e t a s . 6 v o l s . B a r c e l o n a , 1910.

V e r l a i n e , P a u l . Oeuvres p o e t i q u e s c o m p l e t e s . P a r i s , 19 54.