Monday, January 23, 2012

I'm finding it really hard to analyse Lorca's poem "La guitarra." I understand the flamenco influence but I'm struggling after that. Any suggestions?

La Guitarra has not much to do with the flamenco influence
except in form, not essence. What I mean by this is that he chose the guitar
metaphorically to represent the imminence of life and death, love and hatred, joy and
happiness, and how the guitar can represent all these things that just do not stop
happening throughout one's existence.


The guitar playing as
the goblets crash


readability="9">

Se rompen las copas de la
madrugada
     It rends the chords of the
sunrise

Empieza el llanto de la guitarra
    
When the crying of the guitar begins
Es inutil callarla,
es imposible callarla.
     It is useless to hush it, it is
impossible to hush it
up.



In here, the
guitar is the feeling of life, the drunkenness of joy, and happiness, but that also can
be interpreted differently since the drunkenness can also be brought in by
disappointment, and intense pain- Either way does not matter: What matters is that life
goes on- just like the guitar keeps playing.


readability="12">

Llora monotona como llora el
agua,
     It cries monotonously like the crying of
water
,
Como llora el viento sobre la nevada.
    
The way wind weeps over the snow.
Es imposible
callarla,
     It is impossible to silence
it,
Llora por cosas, lejanas.
     It cries for
distant
things.




Here
is another allusion to life and our own dreams of having that we cannot have, or trying
to reach goals that we may never get. It is another one of those sad realities that,
when they hit, they hit hard. And, like the guitar, it may be impossible to avoid.
Another allegory is nostalgia and remembrance for, as we age, we lose friends along the
way, and we end up basically alone- another sad reality. And, again like the guitar, it
is inevitable- it just won't stop its tune.


readability="7">

Arena del sur calliente
    
The hot sand of the south
Que pide camelias
blancas
     Thirsty for the white
camelias

Llora flecha sin blanco
     It
decries the arrow shot wide of the target
La tarde sin
manana.
     The darkening of the hour without the promise of
morning
.



This
one is easier to debunk because he looks back into his own life and his nostalgic
memories of his hometown (sands of the south) and its yearning for peace (white
camelias), and hating the destructions caused by war. By this Lorca also means how music
is a universal art of peace. The guitar could here represent pure nostalgia, as he
remembers his past.


readability="9">

Y el primer pajaro muerto
    
And the first dead bird
Sobre la rama.
guitarra
     Fallen from the branch.  Oh,
guitar
,
Corazon malherido por cinco espadas.
    
Your heart cruelly wounded by five sharp
swords.




Here
the five sharp swords are the fingers of the guitar banging at the center of it as the
intensity of Lorca's work becomes more, and then-death- the first dead bird meaning the
ending of life, and the sound of the guitar represents the beating of our hearts, coming
to a stop.


It may not make a lot of sense, but remember
that Lorca comes from a literary period in which the sad and the nostalgic were always
summoned. His prose is no different,and it is not surprising to sort of see how he is a
bit hyperbolic and extreme in trying to touch on the audience's heart. It is part of the
movement, and the style of his generation.

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