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Page 62
This was first published in "El Liceo," 1838. The Duque de Rivas may
have been influenced by our text, but such introductions were a Romantic
commonplace. See M. Fern�ndez y Gonz�lez, "Cr�nicas romanescas de
Espa�a. Don Miguel de Ma�ara, memorias del tiempo de Carlos V," Paris,
1868. The story begins "Era la media noche"; and, later, "Hac�a mucho
tiempo que Sevilla estaba entregada al sue�o y al silencio." Espronceda
is here following his sources closely.
=2. antiguas historias=: not a mere rhetorical statement. These old
stories actually existed. See the study of sources in the Introduction.
=4. l�brego=: I follow the reading of the 1840 edition. Later editions
changed to =l�brega=, making the adjective agree with =tierra= instead
of =silencio=. Either reading makes good sense, but in cases of doubt I
follow the Editio Princeps.
=11. fantasmas=: this noun is usually masculine, but is often feminine
in popular speech. The distinction between the masculine and feminine
meanings given in most dictionaries does not apply in Espronceda. He
uses both genders indifferently.
=19. s�bados=: Saturday was the usual day when, according to popular
belief, witches attended their yearly =aquelarre= or sabbath. The
favorite meeting-place for Spanish witches was said to be the plain
around Barahona (Soria).
=27. g�tico=: admiration for the Gothic was a characteristic of
Romanticism.
=37. Salamanca=: the famous university city of Spain. Its founding
antedates the Carthaginians and the Romans. The university of Palencia
was transferred to Salamanca by Fernando III in 1239. Neither the
university nor the city retains much of its ancient importance. See
Gustave Reynier, "La Vie universitaire dans l'ancienne Espagne," Paris,
1902.
=38. armas y letras=: these words summarize the Renaissance ideal of
culture. The perfect gentleman must combine literature and arms. Letters
were not considered to be apart from active life. Cervantes, Lope de
Vega, Quevedo, and many others of Spain's great writers of the classic
period exemplify this ideal.
=53. embozado=: to avoid breathing the cool mountain air of his country,
a Spaniard frequently draws the corner of his cape over his face,
concealing it. He is then =embozado=, 'muffled.' When a woman is heavily
veiled she is =tapada=. This national custom has been effectively used
by Spanish poets, novelists, and dramatists. It offered a plausible
excuse for the concealment or confusion of identity.
=64. calle=: this word is the object of =atraviesa=, l. 72.
=65. la calle del Ata�d=: this dismal name does not seem to be of
Espronceda's own invention. It is found in Jos� Guti�rrez de la Vega's
"Don Miguel de Ma�ara," 1851. Espronceda probably used some earlier
edition of the prose romance of Don Miguel de Ma�ara.
=96. que=: a relative adverb used with the force of a genitive Translate
'whose.'
=100. Segundo Don Juan Tenorio=: see the Introduction.
PARTE SEGUNDA
The quotation is taken from Byron's "Don Juan," Canto IV, stanza 72, the
description of Haid�e's tomb. I restore the first two words, omitted in
all previous editions, without which the passage is devoid of meaning.
The way in which this passage has been garbled was pointed out by
Pi�eyro, "El Romanticismo en Espa�a," Paris, 1904.
=181. de luceros coronada=: this verse occurs also in Mel�ndez Vald�s'
"Rosana en los fuegos." See Foulch�-Delbosc, "Quelques R�miniscences
dans Espronceda," _Revue Hispanique_, XXI, p. 667.
=218. hoja tras hoja=, etc.: in the first part of "Faust," Margarete
pulls out one by one the petals of a daisy to determine whether or
not Faust loves her. Is this a reminiscence of Margarete's _Er liebt
mich--liebt mich nicht?_
=242. pas�=: translate by the English perfect tense. There are many
other cases in these poems where the preterit had best be rendered by
the perfect.
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