Analysis of Bécquer’s Rhyme LXVI: Origin and Destiny
Rhyme LXVI by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer is a profound exploration of human existence, delving into themes of pain, anxiety, and the question of immortality. This poem, belonging to the fourth series of Bécquer’s works, projects unsent pain and anxiety onto the human condition, death, and the question of immortality. This series ranges from LXXIX.
Bécquer’s work aligns with the post-Romantic style, characterized by simplicity and melancholy. Observable topics include vocabulary.
Subject Matter
The central theme of the rhyme revolves around questioning and answering the fate and origin of existence. The poet answers himself, suggesting pain and neglect as the sources.
Structure
The rhyme can be distinctly divided into two parts, each corresponding to a stanza. The poem comprises two stanzas. The first stanza explores the question of origin, while the second delves into the question of destiny.
Poetic Language
The poem consists of sixteen lines with assonance rhyming pairs, grouped into two stanzas of eight lines each. Notably, the poem employs a peculiar metric, common in Romanticism and particularly in Bécquer’s work. The first stanza alternates between five verses of heptasyllables and hendecasyllables, with the remaining verses following suit. Both stanzas share a similar meter, rhyme, and rhythm, lending a marked external and internal structure to the composition.
The importance of rhyme is emphasized, particularly in the last three lines of each stanza, which serve as the climax of the poem, containing the most compelling elements.
Style
The poem evokes a distinct environment, immersing the reader in a landscape personified by nature (“Brambles acute,” v.6; “piedra solitaria,” v.13). This setting is characteristic of Romanticism, reminiscent of Nordic landscapes (“eternas nieves Valley,” v.11; “dark and dreary moor,” v. 9), reflecting the influence of Northern European Romantic artists.
The poem exhibits a parallel and metaphorical structure, creating symmetrical stanzas. The poet addresses a “you,” which may not be a specific individual but rather a generic figure, perhaps the author himself or the reader. The rhetorical question at the beginning introduces the topic directly.
An antithesis is established between the first stanza (origin) and the second (destination) (“Where do I come from?, “ v.1; “crib,” v.8 / “Where do I go?;” v.9; “tomb,” v.16).
Enjambment is used to highlight the pessimistic sense in overlapping verses. Epithets (adjectives that do not add information to the noun) include “hard rock” and “melancholic brumas.” Hyperbole (exaggeration) is present in “de eternas snow valley.” The end of each stanza is categorical, intended to evoke the beginning and end of all things.