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Library Journal Review

B‚cquer was a lyric poet of the 19th century who was a leader of the Romantic literary movement. He was born in Spain and died sad and lonely at the age of 34. Rimas y Leyendas is read in Spanish by Argentinian actress Graciela Lecube. The author's work embraces a wide range of lyric topics, from rhymes inspired in himself and in the meaning of poetry, to the harp, nature, dreams, a kiss, the death of a loved one, time, and pain. The Green Eyes follows the fatal destiny of Fernando, who tracks a wounded deer to the land near the fountain of the Alamos. Legend tells of an evil spirit living in the fountain, but Fernando refuses to believe and approaches anyway. Upon his return, he becomes sad and quiet; he has become enchanted by a pair of green eyes. He returns to the fountain, where he finds a beautiful woman with green eyes and golden hair and follows her into the water. The Hill of the Souls in Purgatory was inspired on All Saints' Eve, when B‚cquer was suffering from insomnia. The hill used to be the site of the Templarios brought by the king when Soria was conquered from the Arabs. The land surrounding the hill was rich in wild game, and the nobles became angry because they could no longer hunt there. They decided to organize a hunting party, but a bloody war exploded among them, with deadly ramifications. Rimas y Leyendas can be used for Spanish II and upper levels in high school and university programs.ÄGloria S. Castillo-Potts, Darien, GA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Spanish Review

Las Rimas y Leyendas de Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer constituyen dos obras cumbres de la literatura española contemporánea. Bécquer consiguió con sus Rimas un fruto poético de estilización expresiva y lenguaje directo, uno de los verdaderos precedentes de la poesía del siglo XX. Huyendo del retoricismo romántico y del prosaísmo realista, Bécquer creó en una síntesis asombrosa de sencillez y concentración un corpus poético breve, pero de repercusiones insospechadas en su tiempo. Poesía honda, humana y siempre nueva, que ha servido para abrir paso a la expresión modernista, noventayochista y a todas las generaciones poéticas posteriores. Las Leyendas son otro ejemplo notable de renovación en la prosa de su tiempo. Frente a la de sus contemporáneos, aparecen como obra de gran valor estético, que introduce un estilo en el que la palabra hermosa y cincelada con gusto y arte exquisitos, supuso una innovación tan considerable como el conseguido en verso con sus Rimas precedentes.