Alcazarquivir and the Limits of Daring: Fernando de Herrera's «Canción I» (Algunas obras, 1582)

Abstract

This article examines how Herrera adapts the metaphorical system of Algunas obras to deal not only with gallant themes, but also with the heroic themes proper to the epic and, according to him, also to the canción. After recalling the critical approaches to the theme of daring in Herrera, which have concentrated on love poetry and its metaliterary echoes, we turn to the question of Herrera's epic. To do so, we will examine both the traces of his epics (frustrated or lost) and, above all, his eagerness to elevate lyric poetry to a higher status, as perceived in his war-themed songs. The texts we have chosen to show this date from after the 1570s, the decade in which the event in question took place: the defeat of Alcazarquivir (1578). This battle is the subject of several poems that we will examine in detail: the "Canción I", which he had printed in Algunas obras (1582) and, later, in Versos (1619), and five sonnets, four from Versos and one from Algunas obras. In these texts, we will study how Herrera employs the semantic field of daring, mixed with references to pride and some biblical echoes, both to exalt the past and future victories of the Hispanic Monarchy and to elevate its stature to levels worthy of the subject.