The 15 best poems by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (with explanation)

Several verses that show the way in which this Spanish poet expressed his emotions in poetry.

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer's poetry has been recognized as one of the most representative in Hispanic literature. It is characterized by short rhymes of intimate tone, and the content by contradictions and themes ranging from dreams, reason and women, to the popular and the aristocracy.

In this article we will see some of the best poems of Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, one of the most important poets of the world.one of the most important Spanish poets.

15 poems by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer was born in Seville in 1836 and died in the same city, at the age of 34, in 1870 from tuberculosis. His posthumous work, located in romanticism, has become one of the most representative of Spanish literature. Likewise, the influence of this poet went beyond the limits of literature to be located also in painting, since he was an excellent draughtsman, which was recovered by later artistic critics. to be located also in painting, since he was an excellent draughtsman, which was recovered by the later artistic critics.

His most recognized work is Rhymes and Legends which is a compilation of his poems and stories. Nowadays, the latter is considered one of the classic and obligatory works in Hispanic literature. Here are some of Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer's most popular rhymes.

Rhyme I

I know a giant and strange hymn

that announces in the night of the soul a dawn,

and these pages are of this hymn

cadences that the air dilates in the shadows.

I would like to write it, of man

taming the rebellious, mean language,

with words that were at the same time

sighs and laughter, colors and notes.

But it is in vain to struggle; for there is no cipher

capable of enclosing him, and scarcely, O beautiful one!

if holding in my hands yours

I could, in your ear, sing it to you alone.

• Several verses that reflect the limitations of language to express feelings.

Rhyme II

I have peered into the deep abysses

of earth and sky

and I have seen the end of them either with my eyes

or with my thoughts.

But alas! from one Heart I came to the abyss

and I bowed down for a moment,

and my soul and my eyes were troubled:

So deep was it and so black!

• A comparison between the world of knowledge and the world of emotions..

3. Rhyme III

In the keystone of the arch

whose stones time reddened,

the work of a rough chisel

the gothic coat of arms.

Plume of its granite helmet,

the ivy that hung around it

shaded the shield on which a hand

had a heart.

To contemplate him in the deserted square

we both stopped.

And that, he told me, is the true emblem of my constant love.

of my constant love.

Oh, it is true what he told me then:

It is true that the heart

will carry it in his hand... anywhere...

but not in the chest.

• Verses about the inability to connect with reality.

4. Rhyme VII

From the living room in the dark corner,

of its owner perhaps forgotten,

silent and covered with dust,

the harp was seen.

What a note slept on its strings,

as the bird sleeps in the branches,

waiting for the hand of snow

that knows how to pluck them!

Alas, I thought; how often does the genius

thus sleeps in the depths of the soul,

and a voice like Lazarus waits

to say, "Arise and walk"!

• A single object can come to inspire rhymes as inspired as these.

5. Rhyme IX

Kiss the aura that softly moans

the light waves that playfully ripple;

the sun kisses the cloud in the west

and tinges it with purple and gold;

the flame around the burning trunk

for kissing another flame slips;

and even the willow, bending to its weight,

to the river that kisses it, returns a kiss.

• Example of a scene description attributing human characters to different inanimate elements..

6. Rhyme X

The invisible atoms of the air

around them throb and flame;

the sky melts into rays of gold;

the earth trembles with exhilaration;

I hear floating in waves of harmony

the murmur of kisses and the flutter of wings; my eyelids close... What's the matter? -

It's love passing by!

• Various sensations related to the way in which Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer experiences love.

7. Rhyme XIV

Sometimes I meet her in the world

and she passes by me

and she passes smiling and I say

How can she laugh?

Then another smile appears on my lip

mask of pain,

and then I think: -Maybe she laughs,

as I laugh.

• This is one of Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer's poems based on the simplicity of a single anecdote.

8. Rhyme XVI

When they told me I felt the cold

of a steel blade in my entrails,

I leaned against the wall, and for an instant

I lost consciousness of where I was.

Night fell upon my spirit

in anger and in pity flooded my soul

and then I understood why one weeps!

And then I understood why one kills!

The cloud of grief passed... with sorrow

I managed to stammer a few words...

Who told me the news? A faithful friend...

He was doing me a great favor... I thanked him.

• On the arrival of some unfortunate news.

9. Rhyme XXI

What is poetry, you say, as you stick your blue pupil

your blue pupil into my pupil.

What is poetry, and you ask me?

Poetry... is you.

• One of Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer's most famous and memorable poems.

10. Rhyme XXIII

For a look, a world,

for a smile, a sky,

for a kiss... I don't know

what I would give you for a kiss.

• Passion is one of the recurring themes of this artist.

11. Rhyme XXX

A tear came to her eyes

y... my lip a sentence of forgiveness;

pride spoke and wiped away a tear,

and the sentence on my lip expired.

I go one way, she goes another;

but when I think of our mutual love,

I still say, Why did I keep silent that day?

And she will say: Why didn't I cry?

It is a matter of words, and yet,

neither you nor I ever,

after what is past we will never agree

on whom the fault lies

Pity that love has no dictionary

has nowhere to find

when pride is simply pride

and when it is dignity!

• About a love breakup.

• 12. Rhyme XXXVIII

  Sighs are air and go into the air.

  Tears are water and go to the sea.

  Tell me, woman, when love is forgotten,

  do you know where it goes?

  • About the veracity of past loves.

  13. Rhyme L

  What the savage who with clumsy hand

  makes a god out of a trunk at his whim

  and then kneels before his handiwork,

  so did you and I.

  We gave real forms to a ghost,

  a ridiculous invention of the mind,

  and the idol already made, we sacrificed our love

  our love on his altar.

  • Another of the poems dedicated to the lack of love that this poet wrote throughout his life.

  14. Rhyme LII

  Giant waves that break you roaring

  on the deserted and remote beaches,

  wrapped in the sheet of foam,

  take me with you!

  Hurricane gusts that snatch from the high forest the withered leaves

  from the high forest the withered leaves,

  swept away in the blind whirlwind,

  take me with you!

  Clouds of tempest that the thunderbolt breaks

  and in fire you ornate the detached edges,

  snatched in the dark mist,

  take me with you!

  Take me for pity to where vertigo

  With reason I am torn from my memory.

  For pity's sake! I am afraid to be left

  with my pain alone!

  • About the vertigo produced by loneliness in certain circumstances.

  15. Rhyme XVI

  If, when rocking the blue bells

  of your balcony

  you think that sighing the wind passes

  murmuring,

  know that hidden among the green leaves

  I sigh.

  If to the confused resounding behind your back

  vague rumor,

  you think that by your name a distant voice

  distant voice,

  know that among the shadows that surround you

  I call you.

  If your heart is troubled in the high night

  your heart

  when it feels on your lips a scorching breath

  burning breath on your lips,

  know that though invisible beside you

  I breathe.

  • About memories that may come to haunt us.