Analysis of Bécquer's Rhymes XI and XIV

Rima XI: The Pursuit of Impossible Love

Poetic Themes and Structure

Rima XI delves into Bécquer's exploration of poetry itself. The central theme revolves around the pursuit of unattainable love, a desire the poet recognizes as impossible. This realization leads to a preference for dreaming and imagining, finding solace in the realm of wishes. The final stanza reveals this sentiment: "I am a dream...".

The poem's structure consists of three distinct parts:

• The dark-haired woman, symbolizing passion.
• The blonde woman, representing tender affection.
• The impossible woman, embodying unattainable love.

Rhetorical Figures

Bécquer employs several rhetorical devices:

• Parallelism: "Do I love you? - Do you love me?"
• Anaphora: "I am..."
• Allegory: The brunette symbolizes passionate love, the blonde symbolizes tender love, and the impossible woman represents the poet's idealized, unattainable love.
• Antithesis: The contrast between the dark-haired and blonde women.
• Metaphor: The rhyme itself serves as a metaphor for the pursuit of the ideal.

Metrics and Rhyme

The poem utilizes decasyllabic and pentasyllabic lines with mid-verse pauses. The final line of each rhyme is subdivided. Even lines have consonant rhymes, while odd lines are free.

Romantic Characteristics

Rima XI embodies romanticism through its simple, natural expression and exploration of the three female stereotypes: the brunette, the blonde, and the impossible woman, with the focus on the latter highlighting a key characteristic of the Romantic movement.

Rima XIV: Triumph and Hope in Love

The Idealization of Women

Rima XIV explores the theme of triumph and hope in love, focusing on the idealization of women through the captivating power of their eyes. The final stanza expresses this sentiment: "I feel... (that if I die, I die)".

Structure and Progression

The poem's structure consists of two parts:

• The first three stanzas depict the poet's vision of the woman's eyes.
• The final stanza reveals a shift towards a more unreal and personal vision, hinting at the poet's fate.

The poem progresses thematically from the past in the first stanza to the present in the second and third stanzas, culminating in a present with a future implication in the fourth stanza.

Rhetorical Figures and Imagery

Bécquer employs various rhetorical figures:

• Hyperbaton: "My bedroom..." (disorder)
• Simile: "Like the spot..." (comparison)
• Imagery: References to light and eyes.
• Derivation: "View"
• Semantic Field: Sun, flare.

Metrics and Rhyme

The poem comprises four hendecasyllabic quatrains. Even lines have assonant rhymes, while odd lines are free.

Romantic Atmosphere

Rima XIV showcases romanticism through its thematic focus on dreams, mystery, and the idealized vision of love.