Analysis of Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer's Rima XIII

Analysis of Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer's Rima XIII

External Structure

The poem is written in hendecasyllabic verse with a polymetric structure. The first three verses are heptasílabos, and the fourth is hendecasyllabic, grouped into three quatrains. These assonance rhyme in pairs. This verse structure is consistent throughout the poem, creating a sense of unity. The rhythm is primarily iambic, with the accent falling on the second syllable of each foot.

A soft enjambment appears between verses 2 and 3: Verb + Direct Object.

The text is primarily descriptive.

Internal Structure

The poem is organized into three parts. Although all three parts refer to the eyes, the impression the poet receives is conditioned by the emotion of the beloved: laughter, tears, and contemplation.

Subject

The poem explores the different emotions evoked in the poet by the eyes of his beloved.

Abstract

The poet, deeply in love, describes the sensations he experiences when looking into the eyes of his beloved on different occasions. When she laughs, her eyes remind him of the blue sea in the morning. When she cries, her tears are like dew on a violet. And when she is lost in thought, the brightness of her eyes resembles the brilliance of a star.

Literary Figures

• Hyperbaton: in verses 9 and 10
• Parallelisms and Repetitions: in verses 1, 5, and 9, which are the first verses of each stanza. The beginning of each stanza is repeated, and the same syntactic structure is used: a temporal adverbial subordinate clause:
  • "Your eye is blue and when you laugh..." (Verse 2)
  • "And when you cry, the clear tears..." (Verses 5-6)
• Simile: The poem's foundation is the comparison of the beloved's gaze with different elements of nature. A specific example is found in verse 10.
• Antithesis: in verse 1 ("when you laugh") and verse 5 ("when you cry"). Parallelism is also present in these two verses, as they share the same syntactic structure.
• Epithet: in verse 2 ("soft light") and verse 6 ("transparent tears").
• Synecdoche: the author uses "pupil" to refer to the entire eye.

The use of the second person singular ("thou") throughout the poem and the comparisons in each stanza are noteworthy stylistic choices.

Conclusion

This rhyme, first published by Bécquer, reflects his characteristic style. It belongs to his love poetry phase, where he expresses his feelings for another person, often using comparisons with elements of nature.

Argument

In this rhyme, Bécquer addresses a woman with blue eyes and a captivating smile. He compares her eyes to the shimmering glow of the morning sea and the evening sky. The rhyme reflects his passionate love and hope. This rhyme, one of Bécquer's early publications, features the recurring motif of the "blue pupil," a common element in his poetry and in the works of other Romantic poets.