Literary Analysis of El Cantar de Mio Cid: Style, Themes, and Structure

Style, Language, and Literary Devices

The style of the work is characterized by simplicity, sobriety, and expressiveness of its language. The narrative structure masterfully combines narrative with description and dialogue.

Epic Procedures Used in the Poem

The poem utilizes common epic procedures, including:

• Appeals to the Audience: Expressions that demand the public's attention and connect them closely to the story (e.g., “You shall hear what happened”).
• Epic Epithets: Used to characterize the main figures (e.g., “El Cid, who in good hour cinxo sword,” or “the venerable bearded one”).
• Minstrel Assessments: Direct evaluations by the narrator about characters or situations (e.g., “God, how beautiful!”).
• Descriptive Lists.

Compared to other European epics, The Song of the Cid is characterized by its high degree of probability; it presents a credible story with no fantastic elements. Although the hero is magnified, he always appears as a human being.

Major Themes and the Cid's Character

The main theme is the recovery of lost honor in two distinct areas:

1. Social Honor: Lost as a vassal due to his unjust banishment by the king.
2. Individual Honor: Lost as a parent, injured by the abusive behavior of the Infantes of Carrion.

The social rise of the hero and the restoration of his honor are clearly illustrated: the work begins with the Cid unjustly banished, making him an outlaw. To achieve his rehabilitation and personal advancement, he fights and wins battles and wealth. Finally, the remarriage of his daughters to the Infantes of Navarre and Aragon elevates the Cid, making him related by marriage to the kings of Spain.

Structure of the Poem: The Three Songs

The Song of the Wedding

The Cid conquers Valencia and sends a new gift to the king, requesting permission for his wife and daughters to join him, to which the sovereign agrees. They arrive in Valencia and are received with full honors. The Heirs of Carrion seek the Cid's daughters in marriage. Though wary, the Cid agrees to the royal proposition. Alfonso VI recognizes his mistake in having banished his vassal and forgives the Cid. The weddings of the Cid's daughters and the Infantes of Carrion are held.

The Song of Corpes' Reproach

The Infantes of Carrion, unable to resist the teasing they experience because of their cowardice, decide to dishonor the Cid and abandon his daughters, whom they mistreat in the groves of Corpes. El Cid appeals to the king asking for justice, which calls for a court (Cortes) in Toledo. The Carrion are defeated in the judicial duel against the Cid's champions. The king subsequently gives the Cid's daughters in marriage to the Infantes of Navarre and Aragon.

Metric Characteristics

The poem is characterized by its irregular metric: verses range from 10 to 20 syllables, but predominantly feature fourteen and sixteen syllables. Each verse is composed of two hemistiches divided by a caesura. The verses are grouped in stanzas (groups of lines with the same assonance rhyme) of variable length.