A Critical Appreciation of Campos De Castilla

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A Critical Appreciation of Campos De Castilla

            “Cinco anos en la tierra de Soria, hoy para mi sagrada – alli me case, alli perdi a mi esposa, a quien adoraba – orientaron mis ojos y mi corazon hacia lo esencial castellano.”

 

Antonio Machado’s love for Soria and the land of Castile is definitely one of the predominant issues in “Campos de Castilla”. However, one must look at the development of Machado’s life and how his mood is reflected in his poetry as well as how his influential friends had a bearing on his literary style and beliefs.

The shift Machado made around 1904 in his poetry is an important one since it defines much of “Campos de Castilla”. Geoffery Ribbans says that:

“1904 produce una nueva tendencia a ocuparse de asuntos y objetos externos, si bien estos siguen estando estrechamente relacionados con su vida y sus emociones.”

Machado became more concerned with the relations between the creating self and the external world as opposed to his previous work which had been more self-absorbed and introspective. It is true that Unamuno did have an influence in this shift as well as with Machado’s search for God later on in his life; but it is evident in Machado’s earlier poetry that he made the change for himself.

            A good starting point is “A Orillas del Duero” which contains many aspects of Machado’s poetry as well as being very striking. Firstly, the opening is very casual, similar to other poems such as “A Jose Maria Palacios” and  “Retrato”. The fact that the narrator is climbing a hill is evidence of Machado’s use of “caminos” in many of his poems. The use of the first person singular “Yo” gives the poem an informal opening. The extensive description of his exhausted body as he climbs takes the focus away from the scenery he is about to describe and emphasizes his solitude since he is concentrating on himself alone. Machado makes references to many humble characters which he associates with the Soria countryside, namely in this poem that of “jinetes, arrieros” and a self reference to “a guisa de pastoril”. This interest has much to do with the concept of “intrahistoria” in which the most significant part of a nation’s life takes place beneath the surface of historical events. Again, Unamuno explored this concept and Machado adopted it. What Machado describes next is a mountain bird treading on a series of herbs: “romero, tomillo, salvia” and “espliego”. These herbs are again a major feature of Machado’s poetry in “Campos de Castilla”. The final line of the first stanza is striking and ominous: it makes the reader realise that in fact the poem’s opening is more pessimistic than was at first thought. For example, the speaker shows signs of fatigue in that he has to wipe his brow and then there is the sudden realisation that the “campos son agrios”. The fact that the reader feels in his place is important since we can now experience the change in viewpoint. Machado depicts a broad view, somewhat majestic by including the scattered armour of a historical warrior amongst the mountains. He then concentrates on the minute figures in the distance, that of present-day characters and refers to them with affection: “¡Tan diminutos!”. This is all a prequel to the different mood of the second half of the poem – that of the present decadence of Castilla and Spain compared to their former greatness. Machado praises El Cid and the “conquistadores” but makes many references to the decline of Spain and her people. Complementing this bitter retrospective view is the present countryside which now appears to be derelict with: “campos sin arados, regatos ni arboledas” “decrepitas ciudades” and “caminos sin mesones”. This use of the past, present and the future in Machado’s poetry enables him, in most cases, to look upon the past as being better times and the future as a chance for progress and optimism. This is characterised by the ending of the poem in which the “meson” is now open and Machado appears to be more upbeat on seeing the two weasels.

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            Machado demonstrates a more hostile side to himself in a group of poems directed at rural life. He says:

“Y cuando se pasa…de los pueblos a las aldeas y a los campos donde florecen los crimenes sangrientos y brutales, sentimos que crece la hostilidad del medio…”

“Por tierras de Espana” is a poem which associates such landscape with rural vice. Machado’s impression of such a landscape has an air of fantasy. Firstly, the extreme contrast of weather conditions gives the countryside a harsh environment. The men in this poem are depicted as having completely criminal minds; they appear to ...

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