Lugones Canto De Esperanza

Like Darío, Lugones’ writings also seem to concentrate on rejecting the nineteenth-century optimism through futuristic ideas from a profoundly pessimistic view, which ultimately results in moral relativism and national apathy. In ‘Canto de Esperanza’, the speaker portrays the tragic side of life with existential concerns from an introspective perspective. The sense of despair and pain in living are emphasised by the use of enjambment and caesura, ‘…vierte la esencia de la vida/ sobre tanta alma loca, triste o empedernida’. The poetic form, characteristic style and somewhat fragmented content of the poem reflect Lugones’ poetic and narrative form in ‘El Psychon’, in which Lugones explains the abstract concept of materialising thoughts: ‘el pensamiento
In terms of content, Martí displays love not only for his family, but also for humanity and for his country of origin, Cuba. ‘Nuestra América’ stresses the need for the emergence of forming a new nation and uniting Latin American countries. Modernismo is shown through Martí’s vision in modernising Latin American politics, his modern ideas and the freshness and eccentricity of his ideology about freedom and humanity. Through modernistic elements and revolutionary concepts of nationalism, Martí condemns those who have abandoned Cuba’s culture and independence such as the youth, who seem to be content and ignorant of outside affairs: ‘sin saber de los gigantes que llevan siete leguas en las
The symbolic and metaphorical content of ‘Nuestra América’ expresses profound, abstract ideas. ‘El soberbio’, the Presumptuous Man, embodies expatriates who abandoned Cuba in search of wealth because ‘el soberbio’ accuses his native land of being worthless and beyond redemption ‘porque no le dan sus selvas nuevas modo continuo de ir por el mundo de gamonal famoso’. This strong sense of nationalism and independence in the content of ‘Nuestra América’ reflects concepts of modernismo, reinforced by metaphors of ‘el tigre’ and ‘el pulpo’. ‘El tigre’, representing a looming predator, symbolises imperialist Spain, whose prey is Cuba, the indomitable enemy. “El pulpo” seems to be a general metaphor for the grasp of imperialism. Martí’s use of metaphor links imperialism to predation, which justifies the revolutionary cause. He also hints at a Latin America’s inevitable counter-strike to achieve freedom: “Pero ‘estos países se