Bierville Elegies
Encyclopedia
The Bierville Elegies is the most outstanding work by the Catalan poet Carles Riba
. Once Riba and his family embarked on the path of exile in France
at the end of the Spanish Civil War
, they settled in the castle of Roissy-en-Brie
and there began to be created what were later to become the Elegies. The work was continued and given final shape in the town of Bierville
, where he settled. Along with Nabí by Josep Carner
and Antigone by Salvador Espriu
, The Elegies of Bierville constitute one of the great works of modern Catalan literature
and the prime postwar pieces marked by the political situation.
Written between 1939 and 1942, the Elegies were published in Barcelona
after a year in an edition that bore the imprint of Buenos Aires
and dated as 1942; this edition was shortened, however. In 1949 in Santiago, Chile
the first complete edition of the work was published, but the distance meant that this work was unknown to the Catalan public. Finally, the complete edition came out in 1951 in Barcelona and quickly made a big impact.
In the Elegies the poet melts three very different realities, which are fostered by loneliness and lack of history of the landscape of Bierville and become almost legendary: the poet's self
, that of his people, and a common homeland of Greece
, to which the poet is now traveling, now that he is not in his own homeland. It is, in fact, a spiritual adventure, represented through a journey into the past powered by the memory, preferably with an image of the sea, which ends in the penultimate elegy in the collection, which has been considered a kind of a spiritual song, with the rediscovery of own identity and personal divinity of God and of the collectivity. This religious dimension, which until then was not present in Riba's poetry, penetrated deeply throughout his thinking, including the conception of literature. That dimension appeared again in the later poetic works as Savage Heart (Salvatge cor) and Sketch of Three Oratorios (Esbós de tres oratoris).
Carles Riba
Carles Riba i Bracons was a Catalan poet, writer and translator.He was born in Barcelona and studied Law and Philosophy at the University of Barcelona. In 1916 he married the poet Clementina Arderiu. He worked for a time in the School of Librarianship.In 1922 he travelled to Munich to study under...
. Once Riba and his family embarked on the path of exile in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
at the end of the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, they settled in the castle of Roissy-en-Brie
Roissy-en-Brie
Roissy-en-Brie is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France and is located in the eastern suburbs of Paris, from the center.-History:In 1810 Roissy-en-Brie annexed the neighboring commune of Pontcarré...
and there began to be created what were later to become the Elegies. The work was continued and given final shape in the town of Bierville
Bierville
Bierville is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:A small farming village situated in the Pays de Bray some northeast of Rouen, at the junction of the D90 and the D213 roads.-Population:...
, where he settled. Along with Nabí by Josep Carner
Josep Carner
Josep Carner i Puig-Oriol , was a Catalan poet, journalist, playwright and translator. He was also known as the Prince of Catalan Poets.-Biography:...
and Antigone by Salvador Espriu
Salvador Espriu
Salvador Espriu i Castelló was a Catalan poet writing in the Catalan language.-Biography:Espriu was born in Santa Coloma de Farners, Catalonia. He was the son of an attorney. His childhood was divided between his home town, Barcelona, and Arenys de Mar, a village on the Maresme coast...
, The Elegies of Bierville constitute one of the great works of modern Catalan literature
Catalan literature
Catalan literature is the name conventionally used to refer to literature written in the Catalan language. The Catalan literary tradition is extensive, starting in the Middle Ages....
and the prime postwar pieces marked by the political situation.
Written between 1939 and 1942, the Elegies were published in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
after a year in an edition that bore the imprint of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
and dated as 1942; this edition was shortened, however. In 1949 in Santiago, Chile
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
the first complete edition of the work was published, but the distance meant that this work was unknown to the Catalan public. Finally, the complete edition came out in 1951 in Barcelona and quickly made a big impact.
In the Elegies the poet melts three very different realities, which are fostered by loneliness and lack of history of the landscape of Bierville and become almost legendary: the poet's self
Self (psychology)
The psychology of self is the study of either the cognitive and affective representation of one's identity or the subject of experience. The earliest formulation of the self in modern psychology derived from the distinction between the self as I, the subjective knower, and the self as Me, the...
, that of his people, and a common homeland of Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, to which the poet is now traveling, now that he is not in his own homeland. It is, in fact, a spiritual adventure, represented through a journey into the past powered by the memory, preferably with an image of the sea, which ends in the penultimate elegy in the collection, which has been considered a kind of a spiritual song, with the rediscovery of own identity and personal divinity of God and of the collectivity. This religious dimension, which until then was not present in Riba's poetry, penetrated deeply throughout his thinking, including the conception of literature. That dimension appeared again in the later poetic works as Savage Heart (Salvatge cor) and Sketch of Three Oratorios (Esbós de tres oratoris).