[Page 280].—l. 1. cisne de Ofanto: Horace. Cisne is a term regularly applied to poets in Spanish.
l. 3. opresor: Augustus.
[JOSÉ ZORRILLA]. A dramatist and poet who takes rank with the most eminent literary figures of the Spanish nineteenth century. He is less remarkable for pure lyrism than for his epico-lyric or narrative strains. Like Rivas, he has done much to revive the ancient legends of Spain, giving them a modern poetical garb. His romantic dramas, and especially the Don Juan Tenorio, are among the most successful of the period. Cf. his Obras dramáticas y líricas, Madrid, 1895; the edition of his Poesías escogidas, published by the 386 Academia de la lengua, Madrid, 1894; and see the essay on him by Flórez in Novo y Colsón’s Autores dramáticos contemporáneos, Madrid, 1881, I, 169 ff.; Blanco-García, I, 197 ff.
[Page 284].—l. 9. Lines recited by the poet over the grave of Larra (Fígaro), the essayist, at the burial of that unfortunate genius (1837).
[JUAN EUGENIO HARTZENBUSCH]. A romantic dramatist—author of the sentimental Amantes de Teruel—-and a lyric poet of modest pretensions. His Poesías form vol. I of his Obras in the Colección de escritores castellanos (Madrid, 1887): cf. Blanco-García, I, 233 ff.
[Page 287].—l. 21. Sombra, etc.: an allusion to Calderón’s drama, La vida es sueño.
[Page 288].—l. 1. patrio Manzanares: Calderón was born in Madrid, through which flows the river Manzanares.
[MANUEL BRETÓN DE LOS HERREROS]. The most eminent dramatist of the period following that of Romanticism. He was very prolific, producing over one hundred and seventy-five plays. The satiric element is the prevailing one in his lyrics, the earlier of which imitate the manner of Iglesias and Meléndez Valdés. Cf. his Poesías, etc., in vol. V of the edition of his works, Madrid, 1883-84; and see the Marqués de Molins’ Bretón de los Herreros, recuerdos de su vida y de sus obras, Madrid, 1883; Blanco-García I, 272 ff.
[Page 288].—l. 9. Fábula al canto, i.e., Here’s a fable at hand (to prove the point).
[Page 289].—l. 21. Fraile mostense: or fraile premonstratense, i.e., a member of an order of canons founded by St. Norbert in France in 1120.