response: 'romance de la luna luna'
Arguably one of the more well-known poems in the collection, “Romance de la luna luna" beautifully incorporates various symbols relating to the Roma as well as to society through the metaphorical conversation between a boy and the moon. The conclusion of the poem links the boy to the moon as she carries him off; however, the beauty of the poem is found in the often ambiguous and contrasting forces of pre- vs. post-industrial society and nature vs. modernization.
While on the surface the poem reads as an artful tale of the moon dancing in the night while a young boy warns her of an impending danger: the gitanos (Roma), below the surface is a symbolic battle between pre- and post-industrial society. For example, the setting is in a forge, or blacksmith’s workshop, where the moon dances and dances, churning her arms without care and dancing in the sky (lines 1-6). This is one of the first pre- vs. post-industrial contrasts the reader recognizes. The forge represents post-industrial society and the moon a pre-industrial world. This difference is also seen when the gitanos enter, “Por el olivar venían, / bronce y sueño, los gitanos / Las cabezas levantadas / y los ojos entornados” (lines 25-28); “Through the olive grove they came, / bronze and dreamy, the gypsies / Heads raised / eyes half-closed” (Lederle, slf. trns.). The coming of the gitanos through the olive grove heading toward the forge poses a wonderful opposition of pre-industrial society (the olive grove) being distinctly separate from post-industrial society (the forge).
The descriptions of the gitanos are seen through the eyes of the young boy. He views the Roma as coming through the olive grove toward the forge, denoting a sense of twilight in which the Roma live. Yes, they come from the olive grove; however, the poem does not signify whether or not they reside there. Furthermore, they are heading toward the forge which is symbolic of the Roma transitioning their lifestyle toward a post-industrial society. Yet, it can be deduced that the Roma have not quite embraced the new lifestyle. This attaches a notion of mystery as they come from the land, not from the town, and differ from the city people who are sedentary and settled. The lack of clarity that surrounds the Roma frightens the boy and is why he warns the moon and pleads for her to go away.
Thus the boy becomes representative of post-industrial society as well as modernization, frightened in a sense by the pre-industrial gitanos who lack a clear definition of city-dwellers or rural residents. This can also be related to the opposing forces of nature and modernization in the poem. For example, through the poem numerous elements of nature are present: the moon bustling in the air (lines 1-2), the olive grove (line 25), the singing owl (line 29), the wind keeping watch (lines 35-36). These contrast with the elements of modernization in the poem: the forge (line 1), the tough tin (line 8), the anvil (line 15). The boy is also a figure of modernization. Afraid of the gitanos, he warns the moon to go away because the coming gitanos will abuse her beauty: “Huye, luna, luna, luna / Si vinieron los gitanos, / harían con tu corazón / collares y anillos blancos” (lines 9-12); “Run away, moon, moon, moon / if the gypsies come / with your heart they would make / necklaces and white rings” (Lederle, slf. trns.).
Although the boy can be representative of both post-industrial society and modernization, his identity is ambiguous and this duality is present throughout the entire poem. Is the boy warning the moon to get away from the coming gitanos because he values her beauty and does not want it to be taken advantage of? Or is it that he, representative of the post-industrial society, does not want the Roma to reach her first seeing as he would like to exploit the moon’s resources himself? Also, the dilogical nature extends to the end of the poem when the Roma come, and upon finding the boy with “both eyes closed” (line 24), they begin to cry and wail (lines 33-34). It is presumed that wailing and crying are associated with sorrow and unhappiness; however, are they crying and wailing because they found the boy dead? Or are they crying and wailing because they are mad that the boy has fallen to modernization and post-industrial society? If the latter, then the poem may be a warning of the dangers of advancing too quickly. The warning sounding a call, like the “beating drum of the plain” (line 22), that the result of such abuse of nature only results in untimely death.
There exists an ambiguity. That of the gitanos and whether or not they are dangerous. From the text, both sides are argued. Coming from the olive grove to make from the moon jewelry gives the boy a sense of urgency when warning the moon. Yet, making jewelry form the moon can also be seen as a sign of adoration to the moon. In a sense, the jewelry is a sincere form of flattery for it will be worn as a show of beauty and bring pride to its wearer. Conversely, the making of jewelry from the moon and wearing it can also be viewed as a sense of power over the moon.
“Romance de la luna, luna” is full of ambiguity and duality. The beauty then is found in such opposition. These opposing elements give the poem a rhythm all its own, where the reader becomes an integral part of the argument for and against the boy, the moon, and the Roma. The Roma are characterized here by their ambiguity, a trait that still pervades modern society. Like the poem, the Roma are living in twilight: both in the past and here in the present. They are at once dangerous and beautiful, mysterious and recognized. Ultimately, they are like the moon in this poem: carefree, natural, beautiful because they are always present and seemingly so close yet cannot be grasped.
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response: 'preciosa y el aire'
This particular poems offered up quite a unique challenge in translation. Standing over the poem, brow furrowed, I eagerly tried to transpose what I heard in Spanish into English with limited success. The English words didn’t carry the same sound as the Spanish ones; the message was not flowing onto the paper. And then, it hit me. When reading the poem out loud, I began to hear a rhyme. Next came a rhythm. Eventually I was tapping my desk attempting to fit the original poem to a beat and then a peculiar image popped into my mind.
Long ago in elementary school I always looked forward to recess - what child didn’t? It was a chance to be a somewhat barbaric human without anyone questioning you. That said, it was also a time of curious rhythm itself. Swings going back and forth like a pendulum; the basketball pulsing the pavement; the jump rope slapping the ground. There was occasionally a distant game of hopscotch going on which no one ever really seemed to know how to play. And when you took the landscape in, well, it was very childish - in a sweet way. Innocent, child produced rhythms.
Soon “Preciosa y el aire” began appearing to me as a childlike rhythm. Lorca seems to have carefully formulated his choice of words to emulate the banter of children or, at the very least, present in his poem a shroud of innocence - childlike innocence. And here is where I found myself taking the poem. As a child all poems seemed to have a rhyming pattern and I believe that’s why I enjoyed them so much. As I grew up I came to the rather annoying discovery that not all poems carry a rhyme and those that did sounded, well, more childlike than not. Translating “Preciosa” came with a unique chance to formulate the translation into a rhyme that kept a childish feel. In fact, this couldn’t have been better for the images flowing out of the poem itself. The Roma in “Preciosa” are characterized as innocent and in tune with nature yet entirely capable of falling victim to exploitation and the fiery nature of non-Roma.
The poem opens up with a young girl proceeding down a wondrous path shining of crystal and leaves, her very name invoking a sense of innocence. Nighttime surrounds her and the world appears still, dreamlike: “the starless silence, / escaping form the sonance, / falls where sea pounds and sings / its night a fish-filled darkness” (lines 5-8). Precious comes with a parchment moon in hand - undoubtably a tambourine - and with a description that she is playing as she walks which gives off a feeling of unadulterated carelessness. Perhaps this is symbolic of the Roma women - typically being portrayed with music and living a less rigid life than their counterparts, as if in a dream. Along her meandering she encounters Roma presumably living next to the water (lines 13-16). These Roma do not seem to have been settled here long, as evident in the poem’s mention of their building bowers from nature. Here we notice the Roma, in a sense, living up to their trait of nomadism - seemingly just arriving to a new location and starting to build their temporary home.
Again we see the Roma contrasted with an industrial, modernized figure: up in the mountains, guarded by cavalry, sits “los ingleses” (lines 9-12). This mention of the English isn’t again mentioned until later in the poem; but, nevertheless, they are still present, if only a distance first. The English, who are far away yet positioned up high, as if in a setting of authority, are at first just a passing reference. Lorca returns his attention back to Precious, who finds herself now the subject of someone’s attention.
Characterized as a wind that never rests in addition to an exposed St. Christopher, this man quickly recognizes Precious’s beauty and, as she plays “an absent, sweet chor’s” (line 24), he solicits her to expose herself to him and offer herself up: “Child, so that I may see you, / lift up your guise. / Open your womb’s blue rose / in my fingers so wise” (lines 25-29). No doubt it is not just the sweet tune Precious is playing that captures his attention but also her appearance which Lorca may be using in two ways here. First, Precious - and Roma overall - are characterized on their appearance and it is that which draws outsiders in. Second, this could be a symbol Lorca is using to present how the Roma are expected to prostitute themselves out for the benefit of the others; or, put another way, outsiders view the Roma as merely a service available to exploit at their will. Interesting though is the use of a saint as the one who requests Precious to remove her clothing. Perhaps this is Lorca saying that under the most innocent of guises the outsiders want to take the innocence of the Roma.
It shouldn’t be passed over; however, that the sexual language in this poem indicate an attempted rape. After the man’s solicitation, Precious throws down her tambourine and runs but behind her “the man, as if wind, pursues / her with fiery stake” (lines 29-32). If Precious is a metaphor for all Roma people, then Lorca sharply personifies the Roma/non-Roma relationship as one of rape, exploitation, violation. Roma then are subject to the whims of the non-Roma who seek to use and molest the Roma. Nature again takes a central role as Precious runs from her attacker. As she passes, “the sea purses its murmer, / the olive trees turn sallow. / The flutes sing of shade / and the still gong of the snow” (lines 33-36). Nature, at once flourishing with Precious, seems to wither away as she is attacked. One of the inferences that develops from this scene involves the Roma’s connection with nature. At the beginning of the poem, Precious is walking with nature in a dreamlike setting. Nature itself seems more like a distant reality and a dream. Precious is happy and nature seems to emulate her emotion. Then as her emotion changes to that of fear and despair, nature then emulates this and begins to lose its brilliance. This brings us to a second point that an almost ancient, otherworldly connection exists between the Roma and nature; one that non-Roma seem to have forgotten. Perhaps this is what Lorca is calling attention to and foreshadowing the risk of become too industrialized lest society lose its connection to nature - a feat which the Roma have managed to maintain.
At the end of the poem Lorca returns us to the English where, this time, Precious finds herself seeking protection. In the relative safety of this home, “crying, she recounts / her adventure to those people” (lines 54-55). This duality of a non-Roma taking in a Roma girl seems to be a paradox when it comes to how Lorca represented non-Roma. A clue might lie in the precise word Lorca pens when Precious is talking to the British. What Lorca might be attempting is a shift in perspective in the last stanza to that of a fellow Englishman who is viewing this from a short distance. The original word of Precious’s account is described as “una aventura / an adventure” (line 55). Even with the relative safety of the English, it appears they don’t necessarily take Precious seriously if they see it fit to describe her story as merely an adventure.
Lorca’s mastery here is the combination of Roma innocence from non-Roma and a deep connection to nature. The Roma are a people whose serious beauty and relationship with nature and is paralleled by both an attempt to steal it away and as merely a childlike affiliation, respectively. The identity of the Roma then becomes that of a grey-area, a twilight - neither fitting into the modernized world yet continuously the object of domestication and industrialization.
