La poesía amorosa de Francisco de Quevedo por Julián Olivares (review)

98 &> REVIEWS c,J voked name is that of the adelantadoand governor during the period studied , Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca. Since the perspective or focus offered here on Nunez is an interestingly decentered one, those interested in knowing about more him might wish to consult this study. In Chapter Three the author analyzes one truly singular letter among all those archived, since its writer is a woman. This individual, Dofia Isabel de Guevara, addresses herself to Princess Juana, the daughter of Carlos V,in order to protest unfairness in the distribution of the spoils of conquest. Again, Lopreto is to be praised for the depth of her analysis, both formal and historical (for example, she examines thoroughly questions raised by Dofia Isabel's apparent participation in a mission that legally included only men). Lopreto includes the complete, modernized texts of both Dofia Isabel's letter and Miranda's romance. She does not do the same with respect to the nucleus of letters analyzed in her final chapter, but instead quoting only fragments of them. Here she explores the meaning (sentido) of the conquest by compiling the various names used by the writers of the letters to refer to Spaniards (i.e., cristianosin the majority of instances) versus those used to designate Indians (naturales, esclavos, piezas, and tierra,among others), as well as references to the "menace" constituted by the rapidly increasing number of Mestizos. Lopreto has produced a useful contribution to colonial studies. The clear focus and admirable depth of the analysis are sufficient to enable reader to successfully ignore the bad (there is no other word for it) art found on the cover and elsewhere, as well as the fact that the print seems too small for the size of the pages. Despite these blemishes, " ... quevivoenesta conquista" will prove a worthwhile addition to most university libraries. LeeH. Dolwing UniversityofHouston Olivares, Julian. La poesia amorosa de Francisco de Quevedo. Madrid: Siglo Veintiuno, 1995. ix +210 pp. ISBN 84-323-0880-3 Julian Olivares' TheLovePoetryofFrancisco deQuevedowas received with much enthusiasm when it first appeared in 1983.In the words ofAlan Paterson, "It takes courage to confront this kind df poetry, and Julian Olivares emerges with great credit; certainly this is a major contribution to studies of seventeenth-century Spanish poetry, made accessible to nonHispanists by able translations from Bernard Bentley and Elias Rivers of ro REvrnws 03 99 each poem discussed" (TLS, 13April 1984:399). Paterson then talks of the three motifs which Olivares spotlights: "Petrarchan Courtly Love, NeoPlatonism, and the poet's intense awareness of death." Paterson's review concludes with this comment, still valid today, "In the case of Quevedo-and Professor Olivares does justice to this case-the poet tackles the apparent solidity and truthfulness-to-experience acquired through the habit of centuries by the language and sentiment of love poetry, and breaks them down in front of us, showing them up for the illusions they always were, toys to divert the Floralbas, Lisis, and Quevedos from the reality of their solitude and mortality." In my own notes to the English version, I read that "[w]hen defining the poet's love, Olivares follows Otis Green initially. However, Olivares takes the conception of love as ever-unsatiated and increasing desire (20) and turns it into.a dolorido sentir which is 'the principal characteristic of the courtly lover' (30).This dolorido sentir becomes, for Olivares, a tremendous preoccupation with unconsummated passion (23), unfulfilled desire (25), ever-increasing desire (25-26), unsatisfied desire (28), carnal desire (59), unsatiated desire (78), and lust (78). It reveals a new Quevedo who, deprived of real physical union (96), is faced with the indefinite postponement of sexual gratification (83) and the agony of unsatisfied desire (82)." Rereading the book in translation fourteen years after its first publication is a similar experience to meeting an old friend again after a period of absence. First, you check to see what changes have taken place and you confirm that what changes you find are only minor. There are, for example, some additions to the bibliography: Crosby's Guiabibliogrdfica, A. A. Parker's Spanish edition of Lafa'buladePolifemoy Galatea, Maravall' s Laculturadel Barraco, five new articles by...