Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

8-1982

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Spanish

Major Professor

H. Ernest Lewald

Committee Members

Ronald Duncan, Raquel Ferrari, Angel Manuel Vazquez- Bigi

Abstract

This thesis analyzes the background, ideology, and lyrical qualities in the poetry of Puerto Rico's national revolutionary poet Juan Antonio Corretjer. For the past 50 years he has been a leader as a poet, cultural guardian, and political figure. Yet aside from two dissertations at the University of Mexico and one at the University of Paris, little research has been done on his work.

Like Luis Pales Matos, Corretjer explores the island's cultural past with imagination and love for language. In so doing he exalts Puerto Rico's folklore, traditions and customs as essential elements in his dream of a nation moving towards a future of independence and socialism.

Both a nationalist and a socialist, Corretjer has composed prison poems while incarcerated in San Juan, Atlanta, Havana, and Mexico for his political activism. He is at the very center of the island's movement for nationalism, and the current protest-song movement has made him popular in Puerto Rico together with Pales and Neruda. Although primarily concerned with Puerto Rico and its problems, Corretjer's poetry also deals with such universal ideas as the rebel spirit and love, which he sees embodied in socialism. Corretjer has consistently denounced the U.S. presence in Puerto Rico as an example of cultural imperialism and views himself and other responsible intellectuals as guardians of Puerto Rico's cultural identity as a Latin American nation.

In short, this dissertation deals with the general problem of culture in Puerto Rico. After a brief review of historical and literary antecedents, Corretjer's work is presented in Chapter I as an example of how literature can contribute to a sense of national identity. In Chapter II, Corretjer's lyric poetry is analyzed with special attention given to the importance of nature, women and love. Chapter III, which includes as yet unpublished poems focusing on Puerto Rico's revolutionary underground, studies the didactic aspect of Corretjer's poetic creation, with the development of his concept of nationality and political independence. Finally, the thesis includes an extensive bibliography and an updated chronological list of important dates in Corretjer's life and literary contributions.

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