Cérvols i senglars, i també un ós. Trofeus gongorins

Abstract

This paper proposes a re-reading of three passages from Gongora: a sonnet from 1683 («Clavar victorioso y fatigado») and two fragments from about ten years later (an octave from Fábula de Polifemo y Galatea and some verse from the dedication of the first of the Soledades). In these three passages, Gongora alludes to certain hunting rituals that mostly go back to ancient Greece and Rome, and subsequently had a long tradition in Romance literature. On the one hand, a review of the Classical and Renaissance sources that Gongora was familiar with and drew upon make it possible to propose a more accurate interpretation of the verse under discussion; on the other, a study of the different ways in which Gongora refers to hunting rituals throughout his literary output provides a clear view of a neglected aspect of the workings of his complex creative ability.