¿Qué es poesía? dices mientras clavas
En mi pupila tu pupila azul;
¡Qué es poesía! ¿Y tú me le preguntas?
	Poesía... eres tú!

About the headline (FAQ)

1885 version:

  ¿Qué es poesía? dices mientras clavas
En mi pupila tu pupila azul;
¿Qué es poesía? ¿Y tú me lo preguntas?
	Poesía... eres tú.

Confirmed with Obras de Gustavo A. Bécquer, tomo segundo, Rimas, Madrid: Imprenta de T. Fortanet, 1871, page 270. Also confirmed with Obras de Gustavo A. Bécquer, cuarta edición aumentada con varias poesías y leyendas, tomo tercero, Rimas, Madrid: Librería de Fernando Fé, 1885, page 159.

Text Authorship:

• by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1836 - 1870), no title, appears in Rimas, no. 21, Madrid, Imprenta de T. Fortanet, first published 1871 [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

• by Roberto Sierra (b. 1953), "¿Qué es poesía? dices mientras clavas", alternate title: "¿Qué es poesía? dices mientras clavas", 1996/1999? [ medium voice and piano ], from Rimas, no. 1, Subito Music Corporation [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

• Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Ricardo (or Richard) Jordan (1857 - 1902) , no title, appears in Spanische Lieder von Gustavo Adolfo Becquer ins deutsche übertragen ; composed by Hans Hermann.
  • Go to the text.
    

Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

• ENG English (Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2010-09-04
Line count: 4
Word count: 24