Centre for Romanian Studies

POETRY IN TRANSLATION (CCLX), SPAIN, Gustavo Adolfo BÉCQUER (Sevilla, 1836 – 1870): “Los suspiros “, “Suspine”, “Sospiri”, “Sighs”,

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
(1836-1870)
Los suspiros

Los suspiros son aire y van al aire!
Las lágrimas son agua y van al mar!
Dime, mujer, cuando el amor se olvida
¿sabes tú adónde va?

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
(1836-1870)
Suspine

Suspinele sunt o adiere de aer ce se pierde în aer!
Lacrimile sunt doar o apă ce curge la vale!
Spune-mi, muiere: când dragostea e pierdută,
Ştii unde se duce?

Rendered in Romanian by Constantin ROMAN
© Constantin ROMAN, London

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
(1836-1870)
Sospiri

Sospiri sonno aria e vanno al aria
Le lacrime sono l‘acqua e vanno al mare
Dimmi donna, quando l’amore è dimenticato
Lo sai dove va?

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
(1836-1870)
Sighs

Sighs are air and go into the air!
Tears are water and go to sea!
Tell me woman when love is forgotten
Do you know where it goes?

SHORT BIO:
Gustavo Adolfo Claudio Domínguez Bastida, better known as Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, (February 17, 1836, Seville – December 22, 1870) was a Spanish post-romanticist poet and writer (mostly short stories), also a playwright, literary columnist, and talented drawer. Today he is considered one of the most important figures in Spanish literature, and is considered by some as the most read writer after Cervantes. He adopted the alias of Bécquer as his brother Valeriano Bécquer, a painter, had done earlier. He was associated with the post-romanticism movement and wrote while realism was enjoying success in Spain. He was moderately well known during his life, but it was after his death that most of his works were published. His best known works are the Rhymes and the Legends, usually published together as Rimas y leyendas. These poems and tales are essential to the study of Spanish literature and common reading for high-school students in Spanish-speaking countries.
His work approached the traditional poetry and themes in a modern way, and he is considered the founder of modern Spanish lyricism. Bécquer’s influence on 20th-century poets of the Spanish language can be felt in the works of Luis Cernuda, Octavio Paz, and Giannina Braschi.