Ángeles y demonios en «canto a Teresa»

Abstract

In «Canto a Teresa» and in El diablo mundo (of which it constitutes an important section), as well as in certain others of his poems, Espronceda expresses his «titanic» challenger of the powers and the more of heaven and earth. He develops a varied imagery of angels and devils to characterize his relationship with Teresa Mancha, as well as to explore facets of his own character as a man and as a poet, so doing, he participates in a long tradition of depicting women as both angels and devils, a tendency which gained particular currency in his century. In this regard, Espronceda attempts in his poetry a Blakean «marriage of heaven and hell». Moreover, the poet refers to several verses on Lucifer and his fall in chapter 14 of Isaiah. He treats the text of the scripture with profound irony as he utilizes it to elaborate his portraits of Teresa and of himself with (and without) her. In these allusions, Espronceda repeatedly reveals his unresolved ambivalance and «anxiety of influence», in the realm of aesthetics, as well as of ethics.