What is it about?
This article analyzes the earliest ballad (dating back to 1921) to have been gathered into Lorca's Romancero gitano. It shows how Lorca was able to take a common ballad feature --its fragmentation and gaps in narrative-- to create a modern version of the dismal hunt theme. (The latter is a traditional ballad theme about the unhappy quest for love on the part of a knight.)
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Why is it important?
This article shows how Lorca shaped a traditional theme and peculiarity of the Spanish ballad form-which he evidently knew very well-- to his own interests. The lacunae (literally, lagoons or gaps) become part of the story and hint at unspoken words.
Perspectives
This ballad was composed at a time when Lorca was absorbed in the writing of his Suites. Possibly, the theme of sexual manhood was not far from his mind.
Dr Roberta Ann Quance
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: “Burla de don Pedro a caballo”: The Modern Ballad's Dismal Hunt, Romance Quarterly, February 1986, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/08831157.1986.9925762.
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