Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga (1533-94) is the author of
La Araucana, the most widely read and imitated epic of the Spanish Golden Age. Ercilla spent nearly 30 years working on the poem's three volumes, which he published in 1569, 1578, and 1589. Composed in heroic verse,
La Araucananarrates the history of colonial warfare between the Spaniards and the Araucanians, a nation of bellicose, nomadic herdsmen living in Arauco, a region in southern Chile. The poem is a hybrid masterpiece that fuses literature, history, and autobiography. Unlike his epic precursors, Ercilla participated in many of the battles that he narrated. In the construction of his poem, he blended narrative strategies and the imitation of scenes and characters from classical epic, the Italian romance, and historiography.…
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Citation: Maxey, Bryce. "Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 10 March 2017 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13851, accessed 31 October 2024.]