La ruda zampoña de Polifemo: autorrepresentación y parodia en la "Fábula de Polifemo y Galatea de Góngora

Abstract

298

Like other Baroque poets, Góngora in his Fábula de Polifemo y Galatea chooses one of his characters to represent his art and to represent himself as a poet. The figure of the monstruous giant Polyphemus –the ironic and desacralizing symbol of Góngora’s art– enters in contrast with other figures, like Apollo and Orpheus– themselves symbols of the art of Lope– that at first glance might seem more appropriate for self-aggrandizement. This paper focuses specifically on the cultural history of the pan flute to demonstrate the appropriateness of Góngora’s choice of this instrument for his character Polyphemus, at the same time highlighting the irony of the author’s own affirmation that he uses the pan flute to sing his poem. By means of this instrument, the poet identifies himself with the character: the monstrosity of Polyphemus, the exaggeration of his musical instrument, and the brutality of his voice become a mirror –perhaps an inverted, although ultimately amusing and parodical one– of the poetic project of the Cordoban.

Keywords

luis de góngora, self-fashioning, parody, “fábula de polifemo y galatea”, zampoña, monstruosity