Rubén Darío

(pseudonym of Félix Rubén García Sarmiento). Born Jan. 18, 1867, in Metapa, now Ciudad Darío; died Feb. 6, 1916, in León. Nicaraguan poet.

Darío’s book Epistles and Poems: First Notes (1885) kept within the traditions of romanticism. His collection of poems entitled Azure (1888), which reflected the influence of the French Parnassians, was permeated with a striving to renew the language of poetry. A book of essays on contemporary writers, The Eccentrics (1893). and the collection of poems entitled Profane Prose (1896) confirmed Darío’s reputation as the leader of Spanish-American modernism. In his best works Darío overcame the decadent tendencies that were picked up by his numerous imitators—the so-called ruben-daristas. Anxiety over the fate of the young nations of Latin America and the passionate assertion of their right to independent development make up the central theme of Darío’s collection Songs of Life and Hope (1905). A life-affirming feeling permeates many poems in the collection The Wandering Song (1907).

In the development of Spanish-American poetry Darío played an important role as an outstanding lyricist who conveyed the tormented spiritual searchings of his contemporaries, as a citizen-poet who spoke out in the name of an awakening continent, and, finally, as a reformer in versification who enriched poetry with new forms (including those of folkloric derivation) and who brought suppleness and a singing quality back to poetic speech.