Poets

Gustavo Adolfo Domínguez Bastida, better known as Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, was an Andalusian post-romanticist writer of poetry and short stories, now considered one of the most important figures in Spanish literature. He adopted the alias of Bécquer as his brother Valeriano Bécquer, a painter, had done earlier. He was associated with the post-romanticism movement and wrote while realism was enjoying success in Spain. He was moderately well known during his life, but it was after his death that most of his works were published.

His best known works are the Rhymes and the Legends, usually published together as Rimas y leyendas. These poems and tales are essential to the study of Spanish literature and common reading for high-school students in Spanish-speaking countries.

His work approached the traditional poetry and themes in a modern way, and is considered the founder of modern Spanish lyricism. Bécquer's influence on 20th century poets of the Spanish language can be felt in the works of Octavio Paz and Giannina Braschi.

Biography

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer was born in Seville, on February 17, 1836 with the last name of Domínguez Bastida, but he chose his Flemish father's second last name of Bécquer, as the family was known around town. His father, José Domínguez Bécquer, who descended from an originally-Flemish family that was well respected in Seville, was a painter of relatively good repute in his native..