Alonso de Ercilla's La Araucana: Fitón's Cave and the Prophetic Account of Lepanto

• In Event: Imagining the New World: Poets in the Age of Discovery

Abstract

In part two (1578) of La Araucana, Ercilla modifies his epic project as outlined in part one (1569), presenting major spatial departures from the narrative of conquest on Chilean soil to accounts of warfare in Europe. Here, the dialogue between the old and new worlds intensifies, and it is the sorcerer Fitón who enables a second juxtaposition of American and European warfare with his vivid, prophetic account of the battle of Lepanto. In this paper, I focus on the poet's visit to Fitón's cave/garden/Wunderkammer in cantos XXIII-XXIV, examining Ercilla's use of imitatio, particularly that of Vergil, Lucan, Claudian, Garcilaso, Jorge de Montemayor, and Fernando de Herrera. By establishing previously unexplored sources of imitation for these cantos and providing a new interpretation of this scene's place in part two's overall design, this paper seeks to enhance our understanding of one of La Araucana's most memorable and original episodes.

Author

• Bryce Winter Maxey, Yale University