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To Roosevelt - 1904 (215)
By: Rubén Darío (1867-1916) From: Nicaragua Translated from Spanish by Gabriel Gudding
Historical Context/Background
He wrote this poem in response to the aftermath of the Spanish-American War of 1898. It came out just as Theodore Roosevelt entered the Presidential office.
Theodore Roosevelt is well known for his role in the war. He was a Lieutenant Colonel and led the Rough Riders during the Battle of San Juan, in which he was commended for his bravery.
The Spanish/American War started after the mysterious explosion of the U.S.S Maine in Cuba. Outrage exploded afterwards, thanks to Yellow Journalism, specifically the work of William Randolph Hearst, which framed the Spanish as the “bad guy”.
Resources:
Allusions
- Alexander-Nebuchadnezzar
This refers to Alexander the Great and Nebuchadnezzar II the Great. Nebuchadnezzar was a ruler of Babylon and appears in the Hebrew Bible. They were both valient soliders and conquers. Alexander would end up dying in Nebuchadnezzar’s palace. Bonekickers jstor
- Victor Hugo and Ulysses S. Grant
“Hugo said to Grant: ‘The stars are yours.’”
Victor Hugo was a French writer, born in 1802 to 1885. Ulysses S. Grant was known for being an American Civil War hero and a strong president of the USA; alive from 1822 to 1885. Hugo wrote this line in one of his most famous works Les Miserables. Quotes
- Cult of Hercules
The main function was to worship Hercules, son of Zeus as a hero and a god. It was said that he would strike down types of wasps that his worshippers were worried about. When the cult reached Rome, it inspired the Hercules games, which were similar to modern-day Olympics. Oxford
- Cult of Mammon
This cult mainly prioritizes money and power over God. Usually, Mammon would be used in regards to technology taking over, the corrupted power of Wall Street, and similar figures and concepts. Catholic World Report
- Nezahualcoyot
A scholar and philosopher from Texcoco; pre-Columbian Mexico. Wikipedia
- Bacchus
Roman god of wine, agriculture, and fertility. Oftentimes, he is combined with Liber as well. In Greek mythos, he is called Dionysus. World History
- Atlantis
It is considered to be a fictional island in Plato’s work. However, many believe that the island was, in fact, real and that it had been flooded, sinking below the ocean. Many historians and architects have been searching for evidence of its existence. Wikipedia
- Moctezuma
He is considered the last ruler of the Aztec region and fought against the Spanish. Britannica
- The Inca
Head of the Inca empire, a monarchical state in South America that extended from modern Ecuador to Central Chile, whose capital was the city of Cusco.
Poem’s Meaning
This poem is written like a letter, however, I believe that it is a response to the current events at the time. America has been expanding, just coming out of the idea of Manifest Destiny and they have been very involved in the shaping of several Spanish-American countries.
Writers like Darío are concerned that America will attempt to overthrow their cultures and traditions and become an imperalistic power. Especially, after the war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris which gave so many territories to the United States.
Darío wants to make it clear that America can think it holds all the power that it needs, but it will never be able to take over Spanish-America. They won’t go down without a fight and they have the one thing America doesn’t: God, which is referenced in the very last line of the poem.
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Poem's structure
The first stanza addresses Roosevelt, described as a threat, as a hunter, referencing both his preference for hunting and his expansionist policies. The United States is personified in him, contrasting “innocent” America. The two increasingly shorter stanzas that follow illustrate Roosevelt’s aggressive attitude, rejected by a defying and emphatic “No”.
The fourth stanza depicts the power of the US in relation to Spanish America: its physical strength and greediness surpass the young republics of the south, represented by the images of the sun in the Argentinian flag and the star in the Chilean flag.
The final part of the poem elaborates the definition of Spanish America highlighting its dual heritage (Indian and Spanish) and the social and artistic idealism suggested by the references to Nezahualcoyotl and Bacchus. This idealistic spirit continues in “the life of its fire, its perfume, its love”, in the search for a heroic ideal in Moctezuma, the Inca, Christopher Columbus, or Cuauhtémoc. The poem ends by listing a series of actions (“lives”, “loves”, “dreams”, “vibrates”) that make Spanish America invulnerable to Roosevelt/The United States because the main difference between the two is the presence of true ideals, symbolized by God.
Source: Ellis, K. (1967) “Un análisis estructural del poema 'A Roosevelt'”. Cuadernos Hispanoamericanos, no. 212-213 (August-September 1967), pp. 523-528.
