5.2 Lorca's Poetic Duality

Romancero gitano

Lorca's 'Romancero gitano' blends folk ballad (romance) with dense, modern imagery. 'Romance de la luna, luna' and 'La monja gitana' fuse life and death, freedom and fate.

Death and desire

Lorca's poetry pulses with the tension between vitality and death (la muerte), passion and repression — dualities embodied in the Andalusian gypsy world he portrays.

Metaphor and symbol

Lorca's power lies in bold metáfora and symbol — the moon as death, the color green, the knife — turning simple ballads into haunting, layered art.

Key terms

'Romancero gitano'

Lorca — ballads blending folk form and modern imagery

romance

traditional Spanish ballad form

la luna / la muerte

the moon as a symbol of death in Lorca

metáfora

metaphor — Lorca's central poetic device

Duality

vitality vs. death, passion vs. repression

Try an AP-style question

In Lorca's poetry, the moon often symbolizes…

1. wealth
2. youth
3. death
4. joy