Verdad, mentira y poesía en la historia de Timbrio y Silerio en La Galatea

Abstract

The story of Timbrio and Silerio is the only one openly presented as a story of courtiers in La Galatea. The two Spanish courtiers and the two Italian ladies star a plot where poetry has a fundamental role. In this story, poetry exceeds the possibilities it has in the bucolic tradition. The courtier’s compositions oscillate between the spontaneous and self-referential characteristics of pastoral poetry and tailor-made poetry. Both possibilities intertwine unexpectedly to arrive at a paradoxical ending: tailor-made poems recited in Naples anticipate the outcome this story has in the middle of the arcadia, while spontaneous and sincere poetry ends up being part of a staging which aims to artificially generate an archetypal scene of recognition between the four characters.