Present-Day Relevance of The <em>Beatus ille</em> Topos in 20th Century Spanish Poetry: Rewrites by Jaime Gil de Biedma, Luis Antonio de Villena and Erika Martínez

Abstract

The topic Beatus ille, since its formulation by the Roman poet Horace, has a long tradition in Western literature with many variations as it evolves through the ages, always retaining its semantic core. This paper aims to conduct a historical overview of this topic, as well as to analyze and interpret several examples of the modernization of this topoi, in 20th century Spanish poetry, notably “De Vita Beata” (Poemas póstumos, 1968), by Jaime Gil de Biedma, “Un tema de Horacio” (Hymnica, 1975), by Luis Antonio de Villena, and “Beata illa” (Color carne, 2009), by Erika Martínez.