SOURCE: "Reality and the Poet," in Manner and Mood in Rosalia de Castro: A Study of Themes and Style, Ediciones José Porrúa Turanzas, 1968, pp. 63-132.

In the following excerpt, Kulp considers style, technique, and theme in Castro's Follas novas, comparing this collection of Galician poetry with an earlier work, Cantares gallegos.

follas Novas

Everyday reality and popular tradition

Some of the touches of realism which characterize Cantares are continued in Follas novas, but in the second book Rosalía tends to concentrate on the more tragic manifestations of life around her. A few poems are filled with realistic details and local color and employ colloquial expressions: "Vamos bebendo" (p. 460) [All page citations are taken from Rosalia de Castro, Obras completas.], "Miña casiña" (pp. 501-03), "Soberba" (pp. 503-04), "Xan" (pp. 512-13), "Tanto e tan to nos odiamos" (pp. 519-22), and others. A note of humor is...