SOURCE: "Isaacs' Poetry," in Jorge Isaacs, Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1972, pp. 33-58.

In the following excerpt, McGrady offers a survey of Isaacs's poetry.

I Introduction

Jorge Isaacs' poetry is much inferior to the high quality of his novel María, but is of sufficient merit to place him among Colombia's secondary poets. His poetry is, above all, a faithful reflection of his life. Precisely herein resides its chief importance: it throws additional light on the inward thoughts of the man who wrote Maria. For example, Isaacs' lyrical verses disclose his deep-rooted sensuality—a quality shared by the male protagonist of María, although the latter tries to obscure this aspect of his personality. Another trait evident in Isaacs' poetry, but which has been dissimulated somewhat in his novelistic double, is his spitefulness—his tendency to harbor a grudge, feeding his malice, rather than endeavoring to abate it.

Isaacs' poetry...