The student from Salamanca

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The Student of Salamanca (original: El estudiante de Salamanca ) is a narrative long poem by the Spanish romantic José de Espronceda . The first fragments were published at the beginning of 1837, the complete work finally in 1840 in the anthology Poesías . The poem, which is consistently held in assonantic rhyming verses , is interrupted in places by dramatic passages. It represents a variation on the Don Juan myth, with the protagonist Don Félix de Montemar taking his role.

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The notorious philanderer Don Félix seduces and leaves the gullible Elvira, who then perishes out of love and grief. Her brother appears to avenge her, but is subsequently killed by Don Félix in a duel. Shortly afterwards, Montemar meets a veiled white lady and decides to follow her. A dreamlike sequence begins, which ends with a descent into a grave landscape. In a Gothic-romantic finale, Don Félix finally discovers the identity of the stranger: It is the deceased Elvira, a skeleton in a white wedding dress, who is now given to him as a wife. Finally, the icy cold kiss of the skull face also makes Montemar's spirits wane.

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