Arbolé, arbolé, by Federico García Lorca — Analysis & Translation

Original Poem

Arbolé, arbolé, seco y verdí. La niña del bello rostro está cogiendo aceituna. El viento, galán de torres, la prende por la cintura. Pasaron cuatro jinetes sobre jacas andaluzas, con trajes de azul y verde, con largas capas oscuras. “Vente a Córdoba, muchacha.” La niña no los escucha. Pasaron tres torerillos delgaditos de cintura, con trajes color naranja y espadas de plata antigua. “Vente a Sevilla, muchacha.” La niña no los escucha. Cuando la tarde se puso morada, con lux difusa, pasó un joven que llevaba rosas y mirtos de luna. "Vente a Granada, muchacha." Y la niña no lo escucha. La niña del bello rostro sigue cogiendo aceituna, con el brazo gris del viento ceñido por la cintura. Arbolé, arbolé. Seco y verdé.

Translation (English)

Tree, tree, dry and green. The girl with the pretty face is picking olives. The wind, a suitor of towers, grabs her by the waist. Four horsemen passed on Andalusian ponies, in blue and green suits, with long dark capes. "Come to Córdoba, girl." The girl doesn't listen to them. Three young bullfighters passed slim-waisted, in orange suits and swords of old silver. "Come to Seville, girl." The girl doesn't listen to them. When the afternoon turned purple, with soft light, a young man passed carrying moon roses and myrtles. "Come to Granada, girl." And the girl doesn't listen to him. The girl with the pretty face keeps picking olives, with the wind's gray arm wrapped around her waist. Tree, tree. Dry and green.

About the Poet

Federico García Lorca (Generation of '27)

Federico García Lorca (1898–1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director known for his contributions to the Generation of '27. His work often incorporated traditional Andalusian motifs and avant-garde styles. He was assassinated at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.

Historical Context

Literary Form: Lyric poetry
When Written: Early 20th century
Background: The poem reflects Lorca's interest in Andalusian culture and themes of nature and human emotion. It captures the essence of rural life and the persistent allure of the natural world.

Sources: https://poets.org/poem/arbole-arbole, https://www.poemas-del-alma.com/arbole-arbole.htm, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federico_Garc%C3%ADa_Lorca

Detailed Explanation

This poem by Federico García Lorca uses vivid imagery and repetition to convey a sense of timelessness and connection to nature. The recurring motif of the tree, described as both dry and green, symbolizes the duality of life and nature's resilience. The girl, absorbed in her task of picking olives, remains indifferent to the various suitors who try to entice her to different cities. This indifference highlights her connection to the land and her own inner world, untouched by external influences. The poem's structure, with its repetitive calls and the girl's consistent lack of response, emphasizes the theme of steadfastness and the allure of the natural world over human distractions. Lorca's use of color and light further enhances the sensory experience, painting a vivid picture of the Andalusian landscape and its cultural richness.

Themes

Literary Devices

Word Dictionary

Word	Meaning	Translation	Transliteration
Arbolé	Árbol	Tree	Ar-bo-leh
seco	Sin agua	Dry	Seh-ko
y	E	And	Ee
verdí	Verde	Green	Ver-dee
La	La	The	Lah
niña	Chica	Girl	Nee-nya
del	De el	Of the	Del
bello	Hermoso	Beautiful	Beh-yo
rostro	Cara	Face	Ros-tro
está	Es	Is	Es-tah
cogiendo	Recogiendo	Picking	Ko-hen-do
aceituna	Oliva	Olive	Ah-say-too-nah
El	El	The	El
viento	Aire	Wind	Vyen-toh
galán	Caballero	Gallant	Ga-lan
de	De	Of	Deh
torres	Edificios altos	Towers	Tor-res
la	La	The	Lah
prende	Agarra	Grabs	Pren-deh
por	A través de	Through	Por
cintura	Cadera	Waist	Seen-too-rah
Pasaron	Cruzaron	Passed	Pa-sa-ron
cuatro	4	Four	Kwa-tro
jinetes	Caballeros	Horsemen	Hee-ne-tehs
sobre	Encima de	On	So-breh
jacas	Caballos	Ponies	Ha-kas
andaluzas	De Andalucía	Andalusian	An-da-loo-sas
con	Con	With	Kon
trajes	Ropas	Suits	Tra-hes
azul	Color azul	Blue	Ah-zool
verde	Color verde	Green	Ver-deh
largas	Extensas	Long	Lar-gas
capas	Mantos	Capes	Ka-pas
oscuras	Negras	Dark	Os-koo-ras
Vente	Ven	Come	Ven-teh
a	Hacia	To	Ah
Córdoba	Ciudad en España	City in Spain	Kor-do-bah
muchacha	Chica	Girl	Moo-cha-cha
no	No	Not	No
los	Ellos	Them	Los
escucha	Oye	Listens	Es-koo-cha
tres	3	Three	Tres
torerillos	Jóvenes toreros	Young bullfighters	To-re-ri-yos
delgaditos	Flacos	Slim	Del-ga-dee-tos
color	Tono	Color	Ko-lor
naranja	Anaranjado	Orange	Na-ran-ha
espadas	Armas largas	Swords	Es-pa-das
plata	Metal precioso	Silver	Pla-ta
antigua	Vieja	Ancient	An-tee-gwa
Sevilla	Ciudad en España	City in Spain	Seh-vee-ya
Cuando	En el momento que	When	Kwan-do
tarde	Atardecer	Afternoon	Tar-deh
se	Se	Itself	Seh
puso	Volvió	Turned	Poo-so
morada	Púrpura	Purple	Mo-ra-da
lux	Luz	Light	Luks
difusa	Suave	Diffuse	Dee-foo-sa
pasó	Cruzó	Passed	Pa-so
un	Uno	A	Oon
joven	Chico	Young man	Ho-ven
que	Quien	Who	Ke
llevaba	Traía	Carried	Ye-va-ba
rosas	Flores	Roses	Ro-sas
mirtos	Plantas	Myrtles	Meer-tos
luna	Satélite	Moon	Loo-na
Granada	Ciudad en España	City in Spain	Gra-na-da
sigue	Continúa	Continues	See-ge
brazo	Parte del cuerpo	Arm	Bra-zo
gris	Color gris	Gray	Grees
ceñido	Apretado	Wrapped	Se-nee-do