Poetry Analysis

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Anoche cuando dormía

Original Poetry

Translation

Anoche cuando dormía

Last night when I was sleeping

soñé, ¡bendita ilusión!,

I dreamed, blessed illusion!

que una fontana fluía

that a fountain flowed

dentro de mi corazón.

inside my heart.

Di, ¿por qué acequia escondida,

Tell me, why hidden irrigation,

agua, vienes hasta mí,

water, do you come to me,

manantial de nueva vida

spring of new life

de donde nunca bebí?

from where I never drank?

Anoche cuando dormía

Last night when I was sleeping

soñé, ¡bendita ilusión!,

I dreamed, blessed illusion!

que una colmena tenía

that I had a beehive

dentro de mi corazón;

inside my heart;

y las doradas abejas

and the golden bees

iban fabricando en él,

were making in it,

con las amarguras viejas

with the old bitterness

blanca cera y dulce miel.

white wax and sweet honey.

Anoche cuando dormía

Last night when I was sleeping

soñé, ¡bendita ilusión!,

I dreamed, blessed illusion!

que un ardiente sol lucía

that a burning sun shone

dentro de mi corazón.

inside my heart.

Era ardiente porque daba

It was burning because it gave

calores de rojo hogar,

warmth of a red home,

y era sol porque alumbraba

and it was sun because it illuminated

y porque hacía llorar.

and because it made me cry.

Anoche cuando dormía

Last night when I was sleeping

soñé, ¡bendita ilusión!,

I dreamed, blessed illusion!

que era Dios lo que tenía

that it was God that I had

dentro de mi corazón.

inside my heart.

Explanation

In 'Anoche cuando dormía', Antonio Machado explores the profound nature of dreams and the emotional landscape of the heart. The poem opens with the line 'Last night when I was sleeping,' establishing a dreamlike state that invites readers into a world of imagination and introspection. The speaker dreams of a fountain flowing within their heart, a powerful image that symbolizes the emergence of new life and emotions. The question posed, 'why hidden irrigation,' suggests a search for understanding and connection to this inner source of vitality.

As the poem progresses, the dream evolves into a beehive, where 'golden bees' create 'white wax and sweet honey.' This imagery reflects the transformation of past sorrows into something beautiful and nourishing, illustrating the alchemy of experience. The bees symbolize creativity and the sweetness of life that can arise from pain, emphasizing the duality of existence.

The emotional arc shifts as the speaker envisions a burning sun within their heart, representing warmth and illumination. The sun's heat evokes feelings of home and comfort, yet it also brings tears, indicating the complexity of joy and sorrow intertwined. The final lines culminate in a divine revelation, where the speaker perceives God residing in their heart, suggesting a deep spiritual connection and fulfillment.

Machado employs rich metaphors and vivid imagery throughout the poem, creating a tapestry of emotions that resonate with the reader. The repetition of 'blessed illusion' underscores the dreamlike quality and the transient nature of these experiences. Ultimately, the poem speaks to the human condition, reflecting on love, loss, and the search for meaning within the heart's depths.

Word Dictionary63

Word	In Spanish	In English	Pron.
Anoche	Anoche	Last night	a-no-che
cuando	cuando	when	kwan-do
dormía	dormía	I was sleeping	dor-mí-a
soñé,	soñé,	I dreamed,	so-nye
¡bendita	¡bendita	blessed	ben-di-ta
ilusión!,	ilusión!	a dream or fantasy	i-lu-sión
que	que	that	ke
una	una	a	u-na
fontana	fontana	fountain	fon-ta-na
fluía	fluía	flowed	flu-í-a
dentro	dentro	inside	den-tro
de	de	of	de
mi	mi	my	mi
corazón.	corazón.	heart.	co-ra-zón
Di,	Di,	Tell me,	di
¿por	¿por	why	por
qué	qué	what	ke
acequia	acequia	irrigation	a-ce-qui-a
escondida,	escondida,	hidden,	es-con-di-da
agua,	agua,	water,	a-gua
vienes	vienes	you come	vien-es
hasta	hasta	to	has-ta
mí,	mí,	me,	mí
manantial	manantial	spring	ma-nan-tial
nueva	nueva	new	nue-va
vida	vida	life	vi-da
donde	donde	where	don-de
nunca	nunca	never	nun-ca
bebí?	bebí?	I drank?	be-bí
colmena	colmena	beehive	col-me-na
tenía	tenía	I had	te-ní-a
corazón;	corazón	the organ that pumps blood	co-ra-zón
y	y	and	i
las	las	the	las
doradas	doradas	golden	do-ra-das
abejas	abejas	bees	a-be-jas
iban	iban	were going	i-ban
fabricando	fabricando	making	fa-bri-can-do
en	en	in	en
él,	él,	it,	el
con	con	with	con
amarguras	amarguras	bitterness	a-mar-gu-ras
viejas	viejas	old	vie-jas
blanca	blanca	white	blan-ca
cera	cera	wax	ce-ra
dulce	dulce	sweet	dul-ce
miel.	miel.	honey.	mi-el
un	un	a	un
ardiente	ardiente	burning	ar-dien-te
sol	sol	sun	sol
lucía	lucía	shone	lu-cí-a
Era	Era	It was	e-ra
porque	porque	because	por-ke
daba	daba	gave	da-ba
calores	calores	warmth	ca-lo-res
rojo	rojo	red	ro-jo
hogar,	hogar,	home,	ho-gar
era	era	it was	e-ra
alumbraba	alumbraba	illuminated	a-lum-bra-ba
hacía	hacía	made	ha-cí-a
llorar.	llorar.	cry.	llo-rar
Dios	Dios	the supreme being	Dios
lo	lo	the thing that	lo

Poet & Context

PoetAntonio Machado

EraGeneration of '98

Antonio Machado was a Spanish poet born on July 26, 1875, and is known for his significant contributions to the Generation of '98. His poetry evolved from modernism to a more intimate symbolism, reflecting deep human engagement and contemplation of existence.

View on Wikipedia

WhenEarly 20th century

WhyThe poem reflects Machado's exploration of dreams, emotions, and the inner life, characteristic of his introspective style.

FormLyric poem

Themes & More

Themes

dreamsinner lifetransformationspirituality

Literary devices

metaphor: the fountain symbolizes emotional vitalityimagery: vivid descriptions create a dreamlike atmosphererepetition: emphasizes the theme of illusion and dreams

Poetry Analysis

Back to poet

Anoche cuando dormía

Original Poetry

Translation

Anoche cuando dormía

Last night when I was sleeping

soñé, ¡bendita ilusión!,

I dreamed, blessed illusion!

que una fontana fluía

that a fountain flowed

dentro de mi corazón.

inside my heart.

Di, ¿por qué acequia escondida,

Tell me, why hidden irrigation,

agua, vienes hasta mí,

water, do you come to me,

manantial de nueva vida

spring of new life

de donde nunca bebí?

from where I never drank?

Anoche cuando dormía

Last night when I was sleeping

soñé, ¡bendita ilusión!,

I dreamed, blessed illusion!

que una colmena tenía

that I had a beehive

dentro de mi corazón;

inside my heart;

y las doradas abejas

and the golden bees

iban fabricando en él,

were making in it,

con las amarguras viejas

with the old bitterness

blanca cera y dulce miel.

white wax and sweet honey.

Anoche cuando dormía

Last night when I was sleeping

soñé, ¡bendita ilusión!,

I dreamed, blessed illusion!

que un ardiente sol lucía

that a burning sun shone

dentro de mi corazón.

inside my heart.

Era ardiente porque daba

It was burning because it gave

calores de rojo hogar,

warmth of a red home,

y era sol porque alumbraba

and it was sun because it illuminated

y porque hacía llorar.

and because it made me cry.

Anoche cuando dormía

Last night when I was sleeping

soñé, ¡bendita ilusión!,

I dreamed, blessed illusion!

que era Dios lo que tenía

that it was God that I had

dentro de mi corazón.

inside my heart.

Explanation

Word Dictionary63

Word	In Spanish	In English	Pron.
Anoche	Anoche	Last night	a-no-che
cuando	cuando	when	kwan-do
dormía	dormía	I was sleeping	dor-mí-a
soñé,	soñé,	I dreamed,	so-nye
¡bendita	¡bendita	blessed	ben-di-ta
ilusión!,	ilusión!	a dream or fantasy	i-lu-sión
que	que	that	ke
una	una	a	u-na
fontana	fontana	fountain	fon-ta-na
fluía	fluía	flowed	flu-í-a
dentro	dentro	inside	den-tro
de	de	of	de
mi	mi	my	mi
corazón.	corazón.	heart.	co-ra-zón
Di,	Di,	Tell me,	di
¿por	¿por	why	por
qué	qué	what	ke
acequia	acequia	irrigation	a-ce-qui-a
escondida,	escondida,	hidden,	es-con-di-da
agua,	agua,	water,	a-gua
vienes	vienes	you come	vien-es
hasta	hasta	to	has-ta
mí,	mí,	me,	mí
manantial	manantial	spring	ma-nan-tial
nueva	nueva	new	nue-va
vida	vida	life	vi-da
donde	donde	where	don-de
nunca	nunca	never	nun-ca
bebí?	bebí?	I drank?	be-bí
colmena	colmena	beehive	col-me-na
tenía	tenía	I had	te-ní-a
corazón;	corazón	the organ that pumps blood	co-ra-zón
y	y	and	i
las	las	the	las
doradas	doradas	golden	do-ra-das
abejas	abejas	bees	a-be-jas
iban	iban	were going	i-ban
fabricando	fabricando	making	fa-bri-can-do
en	en	in	en
él,	él,	it,	el
con	con	with	con
amarguras	amarguras	bitterness	a-mar-gu-ras
viejas	viejas	old	vie-jas
blanca	blanca	white	blan-ca
cera	cera	wax	ce-ra
dulce	dulce	sweet	dul-ce
miel.	miel.	honey.	mi-el
un	un	a	un
ardiente	ardiente	burning	ar-dien-te
sol	sol	sun	sol
lucía	lucía	shone	lu-cí-a
Era	Era	It was	e-ra
porque	porque	because	por-ke
daba	daba	gave	da-ba
calores	calores	warmth	ca-lo-res
rojo	rojo	red	ro-jo
hogar,	hogar,	home,	ho-gar
era	era	it was	e-ra
alumbraba	alumbraba	illuminated	a-lum-bra-ba
hacía	hacía	made	ha-cí-a
llorar.	llorar.	cry.	llo-rar
Dios	Dios	the supreme being	Dios
lo	lo	the thing that	lo

Poet & Context

PoetAntonio Machado

EraGeneration of '98

View on Wikipedia

WhenEarly 20th century

WhyThe poem reflects Machado's exploration of dreams, emotions, and the inner life, characteristic of his introspective style.

FormLyric poem

Themes & More

Themes

dreamsinner lifetransformationspirituality

Literary devices

metaphor: the fountain symbolizes emotional vitalityimagery: vivid descriptions create a dreamlike atmosphererepetition: emphasizes the theme of illusion and dreams