La Araucana
Epic poem of the Spanish Conquest of Chile.
La Araucana is a 16th-century epic poem in Spanish by Alonso de Ercilla, about the Spanish Conquest of Chile. It was considered the national epic of the Kingdom of Chile and one of the most important works of the Spanish Golden Age. The poem consists of 37 cantos distributed across three parts, published in 1569, 1578, and 1589. Ercilla demonstrated mastery of the octava real, a complex eight-line stanza of 11-syllable verses with a tight rhyme scheme, adapted from Italian in the 16th century. The work describes the initial phase of the Arauco War, which arose from the Spanish attempt to conquer southern Chile and shaped the region’s economics, politics, and social life for centuries. Ercilla participated in the conquest and based the story on his experiences, jotting down versified octaves on scraps of paper during lulls in fighting, later gathering and augmenting them into the epic. The poem exalts the heroism of Araucanian leaders, making them national heroes in Chile, and appeals to the concept of the “noble savage.” It includes fantastical elements reminiscent of medieval chivalry, with the narrator as a participant—a new development for Spanish literature. Influences include Ludovico Ariosto’s Orlando furioso, as well as Classical sources like Virgil and Lucan, and Italian poets Torquato Tasso. The mixture of Classical and Araucanian motifs was common for the era; Ercilla turned native peoples into ancient Greeks, Romans, or Carthaginians, presenting them as noble and brave but lacking Christian faith. The protagonist, the warrior chieftain Caupolicán, embodies Classical heroism, and the poem’s exaltation of the vanquished gives it grandeur. Ercilla, the poet-soldier, emerges as the true hero, giving the poem unity. The work is considered one of the first literary works of the New World and became a source for plays, though today it is rarely read except by specialists and in Chile, where it receives special attention in elementary education.
- Author
- Alonso de Ercilla
- Language
- Spanish
- Genre
- Epic poem
- Subject
- Spanish Conquest of Chile and the Arauco War
- Notable for
- National epic of the Kingdom of Chile; first or one of the first works of litera
Lore & Background
The poem describes the initial phase of the Arauco War, which evolved from the Spanish conquest attempt of southern Chile. Ercilla was a participant in the conquest and based the story on his experiences, jotting down versified octaves on scraps of paper during lulls in fighting, later gathered and augmented into the epic. The poem is written in octava real, a difficult eight-line stanza of 11-syllable verses with a rhyme scheme abababcc, adapted from Italian in the 16th century. The work includes fantastical elements reminiscent of medieval chivalry, with influences from Orlando furioso by Ludovico Ariosto, as well as Classical sources like Virgil and Lucan. The narrator is a participant in the story, a new development for Spanish literature at the time. Ercilla's depiction of Araucanian leaders—Caupolicán, Lautaro, Colocolo, and Galvarino—has proved the most memorable, and the poem exalts the heroism of the vanquished, written by one of the victors. Key events include the capture and execution of Pedro de Valdivia, the death of Lautaro at the Battle of Mataquito, and the execution of Caupolicán after betrayal.
Reader's Guide
La Araucana recounts the initial phase of the Arauco War, a conflict that shaped Chilean society for centuries, and was composed by its author, Alonso de Ercilla, who participated in the conquest. He wrote versified stanzas on scraps of paper during lulls in fighting, later expanding them into the full epic. The poem is structured in three parts, published in 1569, 1578, and 1589, totaling 37 cantos written in the demanding octava real form—an eight-line stanza of 11-syllable verses with a tight rhyme scheme. Ercilla blended his personal experiences with literary influences from Classical authors like Virgil and Lucan, as well as Italian Renaissance poets such as Ludovico Ariosto and Torquato Tasso, creating an uneasy mix of contemporary events and fantastical, chivalric elements. The work is notable for its humanist portrayal of the Araucanian people, whom Ercilla depicted as noble and brave, likening them to ancient Greeks or Romans. The defeated Araucanian chieftain Caupolicán emerges as the poem’s protagonist, his valor elevating the narrative despite structural weaknesses. Ercilla himself becomes the unifying hero of the poem. This epic inspired many imitations and is considered one of the first literary works of the New World, alongside accounts by Cabeza de Vaca and Bernal Díaz del Castillo. Its dramatic episodes later served as sources for plays. In Chile, the poem is regarded as a kind of Iliad, exalting the heroism of indigenous leaders, and is studied in elementary schools for both language and history.
Did You Know?
- La Araucana was written by Alonso de Ercilla, who participated in the conquest and based the story on his experiences, jotting down versified octaves on scraps of paper during lulls in fighting.
- Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quixote spares La Araucana from flames, calling it 'one of the best examples of its genre.'
- Voltaire admired a speech in Canto II of La Araucana, though he criticized the poem as rambling and directionless.
More in Poetry Collections And Epic Poems 1-22
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record