The Cry
despair
lyric poem
haunting
The ellipse of a cry travels from mountain to mountain. From the olive trees it appears as a black rainbow upon the blue night. Ay! Like the bow of a viola the cry has made the long strings of the wind vibrate. Ay! (The folks from the caves stick out their oil lamps.) Ay!
The Cry - meaning Summary
A Cry Across Landscape
Lorca's poem traces a single, haunting cry as it moves over mountains and olive groves, becoming a dark rainbow in the night. Repeated exclamations create a ritual pulse, while the simile of a viola bow making wind strings vibrate links human lament to musical and natural forces. The image of cave-dwellers raising oil lamps frames the sound as a communal, ancient response. The short poem compresses grief, echo, and landscape into a vivid moment.
Read Complete Analyses
Feel free to be first to leave comment.