Walters' lucid prose manages neither to talk down to the reader nor get too academic. This is intended as a college-level text but I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in poetry in Spanish.
Some background with Spanish poetry and the language is helpful, although it is not necessary. Every quote (they are frequent and generous!) is followed by an English paraphrase in clear prose. Walters surveys generally at first then breaks everything down by genre: Epic, Ballad, Songs and Sonnets, Love poetry, Religious and Satire/Burlesqe.
His theoretical framework is informed by Harold Bloom's idea of 'the anxiety of influence' but thankfully not overwhelmed by it. I learned an enormous amount about poetry, not just Spanish poetry, by reading this book. Walters impressed me as a sensitive reader and critic.
Authors quoted in this book include: El Cid author, Manrique, Luis de Gongora, Lope de Vega, Quevedo, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, Jose de Espronceda, Jose Hernandez, Becquer, Miguel de Unamuno, Dario, Antonio and Manuel Machado, Vicente Huidobro, Pedro Salinas, Gerardo Diego, Lorca, Borges, Rafael ALberti, Luis Cernuda, Pablo Neruda, Octavio Paz, Blas de Otero, Ana Rosetti, Gioconda Belli and more.
