"Ulises Telamonio" en Américaretórica y mitología clásica en el Arauco domado de Pedro de Oña (1596)

Summary

Arauco domado, an epic poem composed by Pedro de Oña and published in 1596, fulfi ls the conventions of its genre in its usage of classical mythology, notwithstanding its subject matter –contemporary with its composition and set in America– and the circumstances of its author (who never left South America). Allusions to characters from ancient mythology are frequent inorder to establish comparisons with the narrated situations, and typical scenes are often described with the help of mythological references; moreover, although within certain limits, gods appear directly in the action and even take part directly in the narrated events. The inclusion of mythology in his poem is Oña’s own rhetorical decision, for he completely assumes the traditional code of epic, which also implies the elaboration of the speeches pronounced by the epic characters. Oña displays all his literary ability at defi ning his characters through both the speeches he makes them pronounce and the induced interpretation of their effects, playing with two kinds of rhetoric morally opposed, a ‘good’ rhetoric and a ‘bad’ rhetoric. Don García, the protagonist hero of the poem and viceroy or Peru, personifies the summit of the right and virtuous usage of rhetoric, for he joins the usual contraries of physical strength and military boldness, on the one hand, with natural eloquence and oratorical skill, on the other.