Platero and I

Platero and I (Spanish: Platero y yo) is a 1914 Spanish prose poem written by Juan Ramón Jiménez.[1] The book is one of the most popular works by Jiménez, and unfolds around a writer and his eponymous donkey, Platero ("silvery"). Platero is described as a "small donkey, a soft, hairy donkey: so soft to the touch that he might be said to be made of cotton, with no bones. Only the jet mirrors of his eyes are hard like two black crystal scarabs."[2]

For the eponymous donkey, see Platero.
Platero and I
First edition
AuthorJuan Ramón Jiménez
CountrySpain
LanguageSpanish
GenreLyric poetry
PublisherEdiciones de la Lectura
Publication date
1914
Media typePrint
Pages190

Platero remains a symbol of tenderness, purity and naiveté, and is used by the author as a means of reflection about the simple joys of life, memories, and various characters and their ways of life.

Plot

Platero is a silver-colored donkey ("plata" means silver in Spanish) who throughout the years is seemingly the only constant friend and companion of the author, who makes observations to and confides in him. The author believes that Platero understands everything, except for the language of humans, just as humans do not know the language of animals, but he gives his master joy and sincere warmth.

Adaptations
Bronze statue of Platero. Work from sculptor Leon Ortega; Moguer, Spain.

In 1960, the Italian composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco composed a suite of music for guitar with narrator based on the stories in the book. In 1968, the Spanish film director Alfredo Castellón adapted the book into a movie by the same title.

A theatrical adaptation has been written by Josep-Antoni Garí,[3] published in the literary magazine Ex Tempore and presented at the literary evening of the Circle of Writers of the United Nations, in Geneva, on January 20, 2017, thus commemorating the centenary of the work.

References
  1. Martínez Jiménez, José Antonio; Muñoz Marquina, Francisco; Sarrión Mora, Miguel Ángel (2011). "Clases de palabra (I). El sustantivo y el adjetivo.". Lengua Castellana y Literatura (Akal ed.). Madrid: Akal Sociedad Anónima. p. 23. ISBN 9788446033677.
  2. Jiménez, Juan Ramón (1999) [1st pub. 1957]. Platero and I (3rd ed.). p. 3. ISBN 0-292-76479-0. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  3. Garí, J.A. 2016. Platero en escena: Libreto dramatúrgico del relato lírico "Platero y Yo", al toque flamenco. Ex Tempore, Volume XXVII: 87-93.
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