This dissertation presents a study of the poetry of Jose Joaquin Perez. His writings formulate an aesthetic, national and social program. From this perspective, descriptive poetry and pro-Amerindian poetry are analyzed as poetic discourse which represents the founding of a nation and of a poetic art form for literature. These aspects are analyzed as a function of poetic agents which represent national themes and language. These themes and this language have been highlighted by critics as the factors which define these writings. At the same time, the progressive lyric of Perez is analyzed as a discourse which reflects a social program for a nation. This stems from the interpretations the poet makes of positivist doctrines of his time.
The first chapter presents the literary enclaves which frame Jose Joaquin Perez's poetry. The study focuses on an analysis of Santo Domingo's Romantic lyric, paying close attention to its most recurrent themes. Here, the most representative writers of this type of discourse are also presented. In addition, the dissertation focuses on extant criticism on the poet's work and Perez's own literary criticism. Chapters two and three present the theoretical framework for analyzing the texts. Chapter two pays special attention to the tradition of foundational and programmatic characters of Romantic lyric of Spanish-America. Here, the concept of Romanticism, as it is used in this work, is defined. Also highlighted are the critics who have studied this tradition, followed by an explanation based on themes and ideas. This helps explain the foundational writing that descriptive and pro-Amerindian poets of this period have developed. Also in this chapter, the interpretations of the positivist doctrine in Spanish-America are presented, as well as the social character of Spanish-American Romanticism.
The third chapter elaborates on the language factors that Angloamerican and Spanish-American criticism have determined to be agents in foundational writings. In chapter four, the poems of Jose Joaquin Perez are analyzed, based on that which has been proposed in this dissertation. Chapter five contains the conclusions of this work.
