Mysterious Realms: Functions of Imagery in Traditional Hispanic Lyric and Balladry explores the common ground occupied by both the Romancero (narrative) and the kharja, cantiga and villancico (lyric). The oral-traditional ballad and lyric traditions have been thoroughly compiled and categorized over the last century of scholarship. Mysterious Realms innovates upon this body of work by bringing the two forms into dialogue with each other through close examination of how imagery functions in each of the genres. Before entering into specific readings of widely known ballads and brief songs, however, the author challenges previously established definitions of what constitutes "ballad" and "lyric." Chapter One, "Theories," concludes that lyric and ballad indeed have more in common than has previously been acknowledged.
Chapter Two, "Hostile Environments," explores the "mysterious realms" of the title. Here the author turns to imagery taken from nature such as fruit falling from trees or flowers being plucked, in order to analyze precisely how such symbols generate lyricism. Locks of hair flowing in the breeze, swaying trees, swirling water and flowers in bloom are generally associated with the cantiga or villancico, yet careful readings of a variety of ballads reveal that such images play crucial roles in the "narrative" genre as well. In addition, this chapter notes that nature is generally a woman’s realm, filled with both dangers and delights that she must struggle to resist.
Chapter Three, "Transitional Spaces," examines how the oral character of the songs studied in Mysterious Realms plays a significant role in determining which verb tenses are used, and even how space collapses or expands.
Chapter Four, "Lyrical Encounters," takes inventory of the theses set forth in the preceding sections in order to cross the fluid line which separates lyric from narrative.
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viii + 178 pp. isbn: 0-936388-25-0 (paperback), $14.95