Los avisos para la muerte de Luis Ramirez de Arellano

Abstract

Avisos para la muerte (1634), compiled by Luis Ramírez de Arellano, gathers, along with other complementary materials (among these, two prayers written in verse for before confession and before communion, and an act of contrition in prose), thirty poems that are presented as models for prayers addressed to a crucified Christ in the moment of his death. These poems emerge from a group initiative in which notable poets from the Madrid court took part, poets such as Lope de Vega, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, José de Pellicer, José de Valdivielso, Luis Vélez de Guevara, Juan Pérez de Montalbán and Francisco de Rojas Zorrilla. My article examines the social context in which this poetic collection is born, the composition of the book, its successful publishing history throughout two centuries as well as the reiterative representation in the poems of particular meditatio mortis topics (the staging of agony; the expression of repentance, love for Christ and hope for his mercy; and the contemplation of Christ’s body on the cross).