Bonilla, Alonso de

BONILLA, ALONSO de. - Spanish poet, born toward the end of the 16th century and considered, together with his contemporary Alonso de Ledesma, a precursor of conceptismo a lo divino: in fact, his convoluted and subtle poetry draws its motifs above all from Christian theology, skillfully weaving strange wordplay and antitheses and strained comparisons, even in compositions with popularizing rhythms and simple, short stanzaic forms (romances, villancicos, canzonette). He was, in any case, a prolific poet, and not infrequently admired: he sang of the Virgin, the saints, the divine mysteries, meditating on the moral precepts of religion, eternal life, etc. Lope de Vega confessed that he did not know anyone who equaled him.

Among his best works, mention should be made of the Peregrinos pensamientos de misterios divinos (1614) and the Nuevo jardín de flores divinas (1617), but the Glosas a la Inmaculada y pura Concepción de la siempre Virgen María (1615) and the Nombres y atributos a la Impecable siempre Virgen María (1624) should not be forgotten either. Sonetos, villancicos, coloquios pastoriles, glosas etc. are collected in the Biblioteca de autores españoles (35: Romancero y cancionero sagrados, Madrid

1872, pp. 44, 45, 70-73, 139-41, 210, 221-25, 226, 228-230, 232, 236, 311, 314-15).

Ruggero M. Ruggieri