Cetina, Gutierre de

▪ Spanish poet

born 1520?, Sevilla, Spain

died 1557?

      Spanish poet, author of “Ojos claros serenos” (“Clear, Serene Eyes”), one of the most frequently anthologized poems in the Spanish language.

      Cetina was a soldier and spent most of his life traveling, visiting Italy, Germany, and Mexico. Influenced by the poet Garcilaso de la Vega, Cetina drew heavily upon classical and Italian poetry for his sources, and he wrote extensively in Italianate metres. A considerable portion of his verse is freely translated from Petrarch, Ausiás March, and others. His sonnets, marked by elegance and dextrous metre, are considered to be his finest work. He is thought to have died, or at least been seriously wounded, in a street brawl in Puebla de los Angeles (now Puebla de Zaragosa), Mexico.

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