Valencian Valentine’s Day: Ausiàs March’s Love Poems
Love on a rainy day
As Valentine's Day approaches, I’ve been delving into the love poetry of 15th-century Valencian poet Ausiàs March. Though he wrote about love, his perspective was far from the idealised, romantic verse of his time. Instead, he explored the darker, more conflicted side of love—an approach that feels especially fitting on this gloomy February afternoon in Valencia.
A Poet of Valencia’s Golden Age
The 15th and early 16th centuries marked Valencia’s Golden Age, a period of economic, cultural, and artistic flourishing. As the Crown of Aragon extended its power across the Mediterranean, Valencia emerged as one of Europe’s most vibrant cities. Grand architectural projects, such as La Lonja de la Seda (the Silk Exchange), the Torres de Serranos, and Valencia Cathedral, took shape, reflecting the city’s growing prestige.
It was also a time when writers, philosophers, and poets gathered in Valencia, exchanging words, ideas, and—undoubtedly—wine. Among them, the most famous was Ausiàs March (1397–1459), a poet whose work would influence Spanish literature for centuries.
Ausiàs March: Love, Obsession, and Inner Conflict
March’s poetry revolves around themes of love, desire, spirituality, and mortality, but unlike the troubadours before him, he did not idealise love as something pure or divine. Instead, he portrayed it as a tormenting force — intense, consuming, and often destructive. His deeply introspective style, exploring the contradictions of love and the fragility of human emotions, feels strikingly modern compared to the more external, formulaic poetry of earlier traditions.
His influence was profound, shaping the works of later poets, including Garcilaso de la Vega and even Shakespeare, whose exposure to Spanish poetry likely echoes March’s themes of love’s paradoxical pain.
March’s famous collection, Cants d’Amor, delves into love’s contradictions—pleasure and pain, devotion and despair:
"Oh foll Amor, tant perillós te sens" (Oh Foolish Love, How Dangerous You Seem)
"Oh foll Amor, tant perillós te sens,"
(Oh foolish Love, how dangerous you seem,)
"que qui et segueix està tot temps penant,"
(for whoever follows you is always suffering,)
"mas qui no et vol no pot viure content,"
(but he who avoids you cannot live happily,)
"si bé reposa, no és sens mal present."
(even in peace, pain is never absent.)
This poem encapsulates March’s pessimistic yet inescapable view of love: it torments those who pursue it, yet leaves those who reject it empty. It is both a source of suffering and an essential part of existence. Love, for March, is a trap from which there is no true escape.
Metaphor, Symbolism, and a Revolutionary Voice
March’s poetry is rich in metaphor and symbolism, often drawing on natural imagery to reflect emotional turmoil. Unlike the troubadours, who used complex metrical forms and conventional themes, March’s style was bold, direct, and forceful. His work was also pivotal in elevating the Catalan language as a serious literary medium.
"Lo jorn ha por de perdre sa claror" (The Day Fears Losing Its Light)
"Lo jorn ha por de perdre sa claror,"
(The day fears losing its light,)
"e jo de vós, dona, més la vida,"
(and I fear, lady, losing my life for you,)
"car ab lo bé vostre mon mal s'acor,"
(for with your goodness, my suffering eases,)
"e ab lo mal creix ma dolor infinida."
(but with your cruelty, my sorrow grows boundless.)
Here, March plays with light and darkness as metaphors for love and despair. Just as the day dreads the arrival of night, the lover fears the loss of his beloved. Love becomes a force capable of both healing and destroying, its power extending beyond reason.
His portrayal of women also departs from the idealised, untouchable ladies of courtly love. Instead, March’s female figures wield emotional power — they are not passive muses but active participants in the lover’s torment. In this way, March’s poetry feels psychologically complex, portraying love as a battleground of desire.
Ausiàs March for Valentine's Day?
Reading March’s poetry on Valentine’s Day may seem ironic — his love is not the joyful, sentimental kind we often associate with the holiday. Yet, perhaps that is precisely what makes him the perfect poet for the occasion. Love, after all, is rarely simple. It is full of contradictions, heartache, longing, and uncertainty.
March speaks across the centuries, reminding us that love is not just about passion and joy, but also doubt, obsession, and the fear of loss.
So this Valentine’s Day, instead of sugary sonnets, why not turn to the raw, unfiltered verses of Ausiàs March? Because real love — like poetry — never shies away from the truth.
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Food for thought.