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''Roderick the Last of the Goths'' is an 1814 epic poem composed by Robert Southey. The origins of the poem lie in Southey's wanting to write a poem describing Spain and the story of Rodrigo. Originally entitled "Pelayo, the Restorer of Spain," the poem was later retitled to reflect the change of emphasis within the story. It was completed after Southey witnessed Napoleon's actions in Europe, and Southey included his reactions against invading armies into the poem. The poem was successful, and multiple editions followed immediately after the first edition. The story describes fighting over the inheritance of the Spanish throne and how Roderick manages to take over. After Roderick rapes Florinda, daughter of his important ally Count Julian, Julian and others change their allegiance and aid the invading Moorish army. During a battle against the Moors, Roderick is wounded and escapes to start a new life. Eventually, Roderick travels across Spain before determining that he must return to rescue Pelayo, an heir to the Spanish throne who was held prisoner by the Moors. After freeing Pelayo, he meets Florinda who reveals that her rape was not Roderick's fault. The group allies itself with Count Pedro, and they build an army to wage war against the Moors. While fighting, Count Julian is assassinated by his own allies, and the Moorish army is broken and defeated. The poem ends with Roderick returning to the wilderness. Southey, like other poets who described the story of Roderick at the time, connected the Moorish invasion of Spain with Napoleon's invading of other countries. The story is also used to discuss the relationship of Islam and Christianity while promoting Southey's own views on religion. Regarding the rape scene, it is possible that Southey removed Roderick's guilt to create a more sympathetic character. Critics gave the work mixed reviews but many believed that ''Roderick the Last of the Goths'' was Southey's greatest work. Some critics pointed out various flaws in the work, but most felt that the subject was well handled and appropriately chosen. ==Background== The idea for Southey to write a poem about historical Spain, which would later become ''Roderick'', originated in his writing a monodrama on Cava and her being raped by Rodrigo. In 1805, he decided to use the subject for his final epic.〔Bernhardt-Kabisch 1977 pp. 131–132〕 In 1808, Southey resumed working on his poem ''Curse of Kehama'' after he almost gave up poetry because of the reception of ''Thalaba the Destroyer'' and ''Madoc''. This return to writing was promoted by the poet Walter Savage Landor who encouraged Southey to complete the epic along with writing the work "Pelayo, the Restorer of Spain". This poem would later be retitled ''Roderick the Last of the Goths''. By 1812, Southey was working on various works, including the collection ''Omniana'', and he continued to add sections to ''Roderick''.〔Spech 2006 pp. 126, 150〕 After 1810, Southey began to change from Jacobin political feelings to support of the establishment and monarchies.〔Bernhardt-Kabisch 1977 p. 132〕 While writing the epic, his feelings were shaped by the events of Napoleon's conquests in Europe and his invasion of Spain. Napoleon's actions provoked Southey to disapprove of one nation controlling another nation. These changing beliefs helped to shape ''Roderick'', which involved the Moorish invasion of Spain. The poem was completed 14 July 1814. During this time, Southey was made a member of the Royal Spanish Academy. It was put into print in August and published in November. It was the last long poem that Southey would write.〔Spech 2006 p. 159, 161〕 When Southey was told that Francis Jeffrey was going to write a bad review of the poem, he claimed, "Jeffrey can no more stand in my way to ''fame'' than Tom Thumb could stand in my way in the street. I consider him a public nuisance and shall deal with him accordingly."〔Speech 2006 qtd. p. 162〕 The poem had a second and third edition published in 1815. A fourth edition was published in 1816. The printed poem also included a series of notes, a common feature to his long poems, which drew complaints from reviewers.〔Madden 1972 pp. 175, 188〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Roderick the Last of the Goths」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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