Arauco Tamed

work by Oña
Also known as: “Arauco domado”, “Primera parte de Arauco domado”

Learn about this topic in these articles:

discussed in biography

  • Oña, Pedro de
    In Pedro de Oña

    His most famous work is Primera parte de Arauco domado (1596; “First Part of the Araucan Conquest”), a verse epic in rhymed couplets depicting the deeds of the Marquis of Canete, viceroy of Peru from 1556 to 1560, based in part on the famous La Araucana (1569, 1578, 1589; “The…

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Latin American literature

  • Eugenio de Santa Cruz y Espejo, Francisco Javier
    In Latin American literature: The earliest literary activity

    …de Oña’s Arauco domado (1596; Arauco Tamed) was a worthy successor on the same theme, though it is both rhetorical and derivative. Oña, a native of the region, is named in conventional histories of literature as the first great Chilean poet. He has never achieved the popularity of Ercilla, however.

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Quick Facts
Born:
1570?, Los Confines, Chile
Died:
1643?, Lima, Peru
Notable Works:
“Arauco Tamed”

Pedro de Oña (born 1570?, Los Confines, Chile—died 1643?, Lima, Peru) was the first known poet born in Chile.

After studying at the University of San Marcos in Lima, he entered the army and served in several battles against rebellious Indians. His most famous work is Primera parte de Arauco domado (1596; “First Part of the Araucan Conquest”), a verse epic in rhymed couplets depicting the deeds of the Marquis of Canete, viceroy of Peru from 1556 to 1560, based in part on the famous La Araucana (1569, 1578, 1589; “The Araucan”) of the Spanish poet Alonso de Ercilla. Oña’s poem brought him immediate fame. Other works are El Ignacio de Cantabria (1639; “Ignatius of Cantabria”), a religious poem about St. Ignatius Loyola, and Temblor de Lima en 1609 (“The Earthquake of Lima in 1609”).

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.