Essay on yerma

The mood starts unsteadily and eerily, the expression of Yerma’s desire is at one of its peak moments, as her subconscious interferes into her dreams, crossing over from reality.

Yerma’s first song holds a large amount of imagery that relates directly to childbirth and fertility. For example ‘Let the fountains leap, and the river run’. This is another reference to water and its neutrality and the expected and natural flow of a river.

Yerma by Federico Lorca has been described by critics as ‘One of the modern pinnacles of modern poetic drama that realises unknown aspirations and yearnings’.

Poetry and song are main focuses in the opening scene and Lorca got his inspiration from traditional Spanish songs and narrative Ballads. The scenes first dialogue takes the form of a song, which gives the impression of a nursery rhyme.