Cadalso, José de

Cadalso, José de (hōsā' dā kä&thstrok;äl'sō) [key], 1741–82, Spanish poet, critic, and satirist. Cadalso's rhapsodic prose autobiography, Noches lúgubres (1798), probably suggested by Edward Young's Night Thoughts, was a herald of the Spanish romantic movement. However, he is best known for Los eruditos a la violeta (1772), a satire on contemporary pedantry, and Cartas marruecas [Moroccan letters] (1793), an analysis of Spanish social decadence.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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