Dionysian Embodiment: Abject Queerness in Federico García Lorca’s “Ode to Walt Whitman”

Authors

  • Laura Mayron Boston University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18192/rceh.v47i1.4853

Keywords:

García Lorca, abjection, queer, subjectivity, Dionysus

Abstract

Federico García Lorca’s poem “Ode to Walt Whitman” from Poeta en Nueva York (1940) is well-known for its shockingly homophobic language. This article explores the discomfort and disgust surrounding queer subjectivity in the poem, specifically through images of the body. My analysis is centered on the dichotomy between Apollonian and Dionysian embodiment, a tension that reveals how Lorca’s conceptualization of queerness is linked to abjection.

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Published

2025-05-29

Issue

Section

Articles