MARTÍN FIERRO FOR STUDENTS · THE RETURN · 1879
Canto 1 Explained: The Return Begins: Martín Fierro Sings Again
A source-linked English study guide alongside José Hernández’s original Spanish poem.
What happens in Canto 1?
The sequel opens with Fierro asking for silence and attention because the earlier story remains unfinished. He returns to singing despite having broken his instrument at the end of the first poem. He argues that the gaucho's song deserves attention, contrasts the reception of learned town poets and rural singers, and declares that his singing offers judgments rather than mere entertainment. He hopes to live and work again, although he carries the memory of his suffering.
Original verses: three passages worth studying
The following stanzas are taken directly from the repository's original-text corpus, without modernization. Explanations elsewhere on this page are interpretation, not translation.
Atención pido al silencioy silencio a la atención,que voy en esta ocasión,si me ayuda la memoria,a mostrarles que a mi historiale faltaba lo mejor.
Yo he conocido cantoresque era un gusto el escuchar;mas no quieren opinary se divierten cantando;pero yo canto opinando,que es mi modo de cantar.
He visto rodar la bolay no se quiere parar;al fin de tanto rodarme he decidido a venira ver si puedo viviry me dejan trabajar.
Main characters and voices
Martín Fierro, again the principal singer and first-person narrator; the audience he directly addresses; other singers invoked in his argument.
Literary themes to identify
The return of the poetic voice; testimony and truth claims; rural versus urban cultural prestige; personal memory; literary continuity between 1872 and 1879.
Gaucho vocabulary in context
vigüela (folk spelling for vihuela or a stringed instrument); cantor (singer); pueblero (town-dweller); mansera (plow handle); pial (lasso technique); bagual (untamed horse).
What to notice in the narration
The singer explicitly claims that he tells the truth, but this claim is itself part of the literary performance. Readers can attend to the power of his voice without treating each statement as independent evidence. The renewed song creates a bridge between the 1872 departure and the 1879 return; it also foregrounds whose voices are considered culturally authoritative.
Reading-comprehension and discussion questions
- How does Fierro signal that the earlier story is incomplete?
- How can he be singing when he broke his guitar at the end of the first part?
- What is the difference between singing for entertainment and singing to express an opinion?
- How does the contrast between the pueblero and the gaucho shape the narrator's argument?
Support answers with details from the original canto. Different interpretations may be justified if the quoted passages and narrative context support them.
Sources and further reading
Primary source: José Hernández, La vuelta de Martín Fierro (1879), Canto 1, reproduced from the site's structured Spanish corpus. Summary and questions are original English educational commentary, not quoted authorial explanations.
Original canto · Summary of both parts · Character guide · All study guides