MARTÍN FIERRO FOR STUDENTS · THE RETURN · 1879
Canto 12 Explained: Fierro's Son Describes Orphanhood and Solitary Imprisonment
A source-linked English study guide alongside José Hernández’s original Spanish poem.
What happens in Canto 12?
One of Fierro's sons now takes up the story. He remembers growing up without family protection, working as a hired hand and being accused in a killing that was never clearly resolved. He and two others are sent to the penitentiary. His long account focuses on profound isolation, silence, the loss of conversation and the psychological suffering of confinement. He laments not having learned to read and argues that speech and friendship are among humanity's greatest gifts. His narrative does not establish that he committed the crime.
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.
Y vive como los bichosbuscando alguna rendija;el güerfano es sabandijaque no encuentra compasión,y el que anda sin direcciónes guitarra sin clavija.
No es en grillo ni en cadenasen lo que usté penará,sino en una soledáy un silencio tan projundo,que parece que en el mundoes el único que está.
Pues que de todos los bienes,en mi inorancia lo infiero,que le dió al hombre altanerosu Divina Majestá,la palabra es el primero,el segundo es la amistá.
Main characters and voices
One of Martín Fierro's sons as the new first-person narrator; a judge; two other accused men; warders; the speaker's absent relatives.
Literary themes to identify
Orphanhood and abandonment; accusations and criminal justice; solitary confinement; the right to speak; literacy and dignity; testimony from the next generation.
Gaucho vocabulary in context
güerfano (vernacular form of huérfano, orphan); pión (peón, hired worker); sumario (preliminary legal proceedings); penitenciaria (penitentiary); grillo (shackle); presidario (prisoner).
What to notice in the narration
The son's description of legal proceedings does not authorize a verdict of guilt: the canto explicitly leaves the killing unclear. His powerful account centers on deprivation of human contact. His claim that some prison authorities behaved decently also keeps the narrative from being a simple portrayal of every officer as cruel. Study the difference between the narrator's direct experience and his broader claims about justice.
Reading-comprehension and discussion questions
- Who is telling the story, and how is his voice different from his father's?
- What is known and unknown about the killing that led to the arrest?
- Why does the speaker regard isolation as a worse punishment than physical shackles?
- What does he say about the importance of speech and friendship?
- What educational disadvantage does he regret while imprisoned?
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 12, 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