Readings on the City in the Colonial Epic Poem Purén Indómito

Abstract

This article proposes the analysis of some references to the city made in Purén Indómito, a piece of epic poetry from the early 17th century attributed to Diego Arias de Saavedra. The poem exposes the fragile equilibrium in the exercise of power concerning the environment and population and evaluates the actions taken by the local agents during the Arauco wars. In this context, the city receives a protagonist role and can be read as a device of governmentality on the southern borderline of the Spanish colonial empire in America.