Lorca Journal 4

            Lorca juxtaposes poetry and prose in Act 3 Scene 1 to show that nature is the higher power that guides peoples’ fates.  At first, the woodcutters are discussing how the bridegroom and Leonardo will find and kill each other “with the moon or without the moon” (80) which is contradictory to the poetry in this scene where nature controls their fate. Lorca uses poetry when the moon arrives for the first time and when the characters “evoke the forest” (87) which is shown by violins playing. The reader can see that nature controls the characters’ fates because moon acts as a chorus through the poetry by telling the reader that there will be death by stating “[the moon’s] cheeks will fill with crimson blood” (82). The moon is able to control this fate by summoning the “beggar women [who is] death” (86) to kill the characters and “let blood hiss softly through my fingers” (84). The use of poetry acts as a chorus and allows the reader to understand that nature guides life.