Francisco de Medrano y Villa

[7] Francisco de Medrano, from a wealthy Sevillian banking and commercial family, began his studies at San Hermenegildo College under the Jesuits.

[8] Medrano's works were published at Palermo (1617) as an appendix to the imitation of Ovid's "Remedia Amoris" by Pedro Venegas de Saavedra, a poet of Seville.

"[12] On the other hand, Medrano's love sonnets,[13] while mainly following a recognizable Petrarchan pattern, demonstrate "a unique ability to explore intimate relationships with a freshness reminiscent of Aldana.

"[12] What is noteworthy in this context is not only Medrano's adept handling of the interplay between negative and positive aspects but, more importantly, the carefully chosen vocabulary employed to express this nuanced process.

During the early 17th century, Andalusian poets demonstrated a remarkable skill that contributed to the development of what could be termed a 'new classicism,' indirectly influencing Herrera's peripheral involvement in this movement.

An influential figure in this context is the former Jesuit, Francisco de Medrano, who "penned the majority of his poems in Seville during the last five years of his life.

[15][16] The concept of 'originality' in the realm of translations may seem paradoxical, yet Medrano's reinterpretations of Horace deviate in two crucial ways from earlier renditions, underscoring the creative ingenuity that distinguishes him from his peers: The first deviation is formal, involving the choice to discard the lira-type stanza, which, for Luis de Leon, had appeared as the closest equivalent to the Horatian strophe, and notably, to attempt to capture the essence of Horace's succinct final lines.

Historians note Medrano's entire poem, akin to others, "remarkably reproduces what Damaso Alonso refers to as the 'rhythm of thought' from the original with exceptional fidelity.

"[17] While prior translators typically aim for a literal rendition, Medrano "frequently excises entire passages or occasionally combines parts of two separate odes within the same poem.

"[17] The second deviation is when Medrano systematically eliminates or simplifies elements that a seventeenth-century poet might perceive as 'dead matter' such as references to ancient Rome.

"[19] Despite departing from his original, Medrano consistently holds the example of Horace in high regard, and the quality of his best sonnets, suggests a robust independent talent that doesn't rely on obvious models to assert itself.