Summary
The plot is typical of the “vision poem” genre popular in the Middle Ages. The modern reader will recognize similarities to Dante’s Inferno, also a vision poem. Mena himself is the narrator. He opens the poem with a lament about the “casos falaçes” of Fortune (unfortunate things that happen to people). He asks to see Fortune’s home in order to better understand how she functions. After being whisked away by a dragon-pulled chariot, he is guided through Fortune’s abode by Divine Providence (allegorized as a female character). There he sees not one Wheel of Fortune, but three, representing the past, present and future; each is composed of a series of Dante-like circles ruled by different planets. The circles contain examples of virtuous and unvirtuous historical figures. In the seventh circle, he encounters only one figure – Álvaro de Luna, who is seen as a horseman dominating Fortune, a wild horse. Having finished his tour of Fortune’s home, the narrator asks Providence for a prophecy regarding King Juan II. Providence promises great glory for the king, but before she offers details the vision ends. The narrator concludes, admonishing the king to fulfill Providence’s prophecy, and wondering whether the vision was just a dream.
Read more about this topic: Laberinto De Fortuna
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