La Perromachia de Pisón y Vargas: épica burlesca, novela, comedia fabulosa

Two Perromachias were published in Spain in the 18th Century: one by Francisco Nieto Molina (1765), the other by Juan Pisón y Vargas (1786). These mock-epic poems linked with the fable have been forgotten by critics. This paper focuses on Pisón y Vargas’ work and provides new information about his life. His Perromachia, written in eight silvas, takes Lope de Vegas’ Gatomaquia as main model, although the complete account of its sources shows that Pisón y Vargas gives includes in his poem the Parnasus of Spanish Golden Age that is in favour with the neoclassical canon: Garcilaso, Fray Luis and Villegas, particularly. The Perromachia is a moral fable, with footsteps of novel, and a satiric piece disguised as a text that continues the tradition of Golden Age mock-epic.