Homoerotic representation in “Nocturno amor”, “Nocturno de la alcoba,” and “Nocturno de los ángeles” by Xavier Villaurrutia

Abstract

This article addresses the resources used by Xavier Villaurrutia in three poems of Nostalgia de la muerte to create a symbolic representation of homosexuality. Th e texts studied here are deeply embedded in Mexican homoerotic literary tradition and, to a large extent, this fact builds on a paradigmatic use of ambiguity and generic game. At the same time, there is a clear indication of the night, the bedroom and sleep, as the context for dissident representation in gay-themed literature. Therefore, this article proposes an approach to recognize how these resources operate within the poems..