Catedrales góticas, castillos, ruinas, caballeros, pajes, religiosos, duelos nocturnos, encuentros amorosos, apariciones de ultratumba… son los principales protagonistas de unas Leyendas que reconstruyen la tradición popular a través del milagro de una prosa poética en la que se reúnen emoción, misterio y belleza, en un ambiente de maravilla lírica similar al de los cuentos de hada. Cargadas de musicalidad y pasión, los valores literarios de estas narraciones breves son notablemente superiores a los de las leyendas predecesoras y coetáneas y suponen la culminación, superación y aniquilamiento de un género.
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer was a poet and storyteller. His work was part of the romantic movement of the first half of the 19th century. His most celebrated work is Rimas y Leyendas. Although in life he enjoyed recognition for his poems, it is after his death that he reaches prestigious recognition. His rhymes make up 86 compositions, of which 76 were published for the first time in 1871. The Legends, on the other hand, were published during the author's lifetime in the Madrid newspapers El Contemporáneo and La América between 1858 and 1864.