Poetry, doctrine and subjectivity in the late nineteenth-century catholic press

Abstract This essay focuses on the role played by poetry in the doctrinal and conservative context of the weekly newspaper El Católico Argentino (1874-1876), a forerunner in the consolidation of the Catholic press in Argentina. By studying how the aesthetic repertoire of the poetic pieces relates to the strong criticism of dominant liberalism and modernity in the newspaper’s doctrinal pieces, the essay argues that poetry, via different strategies, appeals to the creation of a shared or communal reader subjectivity. This will stand as in contrast to the liberal subjectivity appealed to by the contemporary press of the time, which highlighted novelty and fashion.