16th-Century Renaissance Thought & Culture: Humanism, Poetry, and Mysticism
16th-Century Renaissance Thought & Culture
Humanism
The Renaissance, spanning from the Middle Ages to the 19th century, saw a revival of classical studies and a veneration of Greco-Latin authors. Humanism, a cultural movement originating in Italy, placed man at the center of the universe and focused on the study of humanities. This movement reached its peak in the first third of the 16th century. Influential Italian humanists arrived in Spain, and the universities of Salamanca and Alcalá de Henares became centers of humanist study. In the second decade of the century, the Complutense Polyglot Bible, a masterpiece of Spanish humanism, was published.
A key feature of Humanism is its emphasis on the dignity of man as the master of his own destiny, contrasting with the theocentrism of the medieval era. This individualistic focus, typical of the burgeoning bourgeois class, explains the intense vitalism manifested in both art and literature. This period saw the splendor of courts and palaces, with their festivities and luxuries, celebrating love and pleasures in a largely secular society.
Rationalism
Rationalism, a defining feature of this era, fostered confidence in reason and the idea of progress. Neoplatonic philosophers believed that material reality was a manifestation of a higher spiritual order, attainable through knowledge or spiritual paths. Erasmus of Rotterdam, a key Renaissance humanist, used irony and satire to address social and political issues, proposing religious practices free of hypocrisy.
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent, convened in the mid-16th century, aimed to define essential Catholic doctrines and counter the spread of Protestantism, leading to the Counter-Reformation.
Poetry
16th-century poetry reflects a clash between traditional poets, adhering to established forms, and Italianate poets, who introduced new themes and styles from the Italian Renaissance. Both drew from the tradition of courtly love and Petrarchan lyricism. Renaissance poetry was highly innovative, introducing new lines, verses, and genres. The hendecasyllable verse became favored, often alternating with heptasyllable verse. Genres like pastorals, odes, epistles, elegies, and satires were revived. Common stanzas included the sonnet, song, lira, chained triplets, silva, and octava real.
Themes
- Carpe diem: “Seize the day,” emphasizing life’s brevity.
- Collige, virgo, rosas: “Gather, maiden, roses,” urging young women to embrace love before time fades their beauty.
- Golden Mean: Praise for a moderate life, avoiding extreme ambitions and passions.
- Beatus Ille: “Happy is he,” expressing nostalgia for a simple life in nature.
- Mythology: Drawing themes and motifs from classical authors and mythology.
- Love: Elevated to a virtue of understanding, leading to knowledge of absolute beauty, but also a source of frustration and pain.
- Moral Poetry: Expressing dissatisfaction with individualistic urban society, reflecting the new morality of the Counter-Reformation.
Fernando de Herrera, a bridge between Garcilaso and Góngora, wrote patriotic epic poetry and excelled in love poetry with complex formal elements.
Mystical Literature
Mystical writers sought communion with God, expressing their experiences in prose and verse. Three key stages were purification (achieving grace), illumination (gaining knowledge through faith), and union (ecstatic merging with God). Teresa of Ávila, a Jewish convert, wrote prose works like The Interior Castle and The Book of Life.
Garcilaso de la Vega
Garcilaso, the quintessential Renaissance gentleman, was both poet and soldier. His unrequited love for Isabel and her death deeply influenced his Neoplatonic, Petrarchan-influenced poems. His time in Naples, Italy, further shaped his lyrical style.
Works
Garcilaso’s work includes an epitaph, two elegies, three eclogues, five songs (odes), and 38 sonnets. His sonnets solidified this form in Spanish literature. His elegies show classical influence and a stoic yet optimistic attitude. His Eclogue I is his best known, while Eclogue III, with its interwoven narratives of love and death, is considered his most accomplished.
Themes and Style
Love is the predominant theme, reflecting a Platonic conception with Petrarchan influences. Nature serves as a stylized setting for lamentations and a confidant for the shepherds. Classical mythology also appears, as in the sonnet “Apollo and Daphne.” Garcilaso’s language is deceptively simple, elegant, and natural, balancing passion and restraint. His poetry is characterized by a sweet, melancholic tone, achieved through carefully chosen adjectives and a predominantly hendecasyllable meter often combined with heptasyllables.
Fray Luis de León
Fray Luis de León, an Augustinian friar and professor at the University of Salamanca, was imprisoned by the Inquisition for translating the Song of Songs. His major prose work, The Names of Christ, is a dialogue exploring the names given to Jesus in the Bible. His poetry, influenced by classical genres like the ode, often explores themes of moral character, contempt for worldly pleasures, and longing for harmony with God. His style, building upon Garcilaso’s, incorporates biblical imagery and classical themes, characterized by elegant simplicity and rich figurative language.
John of the Cross
John of the Cross, a Carmelite friar, was persecuted and imprisoned for his role in reforming his order. His major poems, Spiritual Canticle, Dark Night of the Soul, and Living Flame of Love, explore themes of divine love, drawing on Neoplatonic philosophy, religious and mystical literature, and medieval and Renaissance influences. His style blends Italianate traditions, popular poetry, and biblical imagery.