16th-Century Spanish Literature: Mysticism, Prose, and Novel
Santa Teresa de Jesús
Life
Teresa Sánchez Cepeda Dávila y Ahumada was born in Ávila in 1515. A child with great imagination and fantasy, at an early age, she and her brother ran away to go to the land of infidels. She suffered from brittle health. In 1534, she professed as a Carmelite nun. In 1562, she founded the first convent of the Order of Discalced Carmelites.
Work
Focused on the way to perfection: ascetic, she wanted to show that the mystical path is only achieved with poverty, obedience, and prayer.
- Book of Life – Autobiographical work, written 20 years before her death, discussing mystical experiences.
- Interior Castle or Treatise on the Mansions: Describes the seven rooms or mansions of the castle of the soul.
- Book of Foundations: Also autobiographical, it tells of the expansion of the Discalced Carmelite order.
She also wrote 40 poems, some with questionable authenticity; important ones include ‘Living Without Living in Me’ and ‘Let My Eyes See You’.
Literary Form
- Eminently didactic works.
- Humble, even feigning ignorance, acknowledging her intellectual limitations (not always true).
- Simple, colloquial language, with some slang and popular expressions.
- Attempts to involve her readers.
- Combination of records characterized by toughness and energy, some more tender and sweet.
- Impromptu and unplanned writing.
- Lack of aesthetic and rhetorical purposes.
- Masterful use of antithesis and paradox.
- Constant use of similes and metaphors.
Fray Luis de Granada
Not a mystic, but a great speaker and preacher. His accession to Erasmian theses and the attempt to fuse them with the Christian faith led to strict surveillance by the Inquisition. He was defended by Pope Pius IV.
Work
Read by countless readers and published in multiple translations:
- Sinner’s Guide: A manual of confession.
- Introduction to the Symbol of Faith: Meditates on the greatness of God through the creation, particularly the sun.
Erasmian Prose
Juan de Valdés (1490-1541)
More valued than his brother. Dialogue of Language: Discusses whether to return to Latin as the language of culture or if Romance languages are sufficient. Also wrote Dialogue of Christian Doctrine.
Alfonso de Valdés (1490-1540)
Author of The Guide, considered more important than his brother. Also wrote Dialogue of Lactantius and an Archdeacon (about things going on in Rome) and Dialogue of Mercury and Charon.
Juan Luis Vives (1492-1540)
From Valencia.
Miscellaneous Prose
Works containing collections of sentences, proverbs, and sayings.
Fray Antonio de Guevara (1480-1545)
Widely read in his time in Spain and abroad.
- Clock of Princes: About the personal, public, and religious virtues that should adorn a prince.
- Golden Book of Marcus Aurelius: Biography of the Roman Emperor, a Stoic example of virtue and intellectual height.
- Familiar Epistles: On many different topics.
- Contempt of Court and Praise of Village: Contrasting urban and rural life.
Melchor de Santa Cruz (1505-1585)
Spanish Forest of Maxims and Sentences.
Historical Prose
Father Juan de Mariana (1535-1624)
General History of Spain: A grand history spanning from the first settlers to the Catholic Monarchs, in 30 titles (fascicles).
Fray Bartolomé de las Casas (1474-1566)
General History of the Indies and Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies, a highly critical work against the Spanish colonizers and conquerors.
The Idealistic Novel
Stylized and poetic narration, sheer fantastic invention with a tendency to hyperbole, rhetorical and artificial, and filled with pure and noble sentiments.
- Romances: Amadis of Gaul by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo, The Adventures of Esplandian.
- Pastoral Novel: Shepherds suffer unrequited love, expressed in refined language and rhetorical sentences, all in stylish settings. Idealized love and nature. Diana by Jorge de Montemayor (1520-1561) and Diana in Love by Gaspar Gil Polo (1530-1584).
- Moorish Novel: More enjoyable today than the chivalric and pastoral stories. The Story of Abencerraje and the Beautiful Jarifa.
- Byzantine Novel: Chronicles the fortunes of two young lovers separated and reunited.
- Short Story: Collections of short anecdotes, usually funny and humorous. El Patrañuelo by Juan de Timoneda (1490-1583).
The Picaresque Novel
Parody or antithesis against idealism, especially a reaction against chivalric romances.
Features
- The central character is an antihero of low birth.
- Autobiographical narrative, a pilgrimage through various masters.
- Narrative woven with anecdotes and stories from the collective imagination.
- The rogue is not motivated by high ideals, but by mundane goals.
- Willing to do anything, regardless of honor or disgrace.
- Sad determinism; attempts to climb the social ladder fail.
- Contains no morals.
- Depicts everyday contemporary life.
- Almost absolute negativity in the morality of the rogue’s masters.
- Constant use of irony.
Lazarillo de Tormes (The Guide)
First published in 1554, and prohibited by the Holy Office five years later. Autobiographical story in epistolary form, divided into a prologue and seven chapters (called treatises).
Topic
- Race of life
- Honor
- Social portrait of an era
- Anticlericalism
Style
- Advanced planning of the work.
- Integration of anecdotes.
- Development of the protagonist’s personality through life lessons and situations.
- Simple, plain language with proverbs and idioms.
- Expertly handled dialogue.
- Vivid and expressive descriptions.
Theater
Juan del Encina (1468-1530), Lucas Fernández (1474-1542), Gil Vicente (1465-1537), Bartolomé de Torres Navarro (1485-1520), and Lope de Rueda (1509-1565), known for his very short comic plays.