16th Century Spanish Literature Overview
16th Century Spanish Literature
Fray Luis de León
Life and Personality
Born around 1527 in Belmonte, Fray Luis de León became a monk at the convent of Salamanca and a professor at the university from 1561. Imprisoned due to strife and intrigue, his time in jail influenced his work, fostering a desire for seclusion and serenity.
His Work
Prose
Fray Luis de León wrote four major works in Castilian prose:
- Translation of the Song of Songs
- Exposition of the Book of Job
- In the Names of Christ
- The Perfect Wife
In the Names of Christ features three characters discussing the different names given to Christ in the Bible. The Perfect Wife is a treatise explaining his ideal wife, encompassing various types of women: industrious, talkative, lazy, etc.
Poetic Work
His original poetic work is relatively short, comprising less than 40 poems. Apart from some juvenile sonnets, most poems belong to the classical genre of the ode, with varying numbers of stanzas, short verses, and diverse themes. His poetry can be categorized into three periods: before prison, during prison, and after leaving prison.
Topics
His poems explore themes of nature, the longing for rural and village life, his predilection for the night, and music. These themes are rooted in the ille Beauts.
Style
His preferred verse form is the lira, combining hendecasyllabic and heptasyllabic verses. His style exhibits an apparent simplicity and extensive use of rhetorical figures. His poems are often addressed to a second person.
Juan de la Cruz
Life and Personality
Born in Fontiveros, Ávila, in 1542, Juan de la Cruz came from a humble background. He studied philosophy and theology at the University of Salamanca, where he met Fray Luis de León. He joined the Carmelite Order and took the name Juan de la Cruz. He was arrested in 1577 but escaped from prison in 1578 and fled to the convent of the Discalced Carmelites. He died in Úbeda in 1591. His personality was unique, marked by a desire for a life away from wealth and comfort.
His Work
He composed three major poems:
- Spiritual Canticle
- Dark Night of the Soul
- Living Flame of Love
The Spiritual Canticle (1577) consists of 40 liras and is a dialogue between the Beloved (Christ) and the beloved soul, who has sought Him through valleys and mountains. Dark Night of the Soul (1584) consists of 8 liras in which the Beloved fully meets the beloved soul. The Living Flame of Love (1584) comprises 4 stanzas of 6 lines each, expressing the loving feelings of the beloved soul in mystical union with Christ.
Topics
While his poems can be interpreted as love poems on a literal level, they transcend the erotic and aim to express a transcendent spiritual content.
Style
Like Garcilaso, Juan de la Cruz uses the lira for his major poems. He also employs traditional song forms for shorter poems.
Prose
Prose Teaching
The most common formal model is the dialogue, in which two or more speakers discuss a subject, presenting different viewpoints. This allows for a conversational tone, ideal for transmitting teachings. The author is usually present in the dialogue, but in various roles: as author, narrator, interlocutor, etc. The dialogues feature diverse characters, settings, and timeframes. There are no precise rules for their composition.
Notable dialogues include those by Juan and Alfonso de Valdés. Juan wrote the famous Dialogue of Language, and his brother Alfonso wrote two major works: Dialogue of the Things that Happened in Rome and Dialogue of Mercury and Charon. The dialogues cover a wide range of subjects: mathematics, witchcraft, music, history, etc. Many books address moral and religious themes. The most widely read authors are Antonio de Guevara, with the Golden Book of Marcus Aurelius, and Luis de Granada, with the Book of Prayer and Meditation.
Narrative Prose
Narrative prose of the time includes short stories, often referred to as novelas. Longer narratives are called vidas, historias, or tratados. The pastoral narrative emerges, presenting an idealized rustic life in nature, where love stories between shepherds unfold. The most notable example is Jorge de Montemayor’s Diana.
Stories with Moorish themes also appear, presenting an idealized, often inaccurate, portrayal of Moorish life. This idealized Moorish world, full of exotic customs, provides a romantic backdrop for the narratives. Noteworthy works include those by Francisco Delicado, such as La Lozana Andaluza, and Juan de Timoneda, with El Patrañuelo. However, the most important narrative work of the period is the anonymous Lazarillo de Tormes.
Theatre
Lucas Fernández authored several plays close to the medieval drama, such as Auto de la Pasión. Bartolomé de Torres Naharro wrote both realistic plays featuring characters like soldiers and fantastical plays that leave room for imagination, such as Comedia Serafina. His plays showcase a variety of social classes, mastery of dialogue, and a crude anti-clericalism.
Lope de Rueda was an actor, stage director, and playwright. His pasos are well-known short comic pieces initially performed in the streets and later during intermissions of longer plays. They resemble modern-day interludes. The predominant theme is love, and women tend to be very active in his works.