17th Century Lyric Poetry: Baroque Themes and Styles
The Lyric of the Seventeenth Century
The Baroque poets reflect the contradiction between the classical and idealized Renaissance, and a new, pessimistic, and disillusioned reality.
Topics
- Love is still the preferred theme of poetic compositions but is coupled with a reflection on the transience of earthly life, death, and the rapid passage of time.
The passage of time is reflected mainly in the short life of some mythical flowers like the rose or lily, and ancient ruins that recall a bygone splendor.
- Mythological themes are still present, but tragic stories starring an antihero are chosen, as in the case of Polyphemus, the giant star of the Fable of Polyphemus and Galatea by Luis de Góngora.
- The decadence and crisis that hit Spain are reflected in political compositions, usually satirical.
- Poems multiply on the literary polemics between different authors such as Góngora and Quevedo.
Stanzas and Verses
- The use of hendecasyllabic lines results in stanzas like the lira, the silva, and, above all, the sonnet, which reaches perfection in Baroque poetry.
- The use of popular stanzas like the romance and letrilla is generalized, especially for holiday poems or satirical styles.
Style
- Culteranismo: Culteranismo is characterized by an extreme complication of language, an overuse of literary figures, mythological references, strange words (cultisms), and violent turns of phrase. Thus, in the poetry of Luis de Góngora, words underwent a large syntactic disorder.
- Conceptismo: Conceptismo is an extreme complication of the content. It tries to multiply ingenious and recherché associations between words and concepts. Its main representatives are Lope de Vega and Francisco de Quevedo.
Culteranismo: Luis de Góngora
Life
Luis de Góngora y Argote was born and died in Córdoba. He received minor orders (the step before ordination as a priest) and, when he settled in the court, was appointed chaplain to Philip III.
His life was marked by a passion for literature and strong friendships (with the Duke of Lerma and the Count-Duke of Olivares) and enmities (towards Lope de Vega and Francisco de Quevedo).
Work
It is said that the poetry of Góngora has two facets: the first would be a simple poet (Prince of Light) and the second is an obscure and almost incomprehensible poet (Prince of Darkness). However, both aspects are mixed in their compositions, both popular and cult.
- Góngora cultivated the letrilla and romance throughout his life.
- Góngora is one of the masters of the sonnet. His themes were praise, scenes of everyday life, and parental love.
Also highlighted are his great poems: Solitudes, Panegyric to the Duke of Lerma…
Conceptismo: Francisco de Quevedo
Life
Francisco de Quevedo was born in Madrid. His life was spent at court, conducting missions in Italy, commissioned by the Duke of Osuna.
He spent four years in jail for writing poetry offensive to the King. Shortly after, he died in Villanueva de los Infantes.
In his poetry, there are opposites: the noble to the plebeian, degrading the beautiful…
- His love poetry is the most exciting in Spanish literature; we find the constant love sonnet beyond death.
- The satirical burlesque poetry: its expressive force reaches a height never equaled by the use of hyperbole, the incorporation of vernacular terms…
- His poetry is full of moral and religious pessimism and frustration.
- Romance appears in all possible topics: hunts, court parties, bulls…