Asceticism, Mysticism, and Spanish Literature Themes
Asceticism and Mysticism
Two streams:
Asceticism describes the path and activities undertaken to achieve perfection and salvation.
Mysticism begins where asceticism ends, focusing on communication and the perfect union of the soul with God.
Fray Luis de León
His Prose Work
- The Names of Christ: Written in prison, it explores the names Scripture gives to Christ.
- The Perfect Marriage: Discusses the virtues a Christian woman should possess.
- Exposition of the Book of Job: Written while in jail, León identifies with the biblical character, commenting on the text and expressing various moods.
His Work in Verse
- Ode to the Solitary Life: Recreates the beatus ille, praising the simple life lived in the countryside, away from the worries of the city and the Court.
- Ode to Francisco Salinas: Dedicated to the blind musician, a friend and fellow faculty member. Hearing him play the organ, the poet’s soul, released by the music, seeks God and engages in conversation.
- Calm Night: Begins with a description of the night sky and shining stars, leading the poet to scorn the Earth and invite people to contemplate the heavens and turn their minds to the vision of peace and outer beauty.
San Juan de la Cruz
Minor Poems
Written in traditional Castilian verse, including glosses, which develop a poem from a traditional source stanza. Verses are transformed into a kind, loving, spiritual sense.
Major Poems
Pose problems of interpretation because their apparent meaning conceals symbolic and doctrinal elements:
- Dark Night of the Soul: Describes the mystical union of the soul with God, overcoming purgative and illuminative stages.
- Llama de Amor Viva: Refers to the mystical union with the unitive way.
- Spiritual Canticle: A girl tells how the soul goes in search of her lover, finally found reflected in a source, and after a beautiful dialogue, a loving union occurs.
Luis de Góngora
Minor Poems
- Romances: Ballads belonging to the new style, more carefully prepared than the traditional romance. His subjects are diverse:
- Moriscos: Border-related romances and romances of captives.
- Mythological: Classical myths to which the baroque deformation is applied.
- Lyrics: Treat the issue of absent love and heartbreak, are autobiographical, evoking the world of children.
- The Letrillas: Compositions based on the repetition of a chorus, commenting through variants. Góngora’s most perfect are satirical and burlesque.
- The Sonnets: Have several topics, including the recreation of classics, the adulation of the powerful, disappointment, and themes of circumstances, dedicated to rivals Quevedo and Lope.
Themes of Don Quixote
- Utopia and Reality: The conflict between an individual who wishes to carry out his dream (his madness) and the social and family environment that prevents it.
- Justice: The hero is moved by a spirit of justice.
- Love: Don Quixote has the need to find a beautiful lady to fulfill his love.
- Literature: The entire work is full of references to literary themes.
Lazarillo de Tormes: Features
- It usually takes the formula of autobiographical stories, written in first person, telling the life of its protagonist with the utmost realism.
- His argument is developed on the principle of evolution and transformation of character, which we see change and change over the work.
- They are stories written in chronological order, explaining the changes produced by the protagonist.
- The main character is a rogue, characterized by:
- Belonging to a miserable and marginalized social class.
- Being a drifter serving different masters from city to city.
- Acting induced by hunger and stealing to survive.
- Living trying to improve their social status.
- It’s the quintessential antihero, as:
- Lacking ideals and not worried about honor, courage, or honor.
- Only interested in satisfying hunger and cold.
- No responsibility accepted for what it does.