Catalan Literature: Decline, Renaissance, Baroque & Neoclassicism
XII-XV Century (Decline)
Status: Decline
Movements:
- XVI Renaissance (Peter Serafí)
- XVII Baroque (Chancellor of Valley Stoves)
- XVIII Neoclassicism, Enlightenment (Baron Maldà)
The decline represents a drop in the quality and quantity of works in Catalan. A key event was the death of Martin l’Humà without children, leading to a succession issue between Ferdinand and James d’Urgell of Antequera. Ferdinand d’Antequera was chosen. The presence of poets like Sant Vicens Ferrer led to the Castilianization of the court. The court held significant power, influencing many Catalan poets to write in Spanish. Writers of the decadence period chose to write in Spanish, and those who wrote in Catalan imitated Spanish patterns, similar to the time of Cervantes.
Popular Literature
Popular literature kept the language and culture alive during this period of decline. It was the people who sustained literature.
Popular literature saved the people and Catalan literature, keeping it alive.
The issuers of popular literature were the people.
It is anonymous and collective, meaning it is subject to change.
It addresses the concerns of the people:
- Historical-political questions
- Concerns of everyday life
- Desire to improve living conditions
- Faith and religion
The people were both the sender and receiver, creating a strong link.
The context is the circumstances.
Code: The language of the Catalan people, a literary language with simple stylistic resources such as repetitions, anaphora, parallels, and evident personifications, aiding memorization.
Channel: Oral, implying changes over time.
Renaissance
- Aimed to rediscover the roots of the classical world, particularly Latin. Humanism triumphed over medieval beliefs, marking a revival of classical ideals.
- A new understanding of life, with man at the center.
From a poetic standpoint, the sonnet, a verse form of Italian heritage with a closed structure, was introduced. It became a stanza of the most educated.
Thematically, a new concept of love, dolce stil novo, emerged in the sixteenth century, influenced by Humanism. Songs were revived.
Baroque
Sought to impress and attract the viewer’s attention through contrasts, antithesis, and hyperbaton. Surprise was achieved through vision and literary stylistic resources.
Notable figures of the Baroque period include Simitis and Gorgor.
Poetry explored eschatological themes, raising gross issues. Themes of love and its idealization, an extension of the Renaissance, were also prevalent.
The Arcadian ideal emphasized balance in nature.
The way these issues were interpreted distinguished the Baroque (exuberant) from the Renaissance (restrained).
Note: Some content may be missing from class notes and anthology texts.
Neoclassicism and the Enlightenment
The word “illustration” connects to the centuries of lights, where light symbolizes knowledge. This period saw women playing a significant role in understanding and knowledge. It is also known as the period of l’enciclopedisme, due to the encyclopedia. Born in France, it represents a collection of knowledge.