Corrales de Comedias & Baroque Poetic Styles
Corrales de Comedias: Spanish Baroque Theater
Theater achieved great popular success in the 17th century in Spain, with playwrights like Lope de Vega, Calderón de la Barca, and others. Plays were significant social events, as theater was the most popular form of entertainment at the time.
The corrales de comedias (pens theater) were typically open courtyards surrounded by houses. At one end of the yard stood the stage, usually without scenery and often without a curtain.
Layout and Audience
The general public gathered in the main courtyard area. In front of the stage, there were some benches accessible by paying an extra fee. Behind these, standing, were the common men, known as mosqueteros, who vocally showed their satisfaction or displeasure with the performance. Men and women were separated.
- The area reserved for women, a raised section at the opposite end from the stage, was jokingly called the cazuela (pot). Later, upper galleries were built specifically for women.
- Nobles and officials watched from the balconies and windows overlooking the courtyard, known as the aposentos, which were rented seasonally.
Initially, there was almost no scenery. This allowed authors greater freedom in setting their works but required the text to compensate for the lack of decoration through constant allusions, such as “ya estamos en el jardín” (we are now in the garden) or “es de noche” (it is nighttime). Later, scenery and scenic resources, originally used only in court theater, were incorporated into the corrales.
Performance Structure
Performances took place during daylight hours, starting early in the afternoon, and lasted several hours. The show included various segments to keep the audience engaged:
- It began with a loa: a prologue or introductory piece in verse.
- Then, the first act of the main play (comedia) was performed.
- After the first act, an entremés, a short, usually humorous piece, was staged.
- Following the second act, songs or dances were performed.
- At the end of the third act, the show concluded with a mojiganga (a farce or burlesque finale) or another short piece.
From the early 17th century, the success of these plays transcended the popular sphere, and King Philip III decided to convert one of the palace courtyards into a corral to enjoy performances just as the common people did.
All plays represented in the corrales were known generically as comedias, regardless of whether they were strictly comedies or dramas that mixed tragic and comic elements. Thus, the word comedia acquired a broader meaning during this period.
Spanish Baroque Poetry Trends
Like all Baroque art, Spanish poetry of the era presented sharp contrasts in:
- Themes: Serious or inconsequential.
- Tones: Reflective or burlesque.
- Style: Cultured and popular/religious influences.
Metrics
The sonnet and the ballad reached great perfection. New or refined forms also became popular for various subjects, including the décima and the silva (a free combination of heptasyllabic and hendecasyllabic lines with consonant rhyme).
Culteranismo and Conceptismo
Two main tendencies are distinguished in Baroque poetry:
- Conceptismo: Based on intellectual ingenuity and wordplay.
- Culteranismo: Concerned with formal beauty and elaborate language.
Francisco de Quevedo and Baltasar Gracián represent Conceptismo, while Luis de Góngora is the foremost figure of Culteranismo. There isn’t a strict opposition between these currents, as both sought complex expression, appealed to a minority audience, and required effort from the reader for interpretation.
Conceptismo Explained
Conceptismo reflects the Baroque style centered on the intellect. It plays with ideas or concepts through devices like paradox and polysemy. It is typically brief, elliptical, uses relatively common language, and employs witty or sometimes derogatory metaphors. Quevedo and Gracián are key proponents.
Culteranismo Explained
Culteranismo (a name initially given derogatorily to Góngora’s style, accused of being obscure and difficult) follows the trend set by poets like Fernando de Herrera, aiming to create a new poetic language distinct from common speech. Culterano poetry pursues formal brilliance and embellishes reality through abundant hyperbolic metaphors and complex imagery. It often includes numerous mythological references. Culteranismo thrived more in poetry than prose, with Góngora as its main representative. In contrast, Lope de Vega often favored a simpler poetic style.
Luis de Góngora: Master of Culteranismo
Luis de Góngora (1561-1627) created Culterano poetry: aimed at a cultured minority, brilliant, and difficult. He invented a metaphorical language that distanced itself from common usage, presenting a transformed and embellished world. However, Góngora also wrote satirical poems and utilized traditional forms like romances and letrillas.