Francisco de Quevedo: A Legacy in Baroque Poetry and Prose
Francisco de Quevedo (1580-1645)
Life and Works
Francisco de Quevedo, a prominent figure in Spanish Baroque literature, excelled in both poetry and prose, mastering various forms and genres. His works seamlessly blend cultured and popular elements, incorporating serious tones and burlesque styles. Quevedo’s poetry reflects the characteristic Baroque contrast, with his lyrical works gravely exploring profound themes such as love, death, decay, disappointment, and the ephemeral nature of life. His burlesque poetry, conversely, addresses trivial, anecdotal subjects, showcasing his ingenuity.
Born in Madrid, Quevedo pursued studies in humanities and theology, actively participating in court life. He served the Duke of Osuna, engaging in intense political activity alongside his writing. His satirical compositions, often sharp and critical of his contemporaries, led to court intrigues, exile, and imprisonment for three years. Emerging old and ill, he died shortly after his release. A friend of Cervantes and Lope de Vega, Quevedo was a sworn enemy of Góngora, who became the target of his satire, as exemplified in the opening of one of his sonnets: “Vuestros coplones, Córdoba sonando…”
Quevedo’s diverse body of work includes translations of classical poets like Anacreon and Martial. He also penned burlesque prose, political and moral treatises, allegorical satires, and the picaresque novel, The Life of the Hustler Called Don Pablos.
Poetry
Quevedo was a renowned author during his lifetime. Although his works were not published until after his death, his compositions circulated in manuscripts, with his romances and letrillas being sung. His satirical poems, often anonymous, were particularly popular. Quevedo’s poetry encompasses two distinct styles:
Serious and Reflective Poetry
In this style, Quevedo expresses his feelings and thoughts with a poignant voice. This category includes his metaphysical, moral, religious, and love poems. The former are ascetic compositions, reflecting on life’s meaning, death, and the passage of time. Quevedo, perhaps the most obsessed Baroque poet with life’s transience and the certainty of death, penned famous lines like: “To live is to walk a short day / and living is death…”; “The slow day flees without being perceived…yesterday was a dream, tomorrow is already land…”; “Formidable and scary already sounds / in the heart the last day…”
His moral poems address themes like power and wealth from a Stoic perspective, dominated by pessimism and disillusionment.
Poetry as a Puzzle Game
This style characterizes Quevedo’s satirical poems, showcasing his linguistic experimentation. With a burlesque, hyperbolic, and absurd lens, he critiques society. His subjects range from doctors and judges to deceived husbands, flirty old men and women, mythological characters, and, notably, Góngora, the frequent target of his burlesque.
Style
Like other Baroque poets, Quevedo’s originality lies in his innovative use of language and expressive resources. His poetry tends towards conceptismo, aiming to surprise through novel associations of concepts. Key features of his style include:
- Highly original metaphors, both beautifying and deforming, personifying objects and objectifying humans: “Who, being all Christian / her face is a heretic?” (poverty); “Old room, fortune my time has bitten…”
- Neologisms, often derivative or compound words: archinariz…
- Unique use of grammatical categories: “I am a was and a will, and a tired” (verbs used substantively, with past, future, and present meanings).
- Abundant conceptist puns, often based on hyperbole, antithesis, paradoxes, and polysemy.
Lyric Poetry and Prose: Themes and Forms of the Baroque
17th-century poetry reached remarkable heights, showcasing diverse themes, styles, and forms. Francisco de Quevedo and Luis de Góngora exemplify this variation. Lope de Vega also stands out with his natural style.