Jorge Manrique and La Celestina: Spanish Literature
Jorge Manrique: Life and Work
Jorge Manrique was born in Paredes de Nava, Palencia (1440), the son of the Lord of those lands and military leader Don Rodrigo, defender of the rights to the throne of Isabella the Catholic, compared to La Beltraneja. Upon Don Rodrigo’s death, Jorge Manrique, his son, wrote wonderful funeral verses that immortalized them both. The poet died in a military action defending Queen Isabella in 1479.
He wrote about 50 poems inspired by the courtly fashion of the time. He rises mightily above this time with his famous elegy, maintained as a masterpiece in the taste of all centuries.
Structure of *Coplas a la muerte de su padre*
His great elegy consists of 40 stanzas (couplets) called *coplas de pie quebrado* or *manriqueñas*. Each sextuplet is double; four lines of each sextuplet are octosyllabic (1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th), and two are tetrasyllabic (3rd and 6th). The metric formula is: 8a8b4c8a8b4c; 8d8e4f8d8e4f.
In general, the 12 verses develop a comprehensive and coherent thought, and every line is a syntactic unit.
The language used by Manrique is extremely simple in comparison with the very Latinate other writers of the time, such as Santillana and Mena.
Themes in Manrique’s Work
His originality is not in the invention of topics but in the sincerity with which he approaches them. The topics treated were of general circulation in the Middle Ages. These themes are:
- Tempus fugit (Time flies)
- Ubi sunt? (Where are they?)
- The equalizing power of death
- Only fame is gained, but it overcomes time.
La Celestina: A Masterpiece of Spanish Literature
La Celestina is a masterpiece of Spanish literature. The first edition was published in Burgos in 1499. It has 16 acts. Subsequent editions were published in Toledo and Salamanca a year later. It is called *Comedy of Calisto and Melibea*. It is headed by a letter from the author to a friend, assuring her that, while in Salamanca, the first act of the play, which is anonymous, fell into his hands. Excited to read the play, he continued it, and he did so in 15 days.
In the preliminaries of the work is an acrostic that reads, “Fernando de Rojas was born in Puebla de Montalbán, finished the *Comedy of Calisto and Melibea*.”
In 1502, new editions were titled *Tragicomedy of Calisto and Melibea* and have 5 more acts, making a total of 21, constituting the final text. The new title is due to the mix of characters from classical tragedy with characters from comedy.
Authorship and Context of *La Celestina*
In conclusion, it seems certain today that the first act is anonymous, and the rest was written by Fernando de Rojas, a bachelor of whom we know was born in Puebla de Montalbán in 1475. He studied as *Mayor* in Salamanca and lived in Talavera de la Reina. Despite his Jewish origins, he possessed all of Petrarch’s books in Latin, which greatly influenced *La Celestina*.
La Celestina is written entirely in colloquial language but is not playable due to its extension, although shorter versions are represented.
It belongs to a medieval genre called humanistic comedy, created by Petrarch, whose features are a simple plot, slow expository interest for the contemporary, elite and vulgar characters, and a mix of pithy oratory style with the popular.
Characters and Plot Summary
The main character is Celestina, who mediates the love affairs of Calisto and Melibea. Celestina knows the weaknesses of others and exploits them.
Celestina presents a society dominated by unbridled passion and greed.
Calisto, of noble lineage, falls in love with Melibea, and she refuses him. Sempronio, Calisto’s servant, recommends Celestina’s services. Celestina gets Melibea to fall in love with Calisto. Sempronio and another servant, Pármeno, collude to exploit Calisto’s mad passion. Celestina is killed by Sempronio and Pármeno for refusing to share her profits with them, and they, in turn, are executed. Calisto visits Melibea one night in the garden; he hears noises in the street and, fearing an ambush, jumps over the wall as usual but falls and dies. Melibea throws herself from a tower, and the play ends with the cry of her father, Pleberio.
La Celestina is a transitional work; it plunges us into its medieval roots but is installed on the borders of the Renaissance.