Love and Religious Lyric in 16th-Century Spanish Poetry
The Love Lyric: Garcilaso de la Vega
In the first half of the 16th century, a new fundamental theme in poetry was love, inspired by the love poems of Italy (metric). The most important poet of this period was Garcilaso de la Vega.
Life and Work
This poet from Toledo was skilled in expressing feelings of both joy and sadness. He spent several periods in Italy and came into contact with the Renaissance culture of that country. He introduced into Spanish poetry the different types of metrics that were succeeding in Italy. We can distinguish the following themes in his works:
- Love that is Perfected: He presents the woman as an idealized person, who is perfect, and the poet makes several metaphors such as “golden hair.”
- Idealized Nature: Garcilaso presents his love complaints in a locus amoenus (pleasant place).
- Carpe Diem: This means enjoying the moment. It leverages the day, presents the idealized lover, and the author tells her to enjoy before the passage of time influences her beauty.
- Mythological Themes: These are very present in his poems since the Renaissance returned to the classical world.
His literary output is not large: two elegies, three eclogues, an epistle, five songs, and thirty-eight sonnets.
The Religious Lyric
In the second half of the 16th century, religious lyric is presented in our literature. It appears driven by the Counter-Reformation, which made traditional religious orders have strict standards. The Council of Trent adopted measures to re-establish the Court of the Holy Office and was the main driver of the Counter-Reformation. The religious literature of this time consists of poems written by figures like Fray Luis de León, San Juan de la Cruz, and Santa Teresa de Jesús, in which the beloved is replaced by divinity. There are two ways to establish a relationship with God in these poems:
- Ascetic: The poet wants to achieve salvation and, therefore, does not focus on the superficial.
- Mystic: The souls that God chooses do not need anything and strive to communicate with Him.
Fray Luis de León
He was a scholar familiar with several languages. His poems are characterized by Christian and Renaissance themes. His literary models are Horace and Virgil, and he seeks calm, joy, etc. He used metric forms that were not common, such as hendecasyllables, influenced by Petrarch. His inspiration is fixed in these themes.
His work is not extensive, and among his books are “A Francisco Salinas,” “Noche Serena,” and “A Una Vida Retirada.” In all his books, he is looking for peace, serenity, and calm in nature. His poems are characterized by simplicity but repeatedly use enjambment.
San Juan de la Cruz
In his works, he displayed several trends that occurred in the Renaissance in the second half of the 16th century. He communicates his encounters with God in his work, and for that, the soul passes through three ways:
- Purgative: The soul moves away from earthly things and focuses on God.
- Illuminative: The soul receives God’s enlightenment.
- Unitive: The soul is united with God and reaches mystical ecstasy.
This author’s main work is in three poems called: “Dark Night of the Soul,” “Living Flame of Love,” and “Spiritual Canticle.” In the “Spiritual Canticle,” he presents a dialogue and encounter between God and the soul. This is also shown in “Dark Night of the Soul.” For him, the night was the symbol of the evidence that God makes to man to make him pure. In “Living Flame of Love,” the author explains the feelings of pain and pleasure experienced in the encounter with God.
Santa Teresa de Jesús
Her poetry is less interesting than her work in prose. Santa Teresa de Ávila composed her poems while distracted and used popular meters. Some of the poems that are attributed to her belong to the folk tradition.