Lyrical Poetry: From Traditional to Educated Forms
Lyrical Poetry: A Historical Overview
Traditional Lyrical Forms
Jarcha (Mozarabic Composition)
These poems explore themes of love, often expressing the lament of a beloved to female relatives.
Cantigas de Amigo (Galician-Portuguese)
Dating back to the 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries, these poems utilize parallelism and depict the lament of love to elements of nature.
Carol
These short poems, considered a minor art form, are characterized by the repetition of words and ideas, often related to weddings and festivities such as harvest and summer celebrations.
Romances
These are unlimited series of octosyllabic lyric poems with assonance rhyme in pairs, leaving the odd lines free. They are collected in traditional ballad collections.
Educated Lyrical Forms (from 14th Century)
These forms focused on indoctrination and moral philosophy.
Moaxajas (Arabic or Hebrew)
Composed of five to seven stanzas, these poems conclude with a jarcha.
Troubadour Poetry (12th-13th Centuries, Provençal)
- Canso: Love-themed poems.
- Pastorela: Country-themed poems.
- Sirventes: Anecdotal and satirical poems.
Galician-Portuguese Poetry
- Cantigas de Amor (12th-14th Centuries): In these poems, the beloved addresses their lover, without a fixed structure.
- Cantigas of Scorn: These poems satirize or burlesque any subject.
Lyrical Poetry from the 15th Century
From the 15th century, lyrical poetry developed among the clergy and nobility.
Courtesan Poetry
This style focuses on a poet’s love for a married lady, often portraying platonic, impossible love with a complex style, elaborate metrics, and lofty themes.
Íñigo López de Mendoza (Marquis of Santillana)
Born into a noble family, Mendoza participated in Castilian conflicts before dedicating himself to literature. His works include Greco-Latin influences and serranillas, short, elegant poems depicting a gentleman courting a shepherdess. He also introduced the Italian sonnet form to Castilian poetry.
Juan de Mena
Appointed secretary and chronicler to King John II, Mena wrote love poems with an intellectual tone and style, influenced by Dante. His most famous work, Laberinto de Fortuna, explores Castile’s past and present.
Jorge Manrique
Known for his Coplas por la Muerte de su Padre (Verses on the Death of His Father), Manrique’s work reflects on the fleeting nature of life and the equality of all in death. The poem consists of forty stanzas (coplas) in a specific rhyme scheme. The first part (stanzas I-XXIV) presents a general doctrine of contempt for the world, while the second part (stanzas XXV-XL) exalts the figure of his father, Don Rodrigo Manrique.
Structure and Themes of the Coplas
- Stanzas I-III: Contempt for the world.
- Stanza IV: Invocation to God.
- Stanzas V-VII: Earthly life as a guide to eternal life.
- Stanzas VIII-X: The fleeting nature of youth, nobility, and power.
- Stanzas XI-XIII: Transience of earthly things.
- Stanza XIV: Death as an equalizer.
- Stanzas XV-XXIV: Ubi sunt? theme.
- Stanzas XXV-XXVI: Virtues of Don Rodrigo.
- Stanzas XXVII-XXVIII: Exaltation of Don Rodrigo.
- Stanzas XXIX-XXXII: Don Rodrigo’s military life.
- Stanzas XXXIII-XL: Dialogue between Don Rodrigo and Death.
Style and Topics
Manrique’s style is characterized by naturalness and innovation, using simple sentences, metaphors, and rhetorical questions. The main themes are death (as an equalizer and God’s minister), fame, and eternal life achieved through good deeds.