Medieval Spanish Literature: From Epic to Lyric Poetry
Medieval Spanish Literature
Mester de Clerecía
This genre features narrative poems with religious, moral, or heroic intentions. Written in verse with a regular meter, typically Alexandrian quatrains, key works include “The Book of Alexandre” and “Fernán González’s Poem”.
Gonzalo de Berceo (13th Century)
The first Castilian poet to abandon anonymity, proudly proclaiming his name. His works reflect the Church’s influence and the need for educational reform. His poems, like the Miracles of Our Lady, are addressed to monks, priests, and novices, transmitting Christian teachings in the vernacular.
Miracles of Our Lady
Berceo exalts the Virgin Mary’s power in the salvation of souls. The narrator, Berceo himself, is presented as “rosemary” entering a garden (“locus amoenus”), symbolizing the Virgin. The work comprises 25 narratives of Mary’s compassionate actions.
Archpriest of Hita (14th Century)
Marks the decline of the Mester de Clerecía. His masterpiece, the Book of Good Love, is presented as an autobiographical account of love affairs, often unsuccessful. Written mostly in verse, with some 16-syllable lines, the preface includes his own poetic compositions. The author’s stated intention is to guide readers towards “good love,” using negative examples to illustrate what to avoid. Humor is prevalent through parody, irony, and a mocking tone.
La Celestina (Late 15th Century)
A masterpiece of Spanish literature. Calisto, rejected by Melibea, seeks the advice of his servant, Sempronio, who involves the pimp Celestina. Celestina convinces Melibea to meet with Calisto, leading to an affair. Sempronio and Parmeno, another servant, demand their share from Celestina, but she refuses, and they kill her. Calisto falls from a ladder, and Melibea commits suicide. The novel is entirely dialogued, a realistic portrayal of sentimental love, parodying courtly love.
Key Characters:
- Calisto: A tragicomic character, parodying courtly love.
- Melibea: Tragic figure, regretting the pain caused to her parents.
- Celestina: The cunning and manipulative pimp.
- Sempronio and Pármeno: Calisto’s servants, complex characters.
- Elicia and Areúsa: Prostitutes and friends of Celestina.
- Pleberio: Melibea’s father.
Jorge Manrique (15th Century)
A prominent figure in Castilian lyric poetry. Known for his love poetry, his masterpiece is the Verses on the Death of His Father. Composed of forty stanzas (coplas manriqueñas), the work is divided into two parts: general reflections on death and a tribute to his father. Manrique’s style is characterized by naturalness and innovation, using metaphors and proverbs. Key themes include death as an egalitarian force and the importance of good deeds for eternal life.
Literary Devices:
- Epithet
- Pleonasm
- Synesthesia (e.g., “yellow trill”)
- Hyperbaton
- Hyperbole
- Rhetorical Question
- Exclamation
- Enumeration
- Anaphora
- Oxymoron (e.g., “frozen fire”)
- Apostrophe
- Antithesis (e.g., love/hate)
- Personification
- Chiasmus
- Sentence (proverb)
Early Iberian Lyric Poetry
Includes Jarchas (Andalusian), Cantigas de Amigo (Galician-Portuguese), and Villancicos (Castilian).
- Jarchas: Four-line verses concluding Mozarabic poems, focusing on love, often expressed by a young woman to her mother, friend, or sister.
- Cantigas de Amigo: Galician-Portuguese poems where the speaker is a young woman expressing love, often in a natural setting.
- Villancicos: Castilian poems with four-line verses, also centered on the theme of love.