Miguel de Cervantes and the Baroque
Miguel de Cervantes
Early Life and Military Career
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was born in Alcalá de Henares in 1547. In 1569, he traveled to Italy. In 1571, he participated as a soldier in the Battle of Lepanto, where injuries sustained during the battle left him with limited mobility in his left arm. He continued his military service for a period before returning to Spain, where he was captured by Turkish pirates. Held captive in Algiers, he remained imprisoned for five years (1575-1580). After several unsuccessful escape attempts, Trinitarian monks paid his ransom, securing his return to Spain.
Literary Beginnings and Don Quixote
Cervantes’s return to Spain marked the beginning of a challenging period in his life. He tried his hand at theater without much success and held various positions, including tax collector. He faced legal troubles and was imprisoned twice. It was during his time in prison that he began to conceive of Don Quixote.
He later settled in Valladolid and, in 1605, published the first part of Don Quixote, which achieved immense success. In 1608, he moved to Madrid, where he continued writing despite facing significant economic hardship. He died on April 23, 1616.
Don Quixote
Intent and Structure
The first part of The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha was published in 1605, and the second part followed in 1615.
Cervantes’s original intention was to satirize the romances of chivalry, which often featured knights encountering fantastical characters. However, Don Quixote transcends mere parody and becomes a multifaceted exploration of human nature.
The novel is formally structured in two parts, with the action organized around Don Quixote’s three expeditions. The first two expeditions are narrated in the first part, and the final expedition unfolds in the second part. Alonso Quijano, a gentleman from La Mancha, loses his sanity after excessive reading of chivalric romances. Inspired by the heroes of these novels, he changes his name to Don Quixote de la Mancha and embarks on a series of adventures. He is guided by lofty ideals: to protect the weak, uphold justice, and earn the love of Dulcinea del Toboso, a name he bestows upon a peasant woman from a neighboring village.
Armed with makeshift armor and mounted on his aging steed, Rocinante, he arrives at an inn, which he mistakes for a castle, where he undergoes a mock knighting ceremony.
After a severe beating by merchants, Don Quixote is returned home by a neighbor. While confined to his bed, the priest and the barber burn most of his books.
Undeterred, Don Quixote embarks on his second expedition, accompanied by Sancho Panza, a farmer whom he has persuaded to serve as his squire in exchange for promises of wealth and power. Following numerous misadventures—fighting windmills that he perceives as giants, freeing criminals who then rob him—he retreats to the Sierra Morena. His friends, the priest and the barber, set out in search of him and, upon finding him, deceive him into returning home in a cage.
In the third expedition, once again accompanied by Sancho, Don Quixote travels to the kingdom of Aragon. There, amidst mockery, Sancho is appointed governor of the “island” of Barataria. After further adventures, they reach Barcelona, where Don Quixote is defeated by the Knight of the White Moon. This knight, who is actually his friend Samson Carrasco, imposes the condition that Don Quixote must return home. Don Quixote, saddened and disillusioned, returns to his village, where he dies shortly after regaining his sanity.
Characters
The characterization of the two main characters, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, is one of the novel’s greatest achievements.
Don Quixote is a complex character who blends idealism with delusion. He is noble and kind, and his unwavering commitment to his ideals evokes sympathy in the reader. Especially in the first part of the novel, Don Quixote struggles to distinguish between reality and fiction. He actively reshapes reality to conform to his chivalric fantasies. In the second part, however, he undergoes a process of “de-Quixotization” and begins to perceive things more clearly. Ironically, it is now others who manipulate reality to create mock adventures for his amusement.
Don Quixote is often seen as a universal symbol of the idealist who strives to impose his vision upon the world.
Sancho Panza, Don Quixote’s foil, represents practicality and materialism. He is often portrayed as naive and easily swayed by Don Quixote’s pronouncements, yet he remains loyal to his master. As the novel progresses, however, Sancho begins to absorb some of Don Quixote’s idealism.
Narrative Techniques
Cervantes employs the literary device of the “found manuscript.” He claims to have discovered manuscripts written by the Arab historian Cide Hamete Benengeli, which recount the story of Don Quixote. By presenting himself as a translator rather than the author, Cervantes creates a sense of authenticity and distance, suggesting that the events narrated are not fictional but based on historical accounts.
The Baroque
Historical Context
The Baroque was a cultural and ideological movement that flourished in Spain and Europe during the 17th century.
It was an era marked by crisis and decline. Spain lost its political and military dominance to France, and severe economic difficulties led to widespread discontent.
Characteristics of the Baroque
Two defining characteristics of the 17th century and the Baroque were pessimism and disillusionment. These attitudes reflected a general sense of disappointment: the world was perceived as deceptive and filled with false appearances, and life was seen as a process of gradual decay.
- Formal Complexity: Baroque literature is characterized by intricate language and elaborate structures, often making it challenging to understand. This formal difficulty was considered synonymous with artistic beauty. Reality was often distorted for satirical or aesthetic purposes.
- Originality and Wit: Baroque writers sought to create surprising and ingenious expressions that would captivate and impress their audience. Wit and cleverness were highly valued as a means of transcending the mundane.
- Themes: Many Baroque themes were inherited from the Renaissance but were explored in new and complex ways. Common themes included the transience of life, the inevitability of death, philosophical and moral reflections, satire, and burlesque, often used to express social discontent.
Baroque Poetry
Baroque poetry encompassed both popular and cultured trends. Popular poetry included traditional forms such as carols, letrillas, and romances, which were adapted and reinterpreted. Cultured Baroque poetry was characterized by its intricate language and complex imagery, demanding significant intellectual effort from the reader. Two main trends emerged within cultured Baroque poetry: conceptismo and culteranismo.
- Culteranismo: In culteranismo, form took precedence over content. The emphasis was on creating elaborate and difficult language, often employing obscure vocabulary, intricate metaphors, and allusions to classical mythology. Luis de Góngora was the leading figure of culteranismo, which is sometimes referred to as Gongorism.
- Conceptismo: Conceptismo focused on ingenious wordplay and the creation of surprising and thought-provoking connections between ideas. While still attentive to form, conceptismo placed greater emphasis on the intellectual content of the poem. Francisco de Quevedo was the most prominent conceptista poet.
Luis de Góngora (1561-1627)
Born in Córdoba, Luis de Góngora was ordained as a priest and later moved to Madrid, where he served as a chaplain at the court of Philip III. His poetry is traditionally divided into two phases: an early period characterized by more traditional forms and themes, and a later period marked by his fully developed culteranismo style. His major works include The Fable of Polyphemus and Galatea, The Solitudes, and numerous sonnets.
Francisco de Quevedo (1580-1645)
Born in Madrid, Francisco de Quevedo studied at Alcalá and Valladolid before engaging in political activities. He was banished from the court for a time but later served King Philip IV and was appointed royal secretary in 1632. In 1639, he was imprisoned for five years. He died in 1645, a year after his release. His poetry can be classified into three main thematic groups:
- Philosophical and Moral: These poems express Quevedo’s pessimism and disillusionment with the world, exploring themes such as the passage of time, the fleeting nature of life, the inevitability of death, and the vanity of earthly pursuits.
- Love: Quevedo also wrote numerous love poems, many of which follow the Petrarchan tradition, portraying love as a source of suffering and anguish.
- Satirical and Burlesque: Quevedo’s satirical and burlesque poems are characterized by their use of distortion, caricature, and humor to criticize social vices and human folly.
In addition to his poetry, Quevedo was a prolific prose writer, best known for his picaresque novel The Swindler (El Buscón).