Modern Age to Baroque: Literature and Societal Shifts
Modern Age
The Modern Age began in the fifteenth century, marking the end of the Middle Ages. This new period is generally considered to have spanned from the fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453 to the French Revolution in 1789. During these three and a half centuries, European society underwent significant transformations, establishing a new sociopolitical order, a new way of understanding the world, and a new artistic sensibility.
The Modern Age is characterized by three major artistic and literary movements:
- Renaissance (15th-16th centuries)
- Baroque (17th century)
- Neoclassicism and Enlightenment (18th century)
Key features of Modern Age Europe include:
- Consolidation of the urban bourgeoisie (merchants, artisans, and professionals)
- Implementation of monarchic authority
- Colonization of Latin America
- Application of the experimental method, leading to significant progress in all fields of scientific research
- An anthropocentric vision of the universe, placing humans at the center
- Emergence of new social and political values, such as liberty, equality, and justice
- Recovery of classical ideals based on harmony and balance in art
Baroque
The Baroque movement predominated in Europe, including Spain and England, during the 17th century. The birth of the Baroque occurred in the late 16th century, a time marked by political, religious, economic, and cultural crises. Baroque represented cultural and artistic diversity, exhibiting unique characteristics in each country. In art and literature, there was a tendency to emphasize negative aspects through parody, caricature, and satire. Baroque artists moved away from classical aesthetics, embracing visual games, sensationalism, grandiosity, and deformation to impress the public.
This era saw the rise of two great literary figures:
- Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616)
- William Shakespeare (1564-1616), the most important English writer
Other prominent authors of the period included:
- Gongora (1561-1627), poet
- Quevedo (1580-1645), poet
- Lope de Vega (1562-1635), playwright
- Calderon de la Barca (1600-1681), playwright
- Fray Luis de Leon, San Juan de la Cruz, and Santa Teresa de Jesús, mystics
Modern Age in Catalan-Speaking Regions
Characteristics of the historical situation:
- Underdeveloped economy: The loss of markets and the inability to incorporate the Mediterranean into the Atlantic market resulted in a primarily subsistence-based Catalan economy.
- Unfavorable political situation: The dynastic union of the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon led to the royal court moving to Castile.
Catalan Baroque Poetry
Baroque poetry is characterized as a rhetorical exercise of virtuosity, abundant in metaphors, hyperboles, paradoxes, antitheses, hyperbatons, etc. Francesc Vicent Garcia (1579-1623) authored an extensive body of poetic work known for its diversity, particularly in its forms and registers. He wrote burlesque romances, ruthless satires, and obscene, scatological poems.
Oral Literature
Oral literature is non-cultured and transmitted from parents to children. It is always anonymous. Oral folk tales are often sung and serve as a mirror reflecting the customs of a people.
Genres of Oral Literature
These include joyful songs, religious songs, profane songs (or Corrandes, non-religious songs), and songs of outlaws (16th-17th centuries) that arose during the reign of Philip II.
Decline
- 16th Century: Progressive
- 17th Century: Progressive
- 18th Century: Breaking