Petrarchan Poetry and Renaissance Literature in Spain
Features of Petrarchan Poetry
Topics
The medieval concept of courtly love.
Classical Resources
Incorporates many reasons, similes, comparisons, expressions, allegorical allusions, classical myths, etc.
Expression of Feeling
Petrarch is a poet who manages to give life to a wide range of feelings (sadness, jealousy, suffering, etc.).
Language
Intelligence, inspiration, and ingenuity of the poet in verse form are constructed of clear, polished, transparent language, full of imagery.
Poetic Figures
Metaphor, antithesis, alliteration.
New Metric Forms
Use of the hendecasyllable. The most common composition is the sonnet, but also the silva, stanzas, etc.
Poetry in Spain
In Spain, there are two trends: traditional Spanish poetry and Italianate poetry.
Traditional Spanish Poetry
The renovation of Renaissance lyric poetry did not cause the forgetting of medieval Castilian poetry. Already in the fifteenth century, there existed a learned poetry and continued popular poetry. In the sixteenth century, both types of poetry coexisted.
Italianate Poetry
The influence of Italian poetry brought about a metrical renewal in Spanish poetry. The biggest innovation was the eleven-syllable verse, which was combined with the seven-syllable verse.
The Italian influence affected not only the metric aspects but also the themes and poetic attitudes.
Features of Italianate Poetry
- Idealization of the loved one and expression of love.
- Development of bucolic and pastoral issues.
- Designing in the verses of the “lyrical self” of the poet and creator.
Garcilaso de la Vega
Garcilaso is one of the greatest Spanish poets of formal perfection and was influential throughout the centuries. However, his poems were not published during his lifetime. The author cultivated the two types of poetry of the time: traditional Castilian and Italianate.
Features of Garcilaso’s Poetry
- He gave a Latin influence and Renaissance themes to poetic language and forms.
- His style is characterized by transparency and clarity.
Themes
- Locus amoenus (mystical landscape, beautiful and stylish).
- Feminine beauty, which always corresponds to a pink and white face, blue eyes, light skin, long neck, and blond hair.
- Idealization of the crude and rude shepherd.
- Carpe diem (alludes to the transience of life and invites you to enjoy it while you can).
The Eclogues
These are pastoral poems, i.e., compositions in which two or more shepherds express their grievances among romantic, idealized nature.
Garcilaso wrote three Eclogues:
Eclogue I
The shepherds Salicio and Nemoroso, each in twelve stanzas respectively, lament Galatea’s infidelity and the death of Elisa. This eclogue gives a fusion between the feeling, the nature, and the pastoral setting, making this poem one of his most famous and accomplished compositions.
Eclogue II
This was the first eclogue he wrote.
Eclogue III
In this eclogue, Garcilaso masterfully recreates the pastoral nature, the locus amoenus, and harmony between the elements of a landscape that invites solitude and rest.
The Sonnets
Garcilaso was the first great master of one of the most representative compositions of Spanish poetry: the sonnet. It has a structure in which the contents are organized in related blocks. Garcilaso usually brings the prayers to the verses, and blocks of thought, the verses of the sonnet. In this, he displays classicism and his method of seeking harmony between form and thought.
The Theater
In the first half of the sixteenth century, popular theater or theater inspired by Italian models was represented in palaces. It acquired Renaissance features.
Features of Renaissance Theater
- Joining on stage heroes and affairs of the medieval epic.
- Classical-themed works alongside works with national themes.
- Presence in the same piece of nobles and commoners.
- Mixing in the same work of comedy and tragedy.
- Structure of works in four acts.