Petrarch’s Influence on Renaissance Literature and Spanish Poetry
Petrarch and the Renaissance
Francesco Petrarca: An Italian poet of the 14th century, whose character embodies the ideals of Humanism. His most famous works are the *Songbook*, written in the vernacular language, and *The Triumphs*. *The Triumphs* is an allegorical poem composed of six parts with unequal extensions, written in *tercetos encadenados*. Its themes are love, death, and fame. The *Songbook* influenced Spanish poetry in the 16th and 17th centuries, as well as French and English poetry. It is composed of more than 350 poems. The first part deals with the amorous torment of the poet, sensuality, and life. The second part deals with the death of his beloved, becoming more sublime.
Petrarch’s Influence on Renaissance Poetry
Petrarch’s poetry became a model during the Renaissance, imitated by the Marquis of Santillana and Garcilaso de la Vega.
Petrarchism
Subject: Literary medieval courtly love.
Resources: Similar to classical myths.
Expression of feeling: An intense life in a range of feelings.
Language: Sure, polished, transparent.
Poetic Figures: Antithesis, paradoxes, alliteration, metaphors.
Metrics: New forms such as hendecasyllabic verse, sonnets, and *silva* compositions.
Poetry in 16th Century Spain
Two tendencies existed in 16th-century Spain: Italianate and Spanish folk traditions.
Spanish Poetry: Renewals
Renaissance lyric poetry did not forget the medieval Castilian tradition. In the 15th century, there existed courtly poetry and *cancionero* poetry, as well as romances. The great diffusion of poetry occurred in the first half of the century, while lyric and popular poetry reached their peak in the second half.
Italianate Poetry
Renewals: Metrics in Spanish poetry (hendecasyllable) combined with heptasyllable. The Italian influence affected not only metrics but also topics and attitudes.
Features: Idealization of the lady, bucolic themes with intense development of pastoral topics, and the projection of the lyrical “I” in the verses.
Garcilaso de la Vega
Work: Garcilaso de la Vega is one of the greatest poets of formal perfection. He cultivated both traditional Castilian poetry and Italianate poetry.
Characteristics: Renaissance and Latin influences.
Poetic Language: *Locus amoenus*, idealization of female beauty, *carpe diem*.
The Eclogues:
- Eclogue I: Laments the infidelity of Galatea.
- Eclogue III: Garcilaso recreates pastoral nature, *locus amoenus*, and harmony among the elements of the scenery.
Sonnets: Garcilaso was the first great master of the sonnet. The contents are organized in blocks. The amorous theme and hendecasyllables regret the death of the beloved.
Songs:
- Song III: First forays into *locus amoenus*.
- Song V: A lady from Naples is asked to accept the love of a friend of the poet.
Theater in the 16th Century
In the first half of the 16th century, theater was inspired by folk or Italian traditions and was represented in palaces. In the second half, Juan de la Cueva was a precursor to the great theater of Lope de Vega, thanks to the innovations he introduced in his works: scenes with heroic features, blending of comic and tragic elements, noble and plebeian characters together, division into four acts, and classical and national themes.
The Novel in the 16th Century
The novel reached a great development in the 16th century, culminating with the appearance of Cervantes’ works. There were two types:
- Realistic: Description of reality, as in *Lazarillo de Tormes*.
- Idealistic: Chivalric or amorous character, describing a fictional world with characters, landscapes, and feelings.
Lazarillo de Tormes
An anonymous novel published in the mid-16th century.
Plot: Lazarillo begins to serve as a child for a blind man, and throughout the novel, he serves several masters (a clergyman, a painter, a friar, etc.). He ends up learning and getting married to a town crier’s maid.
Structure: It is composed of seven chapters and a prologue of unequal extensions. The book presents a biographical account that subtly criticizes the genre of its owners. The structure begins and closes with the “caso.” His father pursued justice and was charged as a town crier. His mother decided to “stick with the good ones.” Lazarillo leans on the Archpriest, who provides aid, even though it may arouse well-founded suspicions about his honor.
Themes and Social Critique
The protagonist’s life gives rise to episodes of deception and acute social criticism. Hunger becomes one of the essential motives for learning. There is a constant occasion for religious criticism, making a subtle critique of the clergy and false religiosity, an Erasmian attitude. The novel lambastes the vicious attitudes of the clerical ranks and their false religiosity. The theme of honor is reflected throughout the novel, criticizing the external concept of honor based on appearance, for example, the squire whose honor came from his noble lineage.