Renaissance, Baroque, and Modern Age: A Literary Journey Through Spanish Culture
UNIT 11: The Renaissance
Cultural Comparison: Middle Ages vs. Humanism
Middle Ages
- Theocentrism
- Man is inherently flawed and judged by God.
- Life is a vale of tears.
- Art serves a didactic and moral purpose.
- Death is the ultimate end.
Humanism
- Anthropocentrism
- Man is inherently good.
- Life is to be enjoyed.
- Art is appreciated for its beauty.
- Classical ideals are valued.
- Memory and fame transcend death.
Early Renaissance Lyric
Italian opera influences the expression of beauty. Garcilaso de la Vega and Juan Boscán introduce a new poetic style to Spain. Garcilaso excels in integrating this style into Castilian poetry.
Key Themes
- Love: Platonic, idealized reflection of divinity.
- Nature: Peaceful, tranquil setting.
- Mythology: Greco-Roman myths exemplify experiences.
Renaissance Topics
- Carpe Diem: Seize the moment.
- Locus Amoenus: Ideal landscape for love.
- Beatus Ille: Appreciation for the simple life.
- Golden Mean: Contentment with what one has.
- Descriptio Puellae: Idealized description of the beloved.
Garcilaso: Prince of Spanish Poets
Garcilaso’s innovative contributions to 16th-century Castilian poetry earned him the title “Prince of Spanish Poets.”
Asceticism and Mysticism
Asceticism
The path to spiritual perfection and salvation (Fray Luis de Granada).
Mysticism
Advanced asceticism; achieving union with God (St. Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross).
Three Ways to Union with God
- Purification: Escaping the material through sacrifice and penance.
- Illumination: The soul gains virtues through divine light.
- Union: Intimate union with God through divine grace (ecstasy).
Don Quixote and Sancho Panza
Don Quixote
- Idealistic gentleman
- Lost in fantasy
- Seeks justice and love
- Finds wisdom in books
Sancho Panza
- Realistic farmer
- Grounded in reality
- Seeks profit and power
- Relies on common sense
Quixote’s Influence on the Modern Novel
- Realism: Reflects reality, not ideals.
- Dynamism: Characters evolve.
- Perspectives: Reader draws conclusions.
- Likelihood: Fiction presented as plausible reality.
UNIT 12: The Baroque
What Does Baroque Mean?
An artistic style reflecting the pain of human existence through complex forms.
Renaissance vs. Baroque Thought
Renaissance
- Optimistic
- Death is not the end
Baroque
- Pessimistic
- Death is a step to true happiness
Baroque Lyric
Culteranismo (Góngora)
- Focus on elaborate style and sensory impression
- Complex metaphors, epithets, and syntax
Conceptismo (Quevedo)
- Focus on wordplay and subtle reasoning
- Emphasis on the power of language
Lope de Vega’s Theater
New Art of Doing Comedies outlines a new theatrical approach:
- Breaks with classical tradition (three acts, tragicomedy)
- Variety of topics (honor, love)
- Popular language and verse
- Characters represent collective ideals
Calderón de la Barca’s Theater
New directions in Baroque theater:
- Concise, technically rich, simplified plots
- Complex, philosophical, and religious themes
- Culteranismo language
- Studied structure (climax, anticlimax, asides, monologues)
- Characters act according to their class
- Emphasis on perfection and integration of elements
UNIT 13: The Modern Age
Neoclassicism
Return to classical art, proportion, and harmony. Key features:
- Exaltation of reason
- Respect for rules
- Didactic purpose
- Imitation of probable reality
Subgenres of the Enlightenment
- Essay: Didactic and reflective (Feijoo, Jovellanos)
- Theater: Educational purpose, bourgeois comedy (Moratín)
- Fable: Instructive and delightful stories with personified characters (Iriarte, Samaniego)
- Epistolary Novel: Critical letters discussing social issues
Romantic Lyric
Revolutionary and liberal movement:
- Subjectivism: Expressing feelings and emotions
- Irrationalism
- Rebellion: Creative freedom
- Nationalism: Exalting national values
Themes
- Love: Idealized, passionate, destructive
- Nature: Reflects the writer’s feelings
- Evasion: Seeking freedom and escape
- Death: Achieving desires through sacrifice
Characteristics
- New metric combinations
- Liberal use of rhyme
- Frequent hyperbaton
- Rhetorical and symbolic language
- Melodic tone
Costumbrismo (Larra)
Journalistic style focusing on social issues:
- Analyzes causes of events
- Rationalist structure
- Precise and rich language
- Ironic treatment of subjects
- Use of direct questions
Realist and Naturalist Novels
Common Features
- Third-person omniscient narrator
- Focus on immediate reality
- Varied language levels
- Critical intention
Differences
- Realism: Bourgeois and middle-class characters
- Naturalism: Marginalized and working-class characters, miserable environments
UNIT 14: Contemporary Poetry
Modernism
Reaction against Naturalism, influenced by Symbolism and Parnassianism:
- Rejection of bourgeois values
- Emphasis on formal beauty and renewal of language
- Exotic settings and escapism
Themes
- Evasion
- Cosmopolitanism
- Idealized love and sensuality
- Existential anguish
Beyond Modernism
Antonio Machado
- Generation of ’98
- Simple and austere lyricism
- Focus on Castilian landscape and Spain’s decline
Juan Ramón Jiménez
: One of the most brilliant poets s. XX, her poetry exemplifies the evolution of poetry from Modernism to the Avant-garde. Poesía characterized by the pursuit of formal perfection and purity. 306. What do we mean by Curve? Raises a number of aesthetic movements of rebel spirit and controversial, seeking a radical overhaul of artistic forms. Features together: desire for experimentation in art, fascinated by technology, universal and new conception of reality. Ismos 306.Explica the three most influential in Spain “Ultraism: move more genuinely Spanish. Guillermo de Torre. Poema graphic object, and defends the modern lexicon, the suppression of rhyme, punctuation, and interface and unnecessary adjectives . “Creationism: introduced in Spain by the Chilean Vicente Huidobro. The poet is the creator of worlds and poetry should be independent of nature. “Surrealism: attempts to express the supra-: thought without the control of reason, morality or the aesthetic. Dreamlike or visionary images born of the unconscious that allow free human beings. 307.Lo you know about the generationion of 27 most outstanding poetic Group twentieth century Spain. Pedro Salinas, Jorge Guillén, Gerardo Diego. Then add Rafael Alberti and Federico García Lorca. And finally, Luis Cernuda, Damaso Alonso, Vicente Aleixandre, Manuel Altolaguirre and Emilio Prados. Share critical features: attraction and appreciation for the avant-garde Spanish literature.