Renaissance Literature: A Comprehensive Guide
Renaissance Narrative
Renaissance narratives aimed to reconcile marvelous elements with verisimilitude, aspects considered crucial to achieve the primary function of literature: to entertain without promoting immorality. This marked a departure from the narratives of the previous century, especially the chivalric romances. Sixteenth-century writers sought to align their narratives with classical models, particularly those from ancient Greece.
Models and Influences
Popular Greek models included the adventure novel (e.g., Heliodorus’s Ethiopica), the romantic novel (e.g., Achilles Tatius’s Leucippe and Clitophon), and pastoral romances. These narratives presented believable stories and incorporated techniques like in medias res beginnings and interpolated stories within the main plot.
The Pastoral Novel
Another influential Greek model was the pastoral novel, which offered a lyrical and idyllic setting. The most representative work, Longus’s Daphnis and Chloe, significantly impacted Italian narrative, inspiring Boccaccio’s work. This influence extended to 15th and 16th-century Spain, leading to brief, humorous, and didactic novellas.
Lazarillo de Tormes
Lazarillo de Tormes is one of the most important works of Spanish literature. It inaugurated a new subgenre: the picaresque novel. These narratives take the form of a pseudo-autobiographical account of a character from a miserable background who leaves home early and serves various masters. The picaresque character is versatile, cunning, astute, strong-willed, and often cynical. Picaresque stories typically offer a glimpse into the realities of the time and explore themes of honor and social mobility.
Date and Authorship
The earliest preserved editions of Lazarillo de Tormes date back to 1554. The original manuscript and any potential sources are lost. It is believed that the first edition was published around 1540. The novel’s authorship remains uncertain, with several proposed candidates, including Fray Juan Ortega, Alfonso de Valdés, and Cervantes de Salazar.
Narrative Work of Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes, immersed in the Renaissance tradition, was an avid reader of various novelistic forms, including chivalric romances, Byzantine tales, Moorish fiction, and the emerging picaresque genre. His own narrative production emerged within this context.
La Galatea
Published in 1585, La Galatea is Cervantes’s first novel. It tells the story of a shepherd named Elicio and his love for Galatea. The narrative unfolds through various events and encounters. The plot is limited in scope, confined to a specific location and a short timeframe.
Interpolated Stories
Within the main plot, Cervantes incorporates stories of other characters, often dealing with love, tragedy, and adventure. These interpolated narratives draw from different genres, including the pastoral, courtly love, and Byzantine tales.
Poetry
While primarily a prose work, La Galatea incorporates poetry, reflecting the characters’ love for music and verse. This includes sonnets, octaves, songs, and other poetic forms.
Debates
La Galatea features philosophical debates and arguments about love, exploring themes of unrequited love and the pain of longing. The novel remains unfinished, leaving the main plot unresolved. Cervantes intended to write a second part but never completed it.
Don Quixote of La Mancha
Don Quixote of La Mancha is considered one of the greatest works of Spanish literature. It was published in two parts.
First Part
The first part appeared in 1605 under the title The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha. It includes a prologue, introductory and concluding poems, and 52 chapters grouped into four parts.
Second Part
The second part was published in 1615 with a slightly altered title: The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha. It consists of a prologue and 74 chapters without division into parts.
Apocryphal Sequel
In 1614, an apocryphal sequel titled Second Volume of the Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha appeared, signed by Avellaneda. Cervantes responded to this in the prologue of his own second part, denouncing the false sequel and incorporating references to it within the narrative.
Structure
Don Quixote‘s main action is organized around three journeys undertaken by the protagonist. The first two are recounted in the first part, while the third unfolds in the second part. Each journey follows a similar pattern: departure from the village, a series of adventures, and return home.
Time and Space
The narrative spans a long and unspecified summer. References to specific dates are scarce. The spatial setting is varied: the first part takes place in La Mancha, while the second part features locations like an inn, a duke’s palace, and Barcelona.
Characters
Don Quixote
An idealistic, lonely, brave, and impulsive hidalgo (low-ranking nobleman) obsessed with chivalry.
Sancho Panza
Don Quixote’s squire, a poor, uneducated, prudent, practical, and impulsive peasant.
Dulcinea
A figment of Don Quixote’s imagination, based on a peasant woman he idealizes as his lady love.
Themes and Interpretations
Don Quixote explores themes of idealism, freedom, love, madness, and the power of literature. It can be interpreted as a comic novel, an idealistic novel (highlighting the conflict between reality and idealism), and a realistic novel offering social commentary.
Narrators
The novel employs multiple narrators, including an omniscient narrator, fictional authors, and character-narrators.
Language
Don Quixote showcases a rich tapestry of language. Don Quixote uses archaic and chivalric language, while Sancho speaks in a colloquial style with proverbs and grammatical errors. The dialogue is lively and engaging, and the novel also incorporates monologues, documents, letters, and poems.
The Renaissance Lyric
The Renaissance
Originating in Italy during the 14th century, the Renaissance was a transformative cultural and intellectual movement that profoundly impacted how people viewed the world and themselves. This historical period emphasized human potential and the development of human faculties, particularly creativity. Humanist thinkers championed the study and revival of classical Greek and Roman ideas, philosophy, and literature.
Literary Influence
Italian Renaissance writers, inspired by classical models, particularly the sonnets of Petrarch, influenced Spanish literature. They introduced new metric forms, stylistic devices, themes, and motifs. Garcilaso de la Vega, through his travels and exposure to Italian culture, revolutionized 16th-century Spanish lyric poetry.
Reform and Counter-Reform
The 16th century witnessed a wave of spiritual renewal in Europe, leading to the Reformation and the rise of Protestantism. In 1517, Martin Luther, a German monk, published his 95 Theses, challenging the Catholic Church’s practice of indulgences and advocating for a return to biblical teachings. The Reformation emphasized individual religious experience, a personal relationship with God, and the importance of scripture over rituals and unquestioning obedience to church authority.
Garcilaso de la Vega
The publication of works by Juan Boscán and Garcilaso de la Vega in 1543 marked a turning point in Spanish poetry. Garcilaso’s relatively small body of work (sonnets, elegies, songs, and other poems) had a profound impact, establishing him as a model for subsequent poets.
Themes and Style
Love is the central theme in Garcilaso’s poetry, often expressed through melancholy, longing, and the pain of separation. Nature plays a significant role in his work. From 1532 onward, influenced by Petrarch, Garcilaso incorporated classical forms like the ode, epistle, and eclogue into his poetry.
Fray Luis de León
Fray Luis de León’s poetry coincided with the rise of spiritual literature in the latter half of the 16th century. His work includes original poems, translations, imitations of classical and Petrarchan poetry, and prose. His original poems, primarily religious and moral in nature, draw inspiration from classical poets like Horace and Virgil, as well as biblical texts. Fray Luis’s style is characterized by vivid imagery, metaphors drawn from nature, repetition, anaphora, Latinate syntax, and skillful use of sound devices.
San Juan de la Cruz
San Juan de la Cruz’s poetry, though limited in quantity, represents a pinnacle of Western lyricism. His intense and deeply personal poems explore the mystical union with the divine. To express this profound experience, San Juan draws on various poetic traditions, including traditional Spanish lyrics, Italianate influences, and biblical imagery, particularly from the Song of Songs. His prose works consist of mystical treatises and commentaries on his poetry, including Ascent of Mount Carmel and the unfinished Dark Night of the Soul.