Renaissance Literature: Love, Religion, and Count Lucanor
The Renaissance in Literature
Lyrical Renaissance
The Lyrical Renaissance focuses on love lyrics, exemplified by Garcilaso de la Vega. During this time, there was a separation between the natural and the supernatural. Garcilaso de la Vega was a prominent poet.
Life and Works of Garcilaso de la Vega
Garcilaso belonged to a noble family and served Charles I. He masterfully expressed feelings of love by describing the beauty of his beloved (Isabel Freyre). Formally, Garcilaso introduced metric structures that triumphed in Italy, mainly verses and poems, into Spanish poetry.
Thematic Highlights:
- The idealized nature: green meadows, singing rivers.
- Carpe diem: “Seize the day,” derived from the Latin poet Horace.
- Mythological themes: a return to the classical world (Gods, nymphs, heroes).
The Religious Lyric: Fray Luis, San Juan, and Santa Teresa
The religious lyric is presented in literature with splendor. Religious feelings acquired great importance at that time. The relationship with God can be established in religious poetry in two ways:
- The ascetic: the poet strives to achieve salvation and encounter God.
- The mystical: the soul, chosen by God, enters into communication with Him without personal effort.
Fray Luis de Leon
Closely linked to Salamanca, where he was a university professor, Fray Luis synthesized Christian and Renaissance ideals in his poems. His poetry, though not extensive, is considered among the best in the Castilian language. Notable is his poem “To the Retired Life.”
San Juan de la Cruz
San Juan perfectly combines religious themes with the formal language of Petrarchism. He lived and communicated his mystical experiences and his encounter with God. The soul must pass through three ways:
- The purgative: through penance.
- The enlightened: the soul receives knowledge from God.
- The unitive: the soul is united to God, reaching mystical ecstasy.
The principal works of St. John are contained in three long poems: “Spiritual Canticle,” “Dark Night of the Soul,” and “Living Flame of Love.”
St. Therese of Ávila
The poetic works of Santa Teresa are of minor interest compared to her prose writings. The Saint of Ávila composed her poems as distractions and used popular meters. She entered the Carmelite Convent at nineteen and dedicated herself to reforming the order, which led to serious problems.
Count Lucanor
Composed in 1335, the book collects fifty-one stories where Patronio, the advisor of Count Lucanor, offers advice to his master. The structure is always the same: the young Count consults Patronio on a problem. Patronio answers indirectly by telling a story with a lesson applicable to the case. Don Juan Manuel explains why he decided to include the story in his book and summarizes the moral of the tale.
Notable: Lazarillo de Tormes, the protagonist narrates his own life, is the son of parents without honor, uses petty theft, told with great realism that events could have happened.