Romance, Prose, and Drama in Medieval and Renaissance Literature
Classification of Romance
The most important are grouped into:
- Historicals: Inspired by a historical fact and would be a concrete event composed at a time.
- Epic or Literary: Have a literary source, whatever it focuses on, be it many of the same characters and events. Songs of Feat.
- Novel: Creations of characters include varied: love romance, adventure, mystery, or those based on legends.
Prose and Drama in the Middle Ages
- The Matchmaker:
- Didactic prose of moral character emphasizes The Corbaccio, a work by the Archpriest of Talavera.
- Historical prose: The chronicles, several books written about reigns.
- Travel: Travel narratives with exotic sites.
- Sentimental novel: Novels with a final, impossible love, and a tragic ending.
- Chivalric Romance:
Medieval Drama
Castilian theater was born linked to religious celebrations, with dramatizations that over time became more complex, allowing the introduction of secular elements and enriching their staging. These are liturgical dramas.
Representation of the Magi
In the middle of the 12th century, the Three Wise Men separately, seeing the star announcing the birth of Christ, begin their journey toward Bethlehem. They meet along the route and decide to march together. They arrive at Herod’s palace and provide information, and the fragment ends with the discussion with two rabbis.
Theater in the 15th Century
Until the middle of the 15th century, Gómez Manrique, whose works are liturgical dramas. Later, Juan del Encina writes a diverse theater content. It is characterized by the simplicity of his arguments and the proper creation of the characters.
Characteristics of Renaissance Prose
On the subject:
- Love: Sometimes serves as a source of dissatisfaction and sadness, and other times as a regenerative and purifier of the spirit of man.
- Nature: Symbolizes natural perfection. It is the ideal place for love scenes because it is a green field, with leafy trees and crystalline waters.
- Myths: Greco-Roman myths are sometimes taken as a theme and as a resource for the poet’s feelings or thoughts.
The style is based on the search for formal beauty. Poetry is considered an expression of the poet’s inner feelings and a reflection of external reality. The most widely used line will be the hendecasyllable.
Poetry of Fray Luis de León
The isolationist policy practiced by Philip II and the Counter-Reformation culture impregnate the second half of the century with a remarkable religious and nationalist theme. Religious and patriotic themes are added: the desire for solitude, contemplation of the natural, the search for spiritual peace, and communion with the harmony of the universe. His style is characterized by sobriety and simplicity in the use of stylistic resources. The poems can be grouped into: poems influenced by Horace, Plato, and Pythagoras, and religious, moral, and patriotic poems.
Didactic and Religious Prose (Prose in the 16th Century)
Spanish humanists will address moral, historical, political, and religious issues with a critical spirit. Juan de Valdés stands out. Religious prose books include very diverse ones. Saint John of the Cross explains in his prose works the mystical experiences described in his poetry (Spiritual Canticle). And Fray Luis de León includes among his various prose works a work on the role of a Christian woman (The Perfect Wife) and a reflection on dialogue as a way to give names to Christ in sacred books. Saint Teresa of Jesus wrote autobiographical books (Book of Her Life) and mystical books (The Dwellings).
Structure and Style of Lazarillo de Tormes
The main characteristic is that the guide is Lazarillo’s own autobiography. The character is the element of cohesion of the seven treatises into which the book is divided. The sobriety in the style and the naturalness are the result of Renaissance influence. The lexicon is common and filled with sayings and phrases that take you away from the chivalric romances. The work is a reflection of the social and historical environment; the guide speaks of a realistic novel.