Spanish Literature of the Renaissance
The Early Renaissance (15th-16th Centuries)
Traditional Lyrical Ballads
Popular poetry flourished during this period. Two types of stanzas were common:
- Traditional Song: Written in Castilian and broken foot, focusing on love.
- Romance: Distributed through chapbooks.
Lyric Songbook
Poetry was transmitted to the poets of the Cancionero general (16th century) by Hernando del Castillo. Christopher Castillejo was a representative of this trend.
Italianate Lyric
This new poetry was influenced by two authors:
- Petrarch: Viewed love as a supreme feeling.
- Baldassare Castiglione
New metric forms emerged, including hendecasyllable, heptasyllabic, triplets, chained sonnets, stanzas, lyres, and silvas. Common topics included nature, mythology, ubi sunt, and locus amoenus.
Garcilaso de la Vega
Garcilaso de la Vega was the prototype of a courtier. His work explored themes of Petrarchan love (an impossible love inspired by an idealized woman) and mythology. His style was simple and serene, expressing sentimental elegance through natural metaphors, epithets, alliteration, and personification.
His work can be divided into three stages:
- Influence of Hispanic lyric
- Assimilation of Petrarchism
- Fullness: Death of his beloved inspired his most beautiful creations.
His works include 3 Eclogues, 2 Elegies, 4 songs, 38 sonnets, and 8 songs in Castilian verse.
The Second Renaissance (Second Half of the 16th Century)
Pope Pius IV’s Counter-Reformation forbade studying in Spanish universities abroad.
Petrarchan Lyric
This period saw the continuation of forms and themes from the Early Renaissance, with a preference for love themes and a more ornate and rhetorical language.
Fernando de Herrera
Herrera is known for his annotations on the poetry of Garcilaso.
Horatian Lyric
Inspired by the Latin poet Horace, this style explored a variety of topics.
Religious Lyric
Changes were introduced to encourage devotion and moral teachings. Two main trends emerged:
- Asceticism: Focused on achieving perfection through effort and sacrifice (e.g., Fray Luis de León, San Juan de la Cruz).
- Mysticism: Emphasized the union of the soul with God, progressing through purgative, illuminative, and unitive stages (e.g., St. John of the Cross).
Fray Luis de León
Fray Luis de León’s work explored themes of solitude, retreat from urban life, and finding refuge in nature. His style was characterized by humor, irony, linguistic perfection, simplicity, use of the second person, exclamations, rhetorical questions, symbols associated with nature, epithets, and personifications.
San Juan de la Cruz
San Juan de la Cruz was a major religious literary figure. His work was deeply religious, aiming to communicate his mystical experiences. He used symbols and allegories, often comparing the union of man and woman to the union of the soul and God.
His major works include:
- Dark Night of the Soul: Depicts the soul’s journey through the purgative, illuminative, and unitive stages.
- Spiritual Canticle: A dialogue between a shepherd and shepherdess representing the mystical process.
- Llama de amor viva
Prose
Books of Chivalry
These stories focused on creating a fictional world that extolled the ideals of chivalry. The hero’s main motive was to defend justice and serve his lady. Examples include Amadis of Gaul by Rodirguez Montalvo Garci and Tirant the White by Juanat Mortorell.
Moorish Novel
These novels depicted battles between Christians and Moors during the Reconquista, focusing on the latest episodes in Granada. Characters were prototypes of nobility, courage, and beauty. A notable example is The Abencerraje (anonymous).
The Short Novel or Italian
Inspired by Italian novellieri, these stories were adapted to Spanish society. Juan de Timoneda was a key figure in this genre.
The Pastoral Novel
This genre connected with the pastoral tradition, contrasting the peace of rural life with the bustle of city life. Renaissance man recognized that Arcadia was an ideal, but it represented an internal movement towards self-reflection and dialogue.
Pastoral novels featured idealized characters (shepherds) in a peaceful landscape. Notable examples include The Seven Books of Diana by Jorge de Montemayor and La Galatea by Miguel de Cervantes.
The Byzantine Novel
These novels featured a series of adventures that culminated in the reunion of lovers or family members after long journeys.
Picaresque Novel
This genre reacted against idealized characters in pastoral and chivalric novels. The protagonist was a rogue, an anti-heroic but realistic character reflecting the life of the time.