Spanish Renaissance Literature: Authors and Masterpieces
Spanish Renaissance Literature: 16th Century
The Renaissance was a cultural movement in the 16th century that marked a revival of classical culture. It shifted the focus from Theocentricism to Anthropocentrism, exalting the powers of individuals. Key themes include:
- Love: Often explored through melancholy, pain, nostalgia, and unrequited love.
- Nature: Action is set in idealized landscapes (locus amoenus).
- Classical Myths: Integration of Greek and Latin myths.
Jorge Manrique (1440-1479)
Mostly known for his work on love, except for the masterpiece Verses on the Death of His Father.
Verses on the Death of His Father (1477-1478)
An elegiac poem lamenting the death of a person or another mournful event.
- Character and Stylistic Devices: Aims to teach (expository and sententious tone), delight (careful form), and move (hortatory tone).
- Structure and Content: Written in broken-foot verse. It transitions from the general (human mortality) to the particular (the death of Don Rodrigo Manrique).
- Couplets I-XIII: Reflection on life’s brevity and the pursuit of eternal life.
- Couplets XIV-XXIV: Uses the ubi sunt topic, questioning the fate of important figures from antiquity, highlighting human temporality.
- Couplets XXV-XL: Focuses on Don Rodrigo Manrique, praising the deceased. From couplet XXXIV, a dialogue begins with Death.
Celestina
The first edition appeared in 1499 with 16 acts. The second, in 1500, hinted at Fernando de Rojas as the author in acrostic verses. In 1502, it was released with 21 acts, titled *Tragicomedy of Calisto and Melibea*, and although it included the old Celestina, due to her importance, it was renamed *La Celestina*.
- Genre: A drama inspired by Italian humanistic comedy (14th and 15th centuries). Characteristics: Depiction of everyday life, simple and slowly developed plot, interest in the lower classes, importance of dialogue, free treatment of space and time, and a tragic ending.
- Author’s Intent: Several interpretations exist:
- Christian/Didactic Thesis: A critique of mad love.
- Jewish/Pessimistic Thesis: Highlights a lack of religion and conveys skeptical pessimism.
- Thesis of Artistic Originality: Emphasizes its artistic value.
- Thesis of Social Criticism: Underlines the work’s moralistic background, criticizing masters and servants driven by selfishness and lust.
- Characters: Characters possess vital psychological depth and intensity.
- Calisto: An egoist focused solely on enjoying Melibea.
- Melibea: Externally concerned with her honor, but lacking personal modesty.
- Pleberio: A tender and disconsolate father grieving Melibea’s death.
- Celestina: A procuress who dominates the characters with her linguistic and psychological skills.
- Language and Style: Employs both cultured prose and colloquial language. Uses dialogue, monologues, and proverbs. Features asides, unnoticed by some characters and perceived but misunderstood by others.
Garcilaso de la Vega
His sensitivity to external beauty is reflected in a new focus on landscape (locus amoenus) and feminine beauty. His conception of love is purely human; his beloved is a real woman, not merely an excuse for spiritual elevation or justification of his love.
Fray Luis de León
He sought to assimilate the classical tradition into Castilian, creating a new kind of poetry. He frequently used the *lira* (a five-line stanza). A recurring theme is the longing for peace.
San Juan de la Cruz
His mystical poetry, disguised as love poetry, expresses his experience of God. The soul must traverse three paths to achieve union with God: the purgative, the illuminative, and the unitive. Major poems: *The Dark Night of the Soul* (8 *liras*), *Living Flame of Love*, *The Spiritual Canticle*.