The 16th Century: Renaissance Art, Literature, and Religious Poetry
The 16th Century: A New Era
The 16th century saw the rise of humanism, shifting focus to a more personal relationship with religion. European monarchies, especially Spain, consolidated their power. This era, known as the Renaissance, marked a revival of classical antiquity in culture and art. It was a cultural awakening after the Middle Ages. Italy, particularly Rome and Florence, was the cradle of Renaissance art. The recovery of Greek and Roman art emphasized simplicity, balance, and humanism, creating harmony. Revolutionary advances in science and technology, including Gutenberg’s printing press, were essential for disseminating knowledge.
Renaissance Literature
Literature experienced significant changes, especially in poetry. Writers looked to Greco-Roman antiquity, reviving forms like the eclogue, elegy, epistle, and dialogue. The Spanish picaresque novel emerged. Italian literature became a reference for European writers. Writers aimed to imitate the classics, introducing new personal topics, particularly love and nature. Literature was filled with mythological references, seeking clarity and balance in style.
Garcilaso de la Vega
Garcilaso de la Vega, a Spanish Renaissance poet, embodied the ideal of a Renaissance courtier. He and Juan Boscán introduced Italianate poetry to Spain. Garcilaso’s work features characteristics of Renaissance lyric poetry, using forms inherited from Greco-Roman literature, such as the elegy, eclogue, and epistle, as well as songs, sonnets, and the lira.
Themes in Garcilaso’s Poetry
The main themes in his poetry are love and nature.
- Love: Reminiscent of Petrarchan sensitivity, his lines convey sincerity and true emotion.
- Nature: An idealized setting that frames the poet’s feelings in a harmonious environment.
Garcilaso’s style is based on an ideal of unforced classical beauty, using words to convey emotion with elegance.
Religious Lyric in Spain
In the second half of the 16th century, the Protestant Reformation led to two kinds of religious poetry:
- Ascetic Poetry: Describes the activities undertaken to achieve moral perfection.
- Mystic Poetry: Focuses on the union of the soul with God after achieving moral perfection.
Ascetic Poetry: Fray Luis de León
Fray Luis de León, an Augustinian friar and professor of theology, was arrested by the Inquisition for translating the Song of Songs into Castilian. He spent five years in prison, where he wrote famous poems like ‘On Leaving Prison’. The central theme of his poetry is solitude. He favored the lyre, an Italian form introduced by Garcilaso, combining hendecasyllables and heptasyllables.
Mystic Poetry: St. John of the Cross
St. John of the Cross, a Carmelite friar, studied theology at the University of Salamanca. His poetry is inspired by deep religious feeling, exploring the sensations experienced in his relationship with God: the joy of finding him, the contradiction between earthly and spiritual life, the love of creation, the impossibility of expressing ecstasy in words, and the union of the soul with God. His important works include ‘Spiritual Canticle’, ‘The Dark Night’, and ‘Flame of Love’. His style blends religious and love poetry, endowing his poems with eroticism and sensuality. His main sources include biblical literature, especially the Song of Songs, and the bucolic and pastoral poetry of Garcilaso.