15th Century Spanish Poetry: Cancioneros to La Celestina

Spanish Courtly Song Tradition (Cancioneros)

The theme songs, or courtly lyrics, represent diverse compositions by poets associated with the royal court, compiled in comprehensive anthologies known as cancioneros. These works mark a shift where Castilian Spanish replaced Galician-Portuguese as the dominant language for lyric poetry. The most significant collections include:

• Cancionero de Baena
• Cancionero de Estúñiga
• Cancionero de Palacio

Common Themes in Cancionero Poetry

• Courtly Love: Describes the suffering endured by a knight or poet due to separation from his beloved, who is typically a married lady of higher social standing.
• Satire: Includes social commentary (e.g., the allegorical Dance of Death) and political criticism, often targeting members of the court.

Poetic Forms

• Arte Menor: Verses typically consisting of eight syllables (octosyllables) or fewer, often using assonance rhyme.
• Arte Mayor: Verses typically consisting of twelve syllables (dodecasyllables), often using consonant rhyme.

Major Authors of the Period

Marqués de Santillana (Íñigo López de Mendoza)

Along with figures like Gómez Manrique, Santillana represents the archetype of the nobleman skilled in both arms and letters. His work encompasses two main types of poetry:

1. Lyric and Love Poetry: Often centered on themes of courtly love.
2. Didactic and Moral Poetry: Includes works like Diálogo de Bías contra Fortuna and his Proverbios.

Juan de Mena

Mena aimed to create an elevated, Latinized poetic language distinct from common speech. His most famous work is the Laberinto de Fortuna (Labyrinth of Fortune), an allegorical poem that reflects on destiny, virtue, and contemporary Spanish history.

Jorge Manrique

Manrique is renowned for his poignant elegy, Coplas por la muerte de su padre (Stanzas on the Death of his Father), which praises his father, Rodrigo Manrique, as a heroic figure.

Structure and Content of the Coplas

• Stanzas 1-13: Present religious, philosophical, and moral reflections. Ideas common in Christian tradition abound, such as the transience of life (tempus fugit), the fleeting nature of worldly possessions, and nostalgic visions of the past.
• Stanzas 14-24: Illustrate the themes from the first section with specific examples, famously employing the Ubi sunt? ('Where are they?') motif to lament the passing of famous figures and fortunes.
• Stanzas 25-40: Focus directly on the hero, his father Don Rodrigo Manrique. The first part eulogizes the hero's life and virtues, while the second part presents a serene dialogue between the dying Don Rodrigo and Death personified.

Literary Style and Form

• Genre: Elegy (a formal lament for the dead).
• Meter: Uses coplas de pie quebrado (literally 'broken-foot couplets'), a stanza form consisting of two sextillas (six-line stanzas) with lines of eight and four syllables (8a 8b 4c 8a 8b 4c). This form is often called manriqueñas due to its masterful use by Manrique.

Key Themes in the Coplas

• Time (Tiempo): Its relentless, unstoppable passage; the brevity of life.
• Fortune (Fortuna): Depicted as a capricious wheel, arbitrarily distributing happiness and misfortune.
• The World (Mundo): Viewed as a place of transit, emphasizing the need to renounce fleeting earthly goods.
• Fame (Fama): Presented as the way to achieve a form of eternal life through remembrance; the only lasting defense against time, fortune, and death.
• Death (Muerte): Portrayed as the great equalizer, bringing a final release from all earthly struggles and pains.

La Celestina (Tragicomedy of Calisto and Melibea)

Attributed primarily to Fernando de Rojas, La Celestina is a pivotal work marking the transition from medieval to Renaissance literature in Spain.

Genre Influences

La Celestina blends elements from various traditions:

• Roman Comedy: Use of stock characters (like the clever servant, the lovers) and plot devices.
• Elegiac Comedy: A medieval genre featuring sentimental tones and more developed, autonomous servant characters.
• Humanistic Comedy: Characterized by contemporary settings, varied locations, uncertain time passage, dialogue-driven action, and often anticlerical sentiments.

Major Themes in La Celestina

• Love (Amor): Depicted as an overwhelming, destructive passion that leads the protagonists, Calisto and Melibea, to ruin.
• Greed (Codicia): A primary motivator for the servants and the go-between, Celestina, ultimately leading to violence and tragedy.
• Fortune (Fortuna): Often invoked as the force responsible for the characters' tragic fates.
• Time (Tiempo): An undercurrent of enjoying the moment (carpe diem), often pursued frantically and recklessly.
• Death (Muerte): Presented starkly as the definitive end of existence, devoid of the consolation found in Manrique's work.