Baroque Era: Literature, Art, and Key Figures

The Baroque Era

The term Baroque initially referred to a style characterized by complicated and irregular shapes in its lines. It then spread to other realms of art, like painting, sculpture, music, and especially literature. In Spain, it would reach a particular development.

Features and Style

The Baroque was a significant cultural movement manifested in literature, architecture, music, and fine arts. The 17th century is characterized by exaggeration and pessimism. In the literary field, the Baroque style has the following features:

• It highlights a special interest in language, marked by an aesthetic desire for originality.
• It is characterized by hyperbole, exaggeration, and corrosive wit.
• The world is seen as a struggle of opposites: life and, ultimately, death.
• It stretches the staging of the world: the author is God, and men are actors; death is the end of the show.

Key Themes

A number of themes are prominent in Baroque works:

• The inexorable passage of time.
• Death.
• Life is conceived as a dream.
• Loneliness.

Luis de Góngora

Luis de Góngora was born in Córdoba. He studied in Salamanca and sought to achieve influence at court. He participated in the literary polemics of the time. In his last years, he returned to his land, Córdoba, disappointed.

Works

Góngora's work has two very different aspects: popular and cult. In this line, we can highlight The Fable of Polyphemus and Galatea and The Solitudes.

Style

All culterano aesthetic traits are based on the poetry of Góngora. The Baroque is also shown in the contrast between learned poems. We must not forget the torn sarcasm in his satires.

Francisco de Quevedo

Francisco de Quevedo was born in Madrid. He is considered the ultimate architect of the Spanish language and the most representative character of the Spanish Baroque. He was a cult figure, intelligent and with a tormented temperament, perhaps because of two physical defects: nearsightedness and club feet. He served at court proceedings at the service of Philip III. His character led to bitter clashes with different people. As a result, he spent three grueling years in confinement in a hospital in San Marcos in León. He retired the last years of his life to the La Mancha town of Villanueva de los Infantes.

Works

Poetry

Quevedo brought a unique conceptual and expressive intensification to poetry. His lyrical work is divided into four areas:

• Philosophical or moral poetry
• Political poetry
• Love poetry
• Satirical and burlesque poetry

Prose

Quevedo cultivated the conceptismo style, notably in the picaresque novel, El Buscón (The Swindler).

Style

The style of Quevedo shows all the typical features of conceptismo. His absolute mastery of the language is a key feature.