Cervantes, Quevedo, and Spanish Baroque Literary Movements

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547–1616)

Born in 1547 in Alcalá de Henares, Cervantes traveled to Italy and was deeply impressed by its art and literature. He was a poet (he published a piece in verse, Viaje del Parnaso, and must have written many poems of nature worship).

Cervantes as a Playwright

Cervantes wrote numerous works; we retain more than a dozen comedies and eight entremeses (interludes). His classic comedies follow the known rules. His only tragedy is the interesting Numancia. His entremeses are very notable, offering accurate portraits of the popular classes of the era.

Cervantes as a Novelist

Cervantes excels especially as a novelist, writing novels of all types known in his time:

• La Galatea: A pastoral book concerning the loves of shepherds.
• Don Quijote: A book of chivalry that includes pastoral, Moorish, and sentimental stories.
• Novelas Ejemplares: Cervantes conceived these stories during his time in Italy, featuring original plots. Had he not written Don Quijote, he might well be remembered as the author of these exemplary novels.
• Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda: His last work, a Byzantine novel of adventures.

His masterpiece, Don Quijote, was published in two parts: the first in 1605 and the second in 1615. The main characters are Don Quijote and Sancho Panza. The primary purpose of Don Quijote is the parody of romances of chivalry. Although read almost exclusively as a comic book during the 17th century, Don Quijote's language summarizes the variety of styles typical of the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

Baroque Literary Styles: Conceptismo and Culteranismo

Conceptismo and Culteranismo are the two dominant stylistic tendencies in Spanish Baroque literature. They are not opposing movements but rather part of a general aesthetic sensibility that seeks to admire originality and impress the reader.

Conceptismo

Conceptismo relies on clever word associations or ideas, playing with the meanings of words. Its goal is conceptual concentration, aiming to “say much with few words.”

Culteranismo

Culteranismo, in contrast, prioritizes formal beauty. It excels in exuberant, cultured ornamentation, using a gorgeous style that draws attention to the language itself.

Francisco de Quevedo (1580–1645)

Francisco de Quevedo was an excellent prose writer and also a magnificent poet. His numerous poems are usually grouped by their subjects.

Quevedo's Poetry and Themes

His love poetry is Neoplatonic and Petrarchan. Compositions addressing love ironically or comically are also frequent. The central themes of Quevedo's poetry are concerns about death and the typical Baroque disappointment. The main concern in his poems is the discovery of his horror of nothingness (nada).

In terms of style, Quevedo is characterized by constant wordplay. Many of his poems reached the culmination of the Conceptista principle: saying much with few words.