Garcilaso de la Vega and Cervantes: Pillars of Spanish Golden Age

Garcilaso de la Vega: Renaissance Poet and Soldier (1501–1536)

Garcilaso de la Vega was a noble, courtier, man of letters, and soldier. Due to his extensive travels, he encountered the Italian Renaissance poetic model, which he successfully introduced and popularized in Spain.

Life and Career Highlights

• Born in Toledo (1501) into a noble family.
• In 1526, after marrying Elena de Zúñiga, he traveled to Granada for the wedding of Emperor Charles V to Isabella of Portugal. There, he met the Portuguese lady Isabel Freire, whom he hopelessly fell in love with and dedicated most of his verses to.
• In 1531, he was exiled (likely to an island on the Danube) for participating in his nephew's wedding without the Emperor's authorization.
• He later went to Naples, participated in various battles, and died in France in 1536 after being wounded in combat.

Literary Works and Themes

Garcilaso’s poetry is characterized by its refined style and use of Italianate meters.

• Poetic Output: Includes poetry in octosyllables, 40 sonnets, 3 Églogas (Eclogues), 5 songs, 2 elegies, and 1 epistle.
• Central Theme: The most important theme in his love poetry is the lament (queja) resulting from the rejection or the death of the beloved.

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra: Father of the Modern Novel (1547–1616)

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was born in Alcalá de Henares in 1547.

Military Service and Captivity

• He participated in the Battle of Lepanto (1571), where he was wounded in his left hand, leaving it permanently disabled.
• Returning to Spain, he was captured by the Turks and spent five years captive in Algiers. He was eventually freed by Trinitarian monks and returned to Madrid.
• He began writing literature but initially achieved limited success.
• In 1605, he published Part I of Don Quijote, achieving fame that lasted until his death on April 23, 1616.

Cervantes' Dramatic Works

Cervantes’ theatrical career is generally divided into two stages:

1. First Stage (1580–1587): Wrote works following classical narrative precepts. Preserved works include the tragedy La Numancia and El trato de Argel.
2. Second Stage: Due to the failure of his early theater, Cervantes adapted to the style of the triumphant Lope de Vega, writing 8 comedias and 8 entremeses (interludes).

Cervantes' Narrative Works

• La Galatea: A pastoral novel recounting several instances of pastoral love.
• Novelas Ejemplares: A collection of 12 short stories published in 1613, incorporating the short novel genre.
• Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda: Cervantes' last novel, written in 1617, a Byzantine novel where two protagonists travel to Rome to marry.

Don Quijote de la Mancha

Published in two parts (1605 and 1615), Don Quijote is widely considered the first modern novel.

Key Characters

• Don Quijote: His real name is Alonso Quijano, a poor country gentleman fond of reading. After consuming too many novels of chivalry, he goes insane, believing he is a knight. His imaginary beloved is named Dulcinea.
• Sancho Panza: Don Quijote’s squire, a farmer endowed with great natural talent and common sense.

Narrative Techniques

Cervantes employs several innovative literary resources:

• The author pretends to be a copyist, not the original creator.
• Pioneering use of dialogue.
• Humor resulting from the clash between the two disparate personalities (Quijote and Panza).
• A succession of adventures is used as a common narrative procedure.