Key Characters in La Celestina and 16th Century Spanish Lyric Poetry

Analysis of La Celestina: Genre, Characters, and Style

Genre and Structure

La Celestina (or Tragicomedia de Calisto y Melibea) is a theatrical construction based on dialogue. Its great length and extension suggest a junction with the subgenre of the novel, crossing between comedy and tragedy.

Key Characters in La Celestina

• Calisto

  A noble enslaved by his passions, vulnerable, and exploited by others. He serves as a parody of the courtly lover, especially when he is with Melibea.

• Celestina

  Characterized as an old, bearded woman who dominates and scratches at nature itself. Her defining traits are:

  • Cunning: She pursues the thoughts and feelings of others and acts upon them.
  • Loquaciousness: She easily uses proverbs and lies, making her very persuasive (convincing the gentry).
  • Offices: She procures prostitution and is associated with evil powers.

• Pármeno

  A faithful servant at the beginning, he seeks to recover his inheritance, which was lost to ignoble poverty. He knows his mother was the prostitute Celestina. Celestina tries to reward him with sex and money. What ultimately changes him is Calisto's ingratitude.

• Elicia

  Sempronio's lover. She represents life in the brothel, depending on Celestina as a protective wing and matchmaker. She seeks to be considered a pleased mother figure, accepts prostitution as fun, and rejects other trades.

• Areúsa

  Represents a larger category of independent women because she owns her home, unlike Elicia, but she hates Celestina's pretense and influence.

Setting and Style

The setting is an anonymous town of the era. Microspaces include: Calisto's house, the street, Melibea's house, Celestina's house, and Areúsa's house.

The work is written in direct style. The dialogues are very large and complicated, often filled with rhetorical figures and monologues that reveal the characters' inner thoughts.

Spanish Renaissance Lyric Poetry (16th Century)

First Half of the 16th Century (Reign of Charles I)

This period aligns with the Italian Renaissance influence in Spain. Lyric poetry was the first genre to flourish during the Spanish Renaissance.

Form and Style

• Italian meters were introduced into Spanish poetry (e.g., heroic verse, stanzas combining heptasyllable and hendecasyllable lines).
• Key structures include the octave, sonnet, and tercets.
• The style is complex, moving away from simplicity to create elaborate forms.

Themes and Authors

• Themes: Grandiose love and mythology.
• Authors: Garcilaso de la Vega, Juan Boscán.

Second Half of the 16th Century (Reign of Philip II)

This era saw the nationalization of the Renaissance and the emergence of Mystical Poetry.

Form and Focus

• It uses the same themes as the first half but with a stronger religious focus.
• The meters perfected by Garcilaso are maintained, and some traditional Spanish meters are recovered.

Themes and Authors

• Themes: Love, nature, mythology, plus religious themes (Mysticism).
• Authors: Saint John of the Cross (San Juan de la Cruz).

Garcilaso de la Vega (1501–1536)

Born in Toledo, Garcilaso was a soldier who served Emperor Charles I. He was a friend of Juan Boscán, and together they introduced Italian meters and themes into Spanish literature.

• His love poetry was dedicated to Isabel Freire.
• Language: Elegant and simple, marking the beginning of modern Spanish lyric poetry.
• Goal: To communicate the poet's feeling directly to the reader.
• Themes: Courtly love (expressing devotion to an impossible woman), classical mythology allusions, and the exaltation of beauty and youth (carpe diem).