Lazarillo de Tormes: Authorship, Structure, and Themes

Lazarillo de Tormes: Key Aspects

1. Editions and Authorship

Lazarillo de Tormes:

• Written after 1521.
• Published in 1554.
• Published three editions: Burgos, Alcalá, and Antwerp.
• Author: Anonymous, although many theories exist about the author.

2. Argument (Plot Summary)

This is an autobiographical novel written in the form of a letter. It consists of a prologue and seven treatises addressed to a certain "Your Grace." It recounts how the wife of the protagonist, Lázaro, has taken a lover (the Archpriest of San Salvador).

The novel follows a humble protagonist, Lázaro, who is fatherless and whose mother is living in a common-law marriage (amancebada).

3. Structure and Setting

The novel's setting is urban, taking place in Salamanca, Escalona, and Toledo. It is written as a letter by the protagonist, Lázaro, as an adult, addressing "Vuestra Merced" to explain the current situation: the love triangle involving Lázaro's wife, the Archpriest, and himself.

Lázaro begins telling his story from birth to justify his current circumstances in hindsight.

The novel consists of a prologue and seven treatises or episodes. It is divided into three main parts:

1. Treatises 1 to 3: (The Blind Man, the Cleric of Maqueda, and the Squire). Lázaro's personality is formed here.
2. Treatises 4 and 6: (Friar of Mercy and Pardoner). Lázaro begins his social ascent.
3. Treatise 7: (Archpriest of San Salvador). Lázaro achieves material welfare and stability but continues his moral misery.

4. Themes

The novel addresses several significant themes:

• Honor and Glory: A critique of the superficial conception of honor, based on external appearance, money, and "clean blood" (lineage).
• Self-Interest (El hombre): The driving force behind many actions and a reflection of 17th-century society.
• Religion: Strong anticlerical criticism is evident through the portrayal of religious figures.

5. Characters

The novel features memorable characters:

• The Blind Man: Selfish, ruthless, cunning, and stingy.
• The Cleric of Maqueda: Represents falsehood.
• The Squire: Guided by appearances and poverty.
• The Friar of Mercy: Characterized by attachment to worldly things.
• The Pardoner: Possesses the ability to swindle people.
• The Chaplain: Does not treat Lázaro badly but takes advantage of him.
• The Archpriest: Hypocritical and lascivious.

6. Style

The style is marked by:

• Expressive simplicity and agility in language.
• Phatic use (obsession with explaining everything).
• Use of colloquialisms and rhetorical proverbs (refranes).
• Literary resources: Paradoxes, antithesis, and euphemisms.

Main Poetic Forms Mentioned:

• Trio: Three lines of varying meter with unique and indifferent rhyme.
• Quartet: Four lines, generally hendecasyllables, with consonant rhyme (ABBA structure).
• Cuaderna Vía: Four Alexandrine lines with AAAA rhyme structure.
• Lira: Five lines with seven and hendecasyllable verses, structured 7a 11B 7a 7b 11B.
• Sonnet: Fourteen lines with consonant rhyme, generally hexameters.
• Romance: Series of eight-syllable lines with assonant rhyme in pairs.
• Epic Stanza: Unknown number of lines between 14 and 16, with assonant rhyme in pairs.