Literary Giants of Spain's Golden Age

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Born in Alcalá de Henares in 1547, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra lived an eventful youth. In Italy, he participated in the Battle of Lepanto (1571), where he was wounded in the arm during the battle against the Turks. Once back in Spain, he was captured by pirates and taken to Algiers, enduring five years of captivity.

Upon his final return to Spain, he could not continue his military career and held various jobs. His first major work, La Galatea, was written in 1585. Twenty years later, his most important work, El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha), was published in 1605. The second part followed in 1615. In 1616, he published his latest work, Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda (The Labors of Persiles and Sigismunda), with which he bid farewell to his friends and the public.

Selected Works by Cervantes

• Poetry
• Novelas Ejemplares (Exemplary Novels)
• La Galatea
• Don Quijote de la Mancha
• Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda
• And numerous other works.

The Baroque Period in Spain

The Baroque was a prominent cultural movement of the seventeenth century, marking the second phase of the Spanish Golden Age. It embraced the triumph of exaggeration and contrast, and was characterized by a pervasive sense of pessimism and disappointment.

Key artists of the Baroque period include:

• In poetry: Luis de Góngora and Francisco de Quevedo
• In theater: Lope de Vega and Pedro Calderón de la Barca
• In prose: Francisco de Quevedo and Baltasar Gracián

Francisco de Quevedo

Born in Madrid in 1580, Francisco de Quevedo lived much of his life at court. He was later banished and spent his final years in prison, dying in Villanueva de los Infantes (Ciudad Real) in 1645.

Quevedo wrote El Buscón (The Swindler), a renowned picaresque novel, and numerous books of didactic prose. He was a master of the conceptismo style, characterized by its wit, conciseness, and intellectual depth. His poetry exemplifies the contradictions inherent in the Baroque spirit.

Luis de Góngora

Born in Cordoba in 1561, Luis de Góngora became a priest after completing his studies in Salamanca.

He demonstrated mastery of popular forms, writing graceful romances and witty letrillas. Around 1613, he disseminated his two long poems, Soledades (Solitudes) and Fábula de Polifemo y Galatea (Fable of Polyphemus and Galatea), which became models of his complex and ornate culteranismo style. He died in Cordoba in 1627.

Lope de Vega

Born in Madrid in 1562, Lope de Vega's life was marked by personal turmoil. Family problems prompted him to become a priest in 1613; however, three years later, he fell in love again and left the priesthood. He lived his final years in great personal torment, dying in Madrid in 1635.

Pedro Calderón de la Barca

Born in Madrid in 1600, Pedro Calderón de la Barca studied with the Jesuits, an experience that decisively shaped his thinking. After leaving the military, he dedicated all his time to writing plays.

In his works, characters' monologues take on special importance. His extensive dramatic production can be classified into four main groups:

• Comedies
• Autos Sacramentales (Sacramental Plays)
• Honor Dramas
• Philosophical Dramas