Literary Movements: Renaissance, Baroque, and Classicism

Renaissance and Baroque Literary Movements

The modern age began with the Renaissance, originating in Italy in the fourteenth century and extending to other European countries during the 15th and 16th centuries.

Characteristics of the Renaissance

The Renaissance is characterized by:

• The revival of the classics, drawing on themes and genres from Greco-Roman antiquity.
• An attraction for nature, often depicted through idealized descriptions, inspired by figures like Virgil.

The Baroque Period

During the 17th century, a reaction against the balance and harmony of the Renaissance led to the emergence of the Baroque movement. This period is characterized by:

• Pessimism and complexity.
• Twisting of language and rich ornamentation.

Notable authors belonging to this movement include Shakespeare, Góngora, Quevedo, and Calderón.

Classicism in the 17th Century

Classicism took hold in France during the seventeenth century, emphasizing order and restraint.

Key Features of Classicism

Classicism is characterized by:

• The cult of reason and good taste, demanding credibility and moderation.
• A rejection of the fantastic and the exaggerated.
• A focus on utility; literature was expected to teach, hence its strong moralizing, didactic, or satirical component.

Poetry: From Petrarch to the Fable

Renaissance Poetry and Petrarchism

The transition from medieval to Renaissance poetry occurred in Italy with Dante and Petrarch, who were widely imitated in later centuries. Poets like Garcilaso de la Vega in Spain and Ronsard in France embraced Petrarchan poetry, incorporating:

• The idealization of nature.
• The classical hendecasyllable meter.
• Classical myths and the sonnet form.

Petrarch's Canzoniere (Songbook), inspired by a married woman named Laura, is considered the first European book of poetry focused uniquely on the sense of unrequited love.

Classical Poetry and the Rise of the Fable

The fusion of poetry and the desire to moralize gave rise to the fable. This literary composition, usually in verse, features allegorical characters (often animals) and concludes with a moral teaching. Its main practitioner in the seventeenth century was La Fontaine.

Narrative Forms and the Novel

Most novels printed during this era sought to distract readers with idealized or implausible plots, characters, and landscapes, often repeating the themes of love and adventure.

Idealized Narrative Genres

Common narrative forms included:

• The sentimental novel.
• The pastoral novel.
• The novel of chivalry.

The Picaresque Novel

The picaresque novel, characterized by its realistic nature, stands out as the only genre that truly reflected contemporary situations and environments. Boccaccio's most remarkable work, the Decameron, represents an important step toward literary realism.

The Essay and Renaissance Humanism

The Essay was born alongside Renaissance Humanism, a cultural movement deeply interested in all aspects of humanity. Humanists were great connoisseurs of classical languages.

The most influential humanist in Europe was Erasmus of Rotterdam, author of the morally charged work, In Praise of Folly.

Montaigne coined the term "essay" to describe the brief, pleasant letter format used to discuss any topic of interest.