Masterpieces of Spanish Golden Age Literature: Cervantes, Lazarillo, Don Quijote

Miguel de Cervantes: Literary Contributions

Poetry: Journey to Parnassus

Cervantes' poetic work includes Journey to Parnassus, a satirical allegorical poem.

Theater: Evolution and Innovation

Cervantes' theatrical career evolved through two distinct stages:

• First Stage: Classical Influence

  Followed classical rules, emphasizing respect for dramatic conventions. An example is Numancia.

• Second Stage: Lope de Vega's Influence

  Departed from strict classical rules, influenced by the popular theater of Lope de Vega. Cervantes wrote eight comedies during this period.

He also introduced Entremeses (interludes), short, popular comic plays performed between acts of a longer comedy, often featuring well-known comic characters.

Novels: A Master of Narrative Genres

Cervantes cultivated almost all narrative genres of his time. He was a writer deeply concerned with verisimilitude and the realistic portrayal of life.

Lazarillo de Tormes: Birth of the Picaresque Novel

Published in the 16th century, Lazarillo de Tormes is a seminal work whose author remains anonymous. It achieved immense success and is credited with initiating the picaresque novel genre.

Key Characteristics of Lazarillo:

• Protagonist: Lázaro de Tormes, whose life episodes are narrated in the first person, forming a fictional autobiography.
• Structure: The story is presented as a letter addressed to "Your Honor," intended to explain "the case" (Lázaro's wife is the mistress of an archpriest).
• Realism vs. Idealism: Unlike chivalric, Byzantine, or Moorish novels that presented an idealized reality with heroic protagonists, Lazarillo is a starkly realistic novel. Its protagonist is a rogue, born to parents without honor.
• Character Evolution: A key characteristic of this modern work is the protagonist's evolution and change throughout the narrative.
• Social Critique: Lazarillo de Tormes offers a critical portrait of 16th-century Spanish society, exposing its hypocrisy and moral decay.

Don Quijote: The First Modern Novel

Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quijote was published in two parts: the first in 1605 and the second in 1615. The publication of a spurious second part in 1614 by an unknown author (under the pseudonym Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda) significantly influenced Cervantes' own second part.

Don Quijote is widely considered the first modern novel, particularly due to the innovative technical resources employed by Cervantes.

Main Characters:

• Don Quijote: A low-ranking noble (hidalgo) living in the countryside, obsessed with reading chivalric romances. He becomes deluded by these readings and attempts to live the adventures of a knight-errant, even inventing a lady, Dulcinea del Toboso.
• Sancho Panza: Don Quijote's squire, a pragmatic farmer. He is realistic, uneducated, yet possesses natural wit and common sense.

Cervantes' Purpose and Impact:

Cervantes' primary purpose in writing Don Quijote was to satirize and ultimately bring an end to the popularity of chivalric novels. Unlike other books of chivalry, Cervantes confronts his characters with the harsh reality of their time.

The work is rich in humor and was initially read as a comic masterpiece, though its deeper philosophical and literary significance has been recognized over time.