The Poem of the Cid and Lazarillo de Tormes: Pillars of Spanish Literature

The Poem of the Cid: An Epic Summary

The Poem of the Cid, or Cantar de Mio Cid, is Spain's national epic, recounting the heroic deeds of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, known as El Cid Campeador. It is divided into three cantos:

Canto I: The Song of Exile

El Cid is banished by King Alfonso VI, and his lands are given to the Castilian nobility. As he progresses, he conquers land from the Muslims and charges as a warrior. Each time he achieves a victory, his fame grows. He sends the king an important part of the booty won from his adversaries, hoping to reconcile with him.

Canto II: The Song of the Wedding

El Cid arrives from the Mediterranean, conquering Valencia. The King allows him to stay there with his daughters and wife, and El Cid is reconciled with the King. The result of this reconciliation is the marriage of the Cid's daughters to the Infantes of Carrión.

Canto III: The Song of the Shame of Corpes

El Cid defends Valencia from a Muslim attack. The Infantes of Carrión decide to return with their wives (daughters of El Cid). El Cid distrusts them and sends one of his men to follow them closely. The Infantes of Carrión beat their wives and abandon them. El Cid calls for justice, and the Infantes are defeated in a duel by two of King El Cid's men. The King then authorizes the marriage of El Cid's daughters to the Infantes of Navarre and Aragon. The epic ends with a wedding.

Lazarillo de Tormes: A Picaresque Masterpiece

Publication and Genre

Published in 1554, The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes and of His Fortunes and Adversities is a foundational work. With its appearance, a new genre, the picaresque novel, emerged. Its key features include:

• Its protagonist is a rogue, a marginalized character who, from a young age, makes his living as a servant.
• The narration is in the first person, presented as an autobiography.
• The narrative recounts the rogue's mischievous adventures, often from a pivotal moment in his life.
• It allows us to understand the harsher aspects of reality, with events narrated realistically.

It is an anonymous work, and its Erasmian criticism suggests the author may have been a Jew or a convert. Written in epistolary form, Lazarillo's autobiography chronicles his adventures from the moment his mother gives him to a blind man. Lazarillo serves him, enduring hunger and misfortunes. His situation improves when he gets a stable job, and his autobiography recounts his perceived social advancement and actual social degradation. This work is considered a foundational text for the realist novel and introduces the concept of an anti-hero.

Key Characteristics of the Picaresque Novel

The picaresque novel, exemplified by Lazarillo de Tormes, typically features:

• Autobiographical narration.
• A succession of episodic memories.
• An explanation, through the past, of a final statement or accepted dishonor.
• A protagonist of low birth.
• A lack of affection that hardens his character after suffering strokes of fortune and serving several masters.
• Behavior motivated by hunger, leading him to weave roguish tricks to survive, but often becoming a victim of his own schemes.

Lazarillo's Journey and Masters

Lazarillo serves several masters throughout his life, each teaching him harsh lessons about survival:

1. The Blind Man
2. The Cleric
3. The Squire (from Maqueda)
4. The Friar
5. The Pardoner (Buldero)
6. The Chaplain
7. The Archpriest of San Salvador

He eventually marries the Archpriest's maid, settling into a life of perceived stability.