Religious Lyric Poetry: Fray Luis, San Juan, Santa Teresa

The Religious Lyric: Fray Luis, San Juan, and Santa Teresa

Two Schools of Thought

School of Salamanca: Focused on religious, moral, and philosophical issues, with a clear and simple style. Content is prioritized over form. Fray Luis de Leon is its primary representative.

Seville School: Characterized by a rhetorical style full of literary devices. Form is prioritized over content. The chief representative is Fernando de Herrera, who was in love with Leonor de Milan (platonic). Juan de Mal Lara influenced Fernando de Herrera.

Fray Luis de Leon

Fray Luis de Leon was closely linked to Salamanca, where he taught at the University. In his poems, he learned to synthesize the essence of the Christian Renaissance. His poetry is not extensive. The central theme is the retreat into nature for spiritual peace, serenity, and calm. His style is simple and austere, without many bold images or ornaments. He frequently uses enjambment, a syntactic device that divides a sentence across two successive verses. Fray Luis de Leon was denounced to the Inquisition after his enemies accused him of defending Judaism.

San Juan de la Cruz

San Juan de la Cruz lived and communicated his mystical experiences, his encounters with God. He believed the soul must pass through three stages:

• The Way of Purification (dark): Through penance, the soul distances itself from earthly things to draw closer to God. This stage is called Asceticism and is considered the first step.
• The Way of Illumination (happy): Detached from earthly things, the soul receives from God a knowledge that illuminates the path.
• The Unitive Way (kind): Through God's special grace, the soul unites with Him to the point of merging in mystical ecstasy.

These last two stages are called Mysticism, leading to God. San Juan's main work is contained in three long poems:

• "Spiritual Canticle"
• "Dark Night of the Soul"
• "The Living Flame of Love"

San Juan explains the meaning of the symbols he uses to communicate these inherently ineffable experiences. To express divine love, he employs the language of human love.

Santa Teresa de Jesus

Santa Teresa composed her poems as a distraction and used popular meters. It is believed that some poems attributed to her could belong to the folk tradition. She devoted herself to the reform of her religious order, which caused her serious problems.