Renaissance and Baroque Literary Movements

The Renaissance Period in European History

The Renaissance fundamentally comprises European history during the 16th century. It represented a new way to conceive the world and sparked an interest in humanity, which took the place previously occupied by God. This movement was both religious and profane.

The human mentality changed to place individual dignity within a positive world that people sought to know and enjoy.

Literary Genres of the Renaissance

• Essays: Erasmus of Rotterdam wrote "Praise of Folly" and Montaigne wrote "Essays," featuring reflections on politics, philosophy, and education.
• Narrative: Boccaccio and Rabelais are key figures. Rabelais' "Gargantua and Pantagruel" is the most representative work of the Renaissance. It consists of five books telling a fantastical family history of giants and is a work of realistic character.
• Poetry: The transition from medieval to Renaissance lyric poetry occurred in Italy with Dante and Petrarch.

The Influence of Petrarch and Garcilaso

Petrarch dedicated all his love poetry to Laura, though his love was unrequited. His work consists predominantly of 366 compositions, mainly in the sonnet form. The collection is divided into two parts: "The Life of Laura" and "The Death of Laura." The book addresses the restless passion of unrequited love and the desire to be liberated from the suffering caused by that passion. "Triumphs" is a long allegorical poem that follows the wake of the Divine Comedy.

Garcilaso de la Vega: In his sonnets and eclogues, he sings of his love for Elisa and his aching verses, such as "Come out, tears running."

Classicism and the Baroque in the 17th Century

In 17th-century Spain and England, a reaction emerged against the pagan spirit, sobriety, and balance that characterized the Renaissance. The Baroque arose, characterized by pessimism, a resurgence of religion, and great ornamental richness. Shakespeare, Góngora, and Quevedo belonged to this movement.

The Strengthening of French Classicism

In France, the 17th century saw the strengthening of Classicism, a movement characterized by an aristocratic nature, religious reason, and good taste. It required verisimilitude (probability) and restraint, as well as utility; literature had to educate, which gave it satirical and didactic components.

Narrative and Poetry in Classicism

Narrative hardly offered quality work during Classicism, with the exception of Madame de La Fayette's "The Princess of Cleves," which can be considered the first modern French psychological novel. It presents a conflict of the era: a woman fighting between passion and honor.

In poetry, there was little fusion. The growing desire for moralizing poetry gave rise to the fable, a literary composition generally in verse with allegorical animal characters from which a lesson is learned. Its principal author was La Fontaine.

French Classical Drama and the Three Unities

French classical drama was driven by an eagerness for verisimilitude and rationalism, to which the rest of the genres adjusted. From there came the Rule of the Three Unities:

• Unity of Place: A single scenario with simple sets.
• Unity of Time: The action cannot last more than a day.
• Unity of Action: A single plot fitted to contemporary reality.