Renaissance Spanish Literature: Prose and Mysticism

The Renaissance: The Novel and the Theatre

16th Century Spanish Prose and Didacticism

Didactic prose aims at the perfection of man and the reformation of society. Juan de Valdés stands out with Dialogue of Language, and Fray Antonio de Guevara wrote Contempt of Court and Praise of the Village, which proclaims a return to nature.

The purpose of religious prose is formative and in tune with the popular religiosity of the time. Santa Teresa de Jesús offers Christian advice aimed at nuns in The Way of Perfection.

Renaissance Narrative Forms and Trends

During the Renaissance, narrative suggests two trends: one of idealistic, adventurous stories covering fantastic elements, and the other of a realistic character, notable for the way it describes characters and environments.

• The books of chivalry (e.g., Amadís of Gaul)
• The Italian novella
• The pastoral novel
• The Byzantine novel
• The Moorish novel

The Rise of the Picaresque Novel

The publication of the first picaresque novel occurred in 1554.

Social and Literary Origins of the Picaresque

The emergence of this genre was influenced by various circumstances:

• Social environment: Changing demographics and the mobility of unemployed individuals filled the cities, leading people to live by begging and looting.
• Discrimination: The social pressures and discrimination against Jews.
• Erasmian ideas: Intellectual critiques of the implausible characters found in idealistic novels.
• Literary reaction: A reaction against romance; in the picaresque novel, the protagonist is an antihero.

Mysticism in San Juan de la Cruz

The work of San Juan de la Cruz shows the intimate contact his soul has with God. He achieves this through metaphors and symbols. He recognizes three stages in the mystical process:

1. The Purgative Way: Achieved through prayer.
2. The Illuminative Way: The soul receives a signal.
3. The Way of Union: The final union between the soul of the mystic and God.

Major Poetic Works and Themes

His work develops the theme of the experience of mystical union between the soul and God. This union is expressed symbolically: a woman (the soul) searches for the Beloved (God) through nature, which reflects the love she encounters and with which she merges in an ecstasy of love. San Juan explained these mystical poems because, without explanation, they might appear to be erotic love poems, which would cause conflict with the Church.

• The Spiritual Canticle: Closely follows the Song of Solomon from the Bible and is organized as a pastoral dialogue between the beloved and the lover whom she has sought through valleys and mountains.
• The Dark Night: Consists of eight liras in which the disguised lover, after leaving home at night, joins the beloved in a mystical ecstasy.
• The Flame of Love Alive: Exposes the amorous feelings experienced during the union with the beloved.

Style and Linguistic Features

Three influences are apparent in his poetry: popular themes (motifs, shapes, and choruses), Italian forms (the use of the hendecasyllable and the lira), and the Bible (the religious sense of divine poetry).

Linguistic Characteristics: His style is characterized by the frequent use of nouns and a shortage of adjectives. The lexicon alternates between popular root words and Latinate terms.