Renaissance Spanish Lyric: Forms, Figures, and Spirituality

Innovations in Spanish Renaissance Lyric Poetry

The new poetic canon not only renewed the themes but also the manner of expression. Compared to the medieval dodecasyllabic and octosyllabic meters characteristic of traditional songs, the Renaissance popularized the hendecasyllable, which became the most representative meter of learned poetry. The hendecasyllable was often combined with the seven-syllable form in poetic structures such as the lira, silvas, and estancias, all widely used in Renaissance lyric poetry, along with the tercet and quatrain.

Beautiful compositions were written by prominent figures like Garcilaso de la Vega, Fray Luis de León, and San Juan de la Cruz. Garcilaso notably incorporated the Castilian lira (7a 11B 7a 7b 11B) into his famous "Ode to the Flower of Gnido." However, the most important verse form of the cultured Renaissance lyric was the sonnet, a self-contained composition typically consisting of two quatrains and two tercets, generally descriptive with a meditative tone.

Among the key Renaissance lyric genres were:

• The Eclogue: A bucolic poetic composition, structured around the dialogue of several shepherds.
• The Ode: A song of exaltation.
• The Epistle: A letter in verse.
• The Song: Characteristically used for the expression of feelings and more strictly lyrical themes.

The Age of Charles I: Innovators of Castilian Lyric

One of the first innovators was the Catalan poet and humanist Juan Boscán, who was familiar with the poetry of Provence and the 15th-century Valencian poet Ausiàs March, whom he compared to Homer. Boscán soon showed great interest in Greco-Latin and Italian culture, as evidenced by his translation of The Courtier by Baldassare Castiglione. He attempted to adapt Italian meters to Castilian lyric poetry in his sonnets. The final triumph of Italian forms in Castilian poetry came with Garcilaso de la Vega.

Asceticism and Mysticism in Spanish Literature

Asceticism

Corresponds to a life of effort and sacrifice. This tradition is exemplified by the Augustinian poet Fray Luis de León and the prominent Dominican Fray Luis de Granada.

Mysticism

Refers to the stages of the path to perfection where the soul unites with God. In Spanish literature, we find two great mystics: Saint Teresa of Ávila and Saint John of the Cross.

Saint Teresa of Ávila

A woman with a strong personality and very clear ideas on how to profess Christianity. She wrote several prose works where one can discern the influence of Erasmus. In her lyric poetry, she showed a delicate sensibility, expressing religious fervor and spiritual experience with direct words and the spontaneous speech of the people.