Renaissance Spanish Poetry: Garcilaso de la Vega and Fray Luis de León

Garcilaso de la Vega (1501-1536)

In 1543, his works, alongside those of Juan Boscán, were published, marking the advent of Petrarchan lyrical poetry in Spain. Garcilaso's concise body of work—**forty sonnets, three Eclogues, five songs, two elegies, an epistle, and eight octosyllabic poems of the *cancionero* type**—revolutionized Spanish lyric poetry. Born into an aristocratic family in Toledo, he dedicated his life to the service of King Charles I. In 1525, he married Elena de Zúñiga. The following year, he met Isabel Freire (Isabel of Portugal, wife of the monarch), who would inspire many of his writings.

His primary theme is *love*, often expressed through melancholy and sadness, stemming from the frustration or absence of his beloved. He connects love with *nature*, using the *locus amoenus* (idealized natural setting) to reflect his inner poetic world and provide solace for his pain. Other poems address themes such as *friendship* (Elegy I and the Epistle to Boscán), *fate*, *fortune*, and the *mastery of passions*. His Petrarchan-style poems show the influence of *cancionero* poetry and the Valencian poet Ausiàs March.

The Eclogues

These lyrical compositions feature shepherds expressing their laments of love within an idealized natural setting. All three Eclogues share common themes of love and suffering.

Eclogue I

Beyond an introduction and a dedication "to the Viceroy of Naples," this eclogue contains two monologues by shepherds, *Salicio* and *Nemoroso*, who grapple with the pain of rejection and the death of a beloved.

Eclogue II

This eclogue stands out for its metric heterogeneity and variety. Its first part focuses on the pain, madness, and unrequited love experienced by *Albino* and *Camilla*.

Eclogue III

This eclogue narrates stories woven by four nymphs. Three are mythological, while the fourth concerns the death of *Elisa*, Nemoroso's beloved.

Fray Luis de León (1527-1591)

Born in Belmonte, Cuenca, he was admitted into the Augustinian order. He graduated as a *Doctor of Theology* and obtained a professorship at the University of Salamanca. He served five years in jail, accused of translating the *Song of Songs* into Castilian and defending the Hebrew text of the Old Testament. He wrote his poetry coinciding with the rise of spiritual literature in the second half of the 16th century.

His poetic work includes **23 original poems**, mostly in *lira* stanzas, which were published posthumously in 1613. His poems are primarily *moral*, with a few *religious* pieces. His sources include *Horace*, creator of the *locus amoenus* topic 'Beatus ille,' and *Virgil*, as well as biblical texts. He was influenced by *Neoplatonic* and *Stoic philosophy*. He believed that *inner peace* and *goodness* could be achieved through self-knowledge, embracing the theme of '*secum vivere*' (to live with oneself, within) and leading a secluded existence.

His style is characterized by:

• *Metaphors*, especially those related to nature.
• *Repetition of words* (anaphora).
• *Latinisms* (cultismos).
• *Hyperbaton*.
• *Polysyndeton* and *asyndeton*.