Spanish Baroque Literature: Theater, Poetry & Prose
Baroque Theater: Lope de Vega
Lope de Vega — Features:
- He selects arguments from various sources.
- Action prevails in his works.
- His dialogues are full of lyricism; the characters' language is musical, rhythmic and expressive.
Calderón de la Barca
Features: Calderón's work is more complex and presents greater ideological depth; it appeals to a cultured, minority audience. He treats more abstract topics such as the brevity of life and human nature. He is also the author of several autos sacramentales (mystery plays).
Baroque Poetry: Features
Baroque poetry reflects the sense of crisis, pessimism and disillusionment characteristic of this cultural stage. The main themes are love, nature and mythology. There are also sensual and moral issues, as well as philosophical and religious themes.
Luis de Góngora
Góngora cultivated both learned (culto) and popular poetic forms. He addressed serious subjects as well as satirical and burlesque topics. His major works include Soledades and the Fábula de Polifemo y Galatea. His writing features cultismos, mythological references, and complex syntactic constructions in sonnets and mythological love narratives, along with satire, burlesque, religious and moral reflection, and themes of death and the disappointment of life.
Francisco de Quevedo
Quevedo is characterized by sharpness of thought, wordplay and intense emotion. His poetic themes include burlesque and satirical poetry, as well as romantic and philosophical reflections.
Baroque Prose: Prose Narrative
Specific features of the Baroque narrative include:
- The model of the Italian novella: This narrative type was introduced in Spain by Cervantes. It consists of sets of stories whose themes revolve around love, honor and the manners of the upper class; these works are often intended for entertainment (for example, María de Zayas).
- The picaresque novel: Intended for entertainment and social denunciation. Characteristics include:
- The narrative is presented in first person as a memoir.
- The hero has humble or miserable origins.
- The rogue leaves the family environment and goes on to serve several masters.
- The protagonist aspires to climb the social ladder through lies and deceit (for example, Guzmán de Alfarache).
Didactic Prose
Didactic prose includes moralizing and philosophical works.
Didactic Prose of Quevedo
Quevedo's didactic prose: Dreams (Sueños) are a set of stories in which the author bitterly criticizes the behavior of social groups and individuals.
Time and Fortune: "All with Brains"
This account explains how Jupiter, angry that Fortune had given men too much, decides that everyone should receive only what they deserve. Thus the rich become poor, truths are revealed, pitfalls discovered, and each person reaches the place that corresponds to them in the social order.