Spanish Baroque Poetry: Góngora, Lope de Vega, and Quevedo

Baroque Poetry in 17th Century Spain

The 17th century witnessed a huge development in Spanish literature, where not only lyric and epic poetry grew, but drama also gained exceptional importance. As for the themes, although culteranismo poets often preferred classical mythology, Baroque poetry was very diverse, and any subject could be a matter for poetry. The three leading Baroque poets were Góngora, Lope de Vega, and Quevedo.

Luis de Góngora: Master of Culteranismo

His poetic production consists of three major types of works:

Góngora's Minor Works: Letrillas and Romances

• The letrillas and other minor art poems by Góngora were already widely known in his time. They sometimes adopted a serious tone, dealing with profound issues.
• Góngora's romances alternated between serious and burlesque tones. His subjects were diverse, including chivalric, Moorish, pastoral, and romantic themes.
• The Fable of Pyramus and Thisbe perfectly encapsulates the characteristics of Góngora's poetry, combining contrasting traits: the tendency towards culteranismo and popular appeal.

Major Works: Fables and Solitudes

• Góngora was also a master of sonnets. His sonnets were very diverse, covering love, burlesque, and moral themes. The love sonnets are Petrarchan in style.
• The Fable of Polyphemus and Galatea and Solitudes represent the culmination of culteranismo style.
• More than 60 octaves in Polyphemus develop the classical myth of the Cyclops Polyphemus's love for the nymph Galatea.
• The Solitudes consist of approximately 2,000 verses grouped into silvas. The theme is simple: a song to natural life and a disdain for courtly ambitions.

The themes in Góngora's poetry are not new: love, mythology, and nature. His style is characterized by culteranismo.

Lope de Vega: Lyric and Dramatic Poet

In addition to the dramatic poetry found in his plays, Lope also wrote epic and lyric poems, notable for his use of the romance and the sonnet. His romances were very famous, and he is considered one of the most important poets of the so-called 'new' or 'artistic' ballads. He also composed numerous sonnets. A religious and popular poet, Lope employed poetic devices such as paradoxes, puns, correlations, and antithesis.

Francisco de Quevedo: Conceptismo and Existential Themes

His approximately one thousand poems are grouped by their themes: philosophical, moral, religious, love, satirical-burlesque, and occasional poetry. The central themes in Quevedo's poetry are concerns about death and the disillusionment typical of the Baroque era. His poetry is a constant meditation on the transience of life. In style, Quevedo's poetry is characterized by constant puns, double meanings, polysemy, paronomasia, hyperbole, antithesis, paradox, and grotesque imagery. His style is characterized by Conceptismo.