Spanish Golden Age Literary Classics: Lazarillo, Cervantes, Fray Luis

Lazarillo de Tormes: A Picaresque Masterpiece

First published in 1554, Lazarillo de Tormes saw four different editions appear in various locations, all published anonymously. The author chose not to reveal their identity, likely fearing potential problems due to the anticlerical criticism and Erasmian influences present in its pages.

Plot Summary and Character Development

Lázaro de Tormes begins his journey serving a blind man, his first master. Throughout the novel, he serves several others, including a priest, a knight, a friar, a pardoner, a tambourine painter, a chaplain, and a constable. Through these experiences, Lázaro learns the harsh realities of life and develops survival skills. Ultimately, he marries a preacher's servant and becomes a town crier, achieving a semblance of stability.

Lázaro: A New Narrative Protagonist

The protagonist, Lázaro, is an ordinary man, an antihero, a stark contrast to the idealized figures of chivalric romances. The novel ironically parodies the legendary knights, presenting a more realistic and often cynical view of society.

Lazarillo and the Picaresque Novel Genre

Lazarillo de Tormes is considered a foundational work of the picaresque novel, created as a social critique told in the first person by a child. It contains several defining features that would become hallmarks of the picaresque genre:

• The narration is done in the first person.
• The rogue (picaro) is born into a family without honor or social standing.
• The rogue does not achieve a change in social class; their struggles for survival persist.
• The work often has an open or ambiguous ending, reflecting the ongoing nature of the picaro's life.

Fray Luis de León: Renaissance Poet and Scholar

Born in Belmonte, Fray Luis de León spent most of his life at the university. He endured five years in prison on charges related to his translation of the Song of Songs into Castilian, a forbidden act at the time.

His poems are direct heirs of the Renaissance, both in their Italianate form and their profound content. He is also renowned for his distinguished prose, particularly his translations of the Bible, and two significant original works: De los Nombres de Cristo (The Names of Christ) and La Perfecta Casada (The Perfect Wife).

Miguel de Cervantes: Master of Spanish Prose

Cervantes' Early Novels: La Galatea

As a novelist, Miguel de Cervantes penned La Galatea, a pastoral novel divided into six books. In this work, the author adheres to the conventions of the genre, featuring themes of heartbreak, refined shepherds, and idealized landscapes.

Don Quixote: Publication History

Don Quixote is a monumental novel divided into two parts. The first part was published in 1605, and the second part followed ten years later. Notably, in 1614, an apocryphal version, signed by one Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda, was published in Tarragona. The true second part by Cervantes was published a year later, in 1615.

Don Quixote: Plot Overview

Part I: The Knight's First Ventures

Don Quixote, driven mad by reading too many chivalric romances, comes to believe himself a knight-errant. He seeks a squire, Sancho Panza, and embarks on numerous adventures. After many escapades, the priest and barber from his village manage to trick him and lock him back in a cage, returning him home.

Part II: The Final Journey and Demise

The second part recounts Don Quixote and Sancho's three subsequent departures, including a journey targeting Aragon. Eventually, they arrive in Barcelona, where Don Quixote is defeated by a friend, Sansón Carrasco (disguised as the Knight of the White Moon). Carrasco imposes the condition that if defeated, Don Quixote must return home. He does so, and there, surrounded by family and friends, Don Quixote regains his sanity before ultimately dying.