Spanish Golden Age Literature: Baroque and Renaissance

Spanish Baroque Poetry and Its Main Trends

Baroque poetry reached some peaks unrivaled in the history of Spanish poetry. In this period, two trends lived side by side:

• Popular: This trend is more accessible and includes carols and letrillas, composing songs in the traditional Castilian lyric or faux-romance, as well as themes of traditional ballads and the Romancero Nuevo. In these compositions, the standard is the clarity of expression and simplicity in language.
• Culta (Cultivated): Characterized by an intricate elaboration of language that requires the reader to perform a difficult intellectual exercise to understand the poems. Two streams stand out: Conceptivismo and Culteranismo. Both constitute the opposite point of the balance sought by the previous century's Renaissance language, as they aim to surprise. This style defends "darkness" to avoid being vulgar.

Renaissance Ideals and the Baroque Shift

The Renaissance was defined by the exaltation of the world and of man, life and enjoyment, and present reality. It featured vital optimism, measurement, formal beauty, balance, serenity, harmony, elegance, simplicity, and naturalness.

Baroque Features and Historical Context

From a historical point of view, there was a sharp contrast between the 16th and 17th centuries. The Renaissance optimism disappeared in the Baroque: ideals were shattered and art became unbalanced. The need for stability disappeared, and restlessness became embedded in the literature of the society. The Baroque assumed and repeated Renaissance tags, but instead of using them for pleasure or conviction, it presented the emptiness of their content in the form of deception and illusion, as reflected in a mirror, to show the loss of faith in man and the devaluation of his world. Between the Renaissance and the Baroque, there was not a total break but a change—a natural evolution.

The National Comedy and Spanish Theater

The restoration and consolidation of the Baroque theatrical formula adopted the name National Comedy to distinguish it from the new plays conducted by Lope de Vega. He realized that Spanish theater had to be distinguished from classical imitation and start its own path through a "new art." The ability of Lope was exemplary: he harmonized usable previous theater forms and offered the public a theater that was near and familiar. He also addressed and conveyed monarchical feelings. With the success and response of the audience, the theater became professionalized and enjoyed fixed sites for representation, known as comedy pens.