Spanish Golden Age Literature: Renaissance and Baroque Eras

The Golden Century: An Introduction

The Golden Century (Siglo de Oro) refers to a period in Castilian literature spanning two centuries and two distinct stages.

The Renaissance (16th Century)

The Renaissance (16th century) is a broad cultural movement that transformed European life during the 16th century. It is known for the continuation, high regard, or resurgence of Classical Greek and Latin culture.

Humanists

Humanists were individuals dedicated to the study of the humanities, who proposed and restored Classical ideals:

• Study of Greek and Latin classical languages.
• Enthusiastic appraisal of the world and knowledge of the human being.

For humanists:

• The world is no longer just a place to step to the other life, but a place of beauty and worth to be enjoyed.
• Man is the center and measure of the world (anthropocentrism) versus medieval theocentrism.
• Human perfection lies in the balanced development of intellectual faculties.

Renaissance Literary Themes

• Love: Often unrequited or marked by the absence of the beloved.
• Nature: Perfect, idealized, and eternally spring-like landscapes.
• Myths: From Greek and Latin classics, often incorporating fantasies.

Garcilaso de la Vega

Born in Toledo in 1501, Garcilaso de la Vega married in 1525, but a year later he met his platonic love, the Portuguese Isabel Freire. He died in Nice in 1536 due to injuries sustained in the assault of a fortress. His poetic literary output, though not extensive, is significant: three Eclogues, thirty-eight sonnets, five songs, two elegies, and one epistle. His main themes are: love inspired by Isabel, idealized nature, and mythology.

The Baroque (17th Century)

The Baroque (17th century) is a cultural and ideological movement that developed in Spain and Europe during the 17th century. It emerged during a time of crisis and decadence. The characteristic features of the 17th century and the Baroque are pessimism and disillusionment.

General Features of Baroque Literature

• Complication and extensive formal elaboration.
• Original expression.

Baroque Literary Themes

• The transience of things and life.
• Frequent philosophical, satirical, and burlesque themes.

Culteranismo

What is important in Culteranismo is the complicated and difficult manner of expression, using a cultivated lexicon, accumulating complex and artificial metaphors. The maximum representative of Culteranismo is Góngora.

Conceptismo

Conceptismo is based on associations of ingenious ideas and concepts. It uses semantic wordplay, antithesis, and paradox as resources. The most notable poet of Conceptismo is Francisco de Quevedo.

Luis de Góngora

Born in Córdoba in 1561, Luis de Góngora was ordained a priest in 1617. He moved to Madrid, where he served as chaplain at the court of Philip III. He died in 1627. His poetry has two stages: youth and maturity. In the first, traditional forms like romances and letrillas abound. In the second, he has poems written in a more cultivated style, such as The Fable of Polyphemus and Galatea and The Solitudes.

Francisco de Quevedo

Francisco de Quevedo was born in Madrid in 1580. He studied in Alcalá and later dedicated himself to political activities, serving as secretary to the monarch in 1632. In 1639, he was jailed for five years and died in 1645, years after his release.

Lope de Vega

Lope de Vega's poetry includes both popular compositions (romances, seguidillas, carols, letrillas) and more cultivated forms (sonnets). His poetry is usually spontaneous and reflects life.