Spanish Literary Masters: 14th-16th Century Works

Spanish Literature: 14th-16th Centuries

14th Century Narrative: Prose Fiction

Don Juan Manuel

Key Characteristics

• Genre: Historical-fiction prose, epic elements.
• Focus: Noble protagonist, pursuit of love, action, fantastic locations, drawing from Arthurian legend and the Trojan cycle.

Themes

• Vanity
• Hypocrisy
• Justice
• Moral and didactic intention

Style

• Concern for language
• Extensive vocabulary

Major Work

El Conde Lucanor (also known as Libro de Patronio or Libro de los ejemplos del conde Lucanor y de Patronio)

15th Century Developments

Jorge Manrique

Profile

A nobleman and soldier who aspired to make a name for himself in society.

Literary Output

• Love poetry
• Moral and burlesque poetry

Major Work: Coplas por la muerte de su padre

A meditation on the passage of time, the transience of worldly possessions, and the equalizing power of death.

Themes

• Death as a character
• The pursuit of fame (fama)
• Vanitas vanitatum (vanity of vanities)
• Ubi sunt? (Where are they now?)
• Tempus fugit (time flies)
• Homo viator (man as a traveler/pilgrim)

Structure (40 stanzas)

1. Stanzas 1-13: Allusions to the transience of life and worldly things.
2. Stanzas 14-24: Comparison of earthly life with eternal life, where fame gained through virtuous deeds can prevail.
3. Stanzas 25-40: Glorification of his father, Don Rodrigo Manrique, as an example of a life well-lived, achieving eternal fame and salvation.

Style

• Use of pie quebrado (a shorter line interspersing longer ones in a stanza)
• Sober and direct language
• Use of synonyms
• Rhetorical devices such as questions, exclamations, and personification
• Linguistic oscillation (alternating between simple and more elaborate expression)
• Use of adjectives and imperative forms

15th Century Theatre

General Characteristics

• Built upon religious heritage and the vitality of popular theatre.
• Experimentation with secular subjects.
• Increase in the number and variety of characters.

Two Main Streams

• Religious Drama: Themes from the life of Jesus and saints.
• Profane Drama: Burlesque and pastoral themes.

La Celestina (Tragicomedy of Calisto and Melibea)

Attributed to Fernando de Rojas.

Argument

The work depicts the passionate and ultimately tragic love affair between Calisto and Melibea, orchestrated by the procuress Celestina. It explores themes of lust, greed, and the destructive power of passion, leading to the demise of most main characters.

Structure (Original 16 acts, later expanded to 21)

• Act 1: Introduction of the characters and the initial conflict (Calisto's infatuation with Melibea).
• Acts 2-12 (approx.): Development of the plot, Celestina's machinations, and the servants' involvement.
• Acts 13-20 (approx.): Consummation of Calisto and Melibea's love, leading to tragic consequences.
• Act 21 (in the expanded version): Pleberio's (Melibea's father) lament over his daughter's death and the state of the world.

Style

• Richness of language.
• Dialogues of Calisto and Melibea: Cultured, rhetorical, and often artificial, reflecting courtly love conventions.
• Dialogues of Celestina and other lower-class characters: Vernacular, lively, and filled with popular sayings and realism.

Characters

• Calisto: A young nobleman, initially a parody of the courtly lover, driven by passion.
• Melibea: A young noblewoman, initially resistant but eventually succumbs to love and passion.
• Celestina: An old procuress, intelligent, manipulative, and greedy; the central figure driving the plot.
• Pármeno and Sempronio: Calisto's servants, initially loyal but corrupted by greed.
• Elicia and Areúsa: Prostitutes associated with Celestina.
• Pleberio and Alisa: Melibea's parents.

Themes

• The destructive power of love (loco amor)
• Death
• The impermanence of life and fortune
• Greed
• Social critique

16th Century: The Renaissance

Garcilaso de la Vega

Profile

Considered the prototype of the Renaissance courtier: a soldier and a poet.

Themes

• Petrarchan Conception of Love: Often impossible or unrequited love, causing suffering yet ennobling the lover.
• Idealized Nature (Locus Amoenus): Nature as a beautiful, harmonious setting for love and reflection, often a confidante to the poet's sorrows.
• Mythology: Use of classical myths to explore themes of love and fate.
• Carpe Diem: Seize the day, enjoy youth and beauty before they fade.

Style

• Serene, elegant, and seemingly simple, without excessive artifice.
• Musicality and harmony in verse.
• Use of Italianate forms: sonnets, canciones, tercets, lira.
• Rhetorical figures: epithet, metaphor, alliteration, personification, hyperbaton.

Evolution of his Work & Major Works

Three Stages in his Poetry

1. Influence of traditional Spanish lyric poetry (e.g., cancionero style).
2. Assimilation of Petrarchism and classical influences.
3. Full maturity, achieving a personal and perfected style.

Highlighted Works (primarily sonnets, canciones, and eclogues)

• Eclogue I: Two shepherds, Salicio and Nemoroso, lament their unhappy loves. Noted for its passionate expression and formal perfection.
• Eclogue II: More extensive and complex, dealing with themes of heroic virtue and unhappy love (Albanio's love for Camila).
• Eclogue III: Four nymphs by the river Tagus weave tapestries depicting mythological love scenes, culminating in the tragic story of Elisa and Nemoroso (representing Isabel Freire and Garcilaso).

Fray Luis de León

Core Ideas

A humanist scholar and Augustinian friar, his poetry expresses a desire for solitude, spiritual peace, and refuge in nature, away from worldly turmoil. He sought harmony and moral perfection.

Style

• Composed odes, frequently using the lira (a five-line stanza of 7 and 11-syllable lines: 7a 11B 7a 7b 11B).
• Characterized by classical balance, serenity, and clarity.
• Precise and carefully chosen language.
• Use of enjambment to create a flowing rhythm.
• Biblical and classical allusions, and nature symbolism.

Major Works (Odes)

• Oda a la vida retirada (Ode to a Retiring Life): Praises a simple life dedicated to study and contemplation in nature.
• Noche serena (Serene Night): Contemplation of the starry sky leads to reflections on divine harmony and the desire for heaven.
• Profecía del Tajo (Prophecy of the Tagus): A patriotic ode with historical and prophetic elements.

San Juan de la Cruz (St. John of the Cross)

Themes

A Carmelite friar and mystic, his poetry is inspired by his profound religious experiences, attempting to communicate the ineffable union of the soul with God.

Style

• To express the mystical experience, he uses numerous symbols (night, light, fire, water), allegories, metaphors, and comparisons drawn from both biblical (Song of Songs) and pastoral traditions.
• Intense lyricism and passionate expression.
• Paradox and oxymoron to convey mystical concepts.

Major Works (Mystical Poetry)

• Noche oscura del alma (Dark Night of the Soul): Describes the soul's journey through spiritual desolation (the "dark night") towards union with God.
• Cántico espiritual (Spiritual Canticle): An allegorical dialogue between the Soul (the Bride) and Christ (the Bridegroom), detailing the mystical path to divine union. It explains the three mystical ways (vías):
  • Vía Purgativa (Purgative Way): Purification of the senses and spirit.
  • Vía Iluminativa (Illuminative Way): The soul is enlightened by God's grace and contemplation.
  • Vía Unitiva (Unitive Way): The soul achieves union with God.
• Llama de amor viva (Living Flame of Love): Expresses the highest state of mystical union, where the soul is transformed by divine love.