Spanish Literary Masters: Lazarillo de Tormes & Cervantes

Lazarillo de Tormes: Birth of Picaresque Genre

In 1554, The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes and His Fortunes and Adversities was published. Published anonymously, it is narrated in the first person, taking the form of a letter from Lázaro de Tormes to a high-ranking individual, "Your Excellency." Lázaro recounts his life from birth until the moment of writing the book. Many consider Lazarillo de Tormes the first manifestation of the picaresque genre. It presents the typical structure of this genre:

• The protagonist, Lázaro, narrates his own life.
• He is the son of parents without honor.
• He uses small thefts and tricks to survive.
• Success and failure alternate in his life; when he seems to have achieved something, he often returns to his downfall.
• He aims to climb the social ladder but achieves no more than a miserable job.
• It recounts, with great realism, events that could have happened, not fantasies.

Miguel de Cervantes (1527-1616)

His life spans two centuries: the 16th, which shaped his literary taste, and the 17th, during which he composed his major works. During the second half of the 16th century, the Renaissance period, Cervantes developed his unique literary style and emerged as a prominent novelist. In the early years of the 17th century, the Baroque movement emerged, a literary and artistic style reflecting the pessimism and social unrest caused by Spain's political and economic decline.

Life of Miguel de Cervantes

Born in Alcalá de Henares, he resided with his family in Valladolid, Córdoba, Seville, and Madrid. He traveled to Rome in the service of Cardinal Acquaviva. He joined the army in 1571 and participated in the Battle of Lepanto, where he was wounded in the chest and hand. Upon his return from Naples to Spain, Cervantes was captured and held prisoner. Because the ransom demanded for him was substantial, he spent five years in prison and was eventually freed by the Trinitarian Fathers. He later settled in Seville as a tax collector. He was imprisoned again in 1597 for allegedly appropriating public money. It is believed that he began writing Don Quixote while in prison. In 1604, he moved to Valladolid, and in 1605, he published the first part of his major work: The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. The second part was published in 1615. He died on April 22, 1616, in Madrid.

Cervantes' Literary Works

• He wrote poems.
• He also wrote for the theater. His most representative comedies include The Captives of Algiers, The Treatment of Algiers, The Great Sultana, and The Brave Spaniard, often reflecting the theme of captivity he suffered. Cervantes is also considered one of the best authors of entremeses (short farcical interludes), utilizing both prose and verse.
• As a novelist, he cultivated the narrative genres characteristic of the second half of the 16th century. In 1585, he published his first novel, La Galatea, a work of the pastoral genre. Its characters are idealized shepherds who recount their loves and express their feelings amidst an idyllic natural setting. A year after his death, The Works of Persiles and Sigismunda was published, belonging to the subgenre of the Byzantine novel. Persiles and Sigismunda embark on a pilgrimage to Rome to marry. They change their names and pretend to be siblings, traveling through many countries where they face numerous challenges.