Spanish Literary Movements: From Medieval to Neoclassical

Medieval Period (13th and 14th Centuries)

The Medieval period saw advances in the Reconquista and strong literary development, exemplified by Gonzalo de Berceo. This era focused on verse and religious subjects with a didactic purpose.

• Cuaderna Vía: Stanza formed by four monorhyme verses.
• Alexandrine Verse: Verse of fourteen syllables.
• Celestina: Marks a departure from medieval ideals, reflecting the spirit of the time.

Renaissance (16th Century)

The Italian Influence and Realism

The Renaissance, originating in Italy during the 16th century (Siglos de Oro), marked a rebirth of classical learning, emphasizing change, human development, and natural elegance.

• Garcilaso de la Vega: Noble warrior and poet known for his eleven-syllable verse, sonnets, and themes of impossible love, nature, mythology, and Petrarchism.

Narrative Realism

This period saw the rise of realistic narratives, moving away from idealistic forms and embracing credible criticism. Lazarillo de Tormes is a prime example of the picaresque novel.

• Lazarillo de Tormes: Explores themes of poverty, hunger, marginalization, and religious and moral values. Lazaro, an antihero, undergoes psychological evolution. The novel is characterized by humor, irony, and is considered the first modern novel.

Cervantes and Don Quixote

Miguel de Cervantes contributed significantly to poetry, fiction, and drama. His masterpiece, Don Quixote, is a two-part modern novel that critiques chivalric books through parody. It contrasts the idealistic Don Quixote with the realistic Sancho Panza, creating a humorous work that explores idealism and reality, contradictions, naturalness, realism, and plausibility through portrait and dialogue.

Baroque (17th Century)

The Baroque period in Spain, developed during a time of crisis and decadence (political, social, and economic), produced a flourishing of literature and arts. Key figures include Luis de Góngora, Francisco de Quevedo, Lope de Vega, and Pedro Calderón de la Barca. The Baroque spirit was marked by pessimism, disappointment, existential angst, dynamism, artificiality, contrasts, commotion, shrewdness, and wit, reflecting the Counter-Reformation.

Lyrical Baroque Poetry

Baroque poetry is divided into two main styles: Conceptism and Culteranism.

• Conceptism: Characterized by dense and complex content, paradox, antithesis, hyperbole, irony, and meaning condensation.
• Culteranism: Emphasizes shiny plastic and sensory images, hyperbaton, hyperbole, alliteration, mythology, calling attention to formal beauty.

Baroque Theater

Baroque theater was popular in the 17th century, achieving public success and promoting political, social, and religious values.

• Lope de Vega's Comedy: The new comedy of the 17th century broke the rule of the three unities, dividing comedies into three acts, mixing genres and characters, using archetypes, and incorporating varied metric and lyrical elements. Themes included honor, revenge, and defending traditional values and Catholic morality. Lope de Vega wrote around 1500 comedies, exploring historical, legendary, love, and religious themes.
• Calderón de la Barca: Focused on traditional values (monarchy, concept of honor), reflection, philosophical and pessimistic perspectives, ideology, symbolism, and dramas of honor and jealousy.
• Luis de Góngora: A master of Culteranism, known for his imagination, perfection of poetry, obscurity, difficulty, burlesque, and satirical sonnets.
• Francisco de Quevedo: Known for his disappointed and pessimistic outlook, themes of imminent death, pain, love, religious and political concerns, and a hopeless moralist perspective. His work features satire, contrasts between serious and thoughtful tones, burlesque, metaphors, and concepts.

Neoclassicism (18th Century)

The Enlightenment

The 18th century, or the Age of Enlightenment, saw the rise of Neoclassicism. This movement retrieved classical ideals and style, emphasizing didactic purpose, simplicity, clarity, good taste, a rationalistic spirit, and the desire to transform society through culture. It rejected the Baroque aesthetic and favored fables, essays, and theater.