Spanish Literature: Key Authors and Movements

Miguel de Cervantes

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. He was likely born on September 29, 1547, in Alcalá de Henares and died on April 22, 1616, in Madrid. He was buried on April 23, and this date is popularly known as the date of his death. He is considered the greatest figure in Spanish literature. He is universally known, especially because he wrote *The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha*, which many critics have described as the first modern novel and one of the best works of world literature. He was given the nickname "Prince of Wits."

Baroque Poetry

Baroque poets demonstrate an extraordinary literary quality in sonnets, tenths, *letrillas*, *silvas*, *romances*, etc. Notable authors include Luis de Góngora, Francisco de Quevedo, Lope de Vega, the Count of Villamediana, and Francisco de Rioja.

Culteranismo focuses on formal beauty. Its leader, Luis de Góngora, gave this literature the name *Gongorismo*. It closes the topic and reloads the form with countless artifacts and ornaments. Conceptismo is based on ingenuity and subtlety in the game of ideas or concepts. It features significant density, double meanings of words, brevity and elision, paradoxes, metaphors, and so on. Notable authors include Francisco de Quevedo, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, and Baltasar Gracián.

Luis de Góngora

Born in Córdoba in 1561 to a family of gentry, Góngora was ordained without a true vocation. He was installed in Madrid in 1617 as a royal chaplain. His economic situation worsened due to his gambling. He died bankrupt in his hometown. He had a personal and literary dispute that lasted years with Francisco de Quevedo. In 1613, he published *Fable of Polyphemus and Galatea* and *Soledad Primera*. His difficult literary language was criticized in his time. His work was later undervalued and eventually recovered in the twentieth century by the Generation of '27, who proposed to reclaim Góngora's work. In his *romances*, he explored various themes, using both seven-syllable and eight-syllable lines. His *letrillas* dealt with subjects ranging from religious to satirical.

San Juan de la Cruz

Born in 1542 in Fontiveros, San Juan de la Cruz is the maximum representative of mystical poetry. He attempted to reform the Carmelite order, which had apparently strayed far from the evangelical model. He had several clashes with members of his own order that led him to prison. He died in 1591. His works include *Dark Night of the Soul*, *Spiritual Canticle*, and *Living Flame of Love*. They recount his experiences after reaching spiritual union with divinity.

Features of Idealist Novels

• Characters are flat; their behavior does not evolve with experience.
• The pace is slow because the action is interrupted by side stories, poems, or long descriptions.
• They do not reflect the everyday reality of their time but an unreal or mythical one indefinitely.
• They take place in landscapes, exotic or legendary places.

Realist Novel

The realist novel is a narrative genre that appeared in Spain in the nineteenth century as an overcoming of the historical and romantic novel.

Didactic Prose

Dialogues and Talks

The dialogue between two or more characters, who try to persuade other participants with rhetoric, was used to treat all sorts of issues. The conversational tone of the genre was lively and ideal for providing enjoyable learning. The most prized dialogues are those of the Renaissance Erasmians, Juan and Alfonso Valdés.

History, Mysticism, and Asceticism

The teaching of the time required any type of distinctly literary prose, which made it possible for any work to reach a high aesthetic level. Historiography, which was essentially narrative, allowed for fictitious passages, such as dialogue or thoughts. Asceticism and mysticism are treated in numerous books that are notable cases of good prose. Santa Teresa de Jesús stands out in this area.