Spanish Lyric Poetry: Origins and Evolution from Jarchas to Ballads

The Origins of Popular Lyric Poetry

Lyric poetry originated in the everyday activities of people singing. The main theme was love, and the songs were oral and anonymous.

The Jarchas: Mozarabic Lyric

The jarchas were popular Mozarabic lyric ditties of no more than 5 or 6 lines. They gather laments of a girl in love and are very expressive with direct language. Characteristic personalities include the habib (beloved), the mamma (mother), and the yermanelas (sisters).

Catalan Lyric

• Influenced by the poetry of the Provençal troubadours, sometimes written in Provençal.
• Composed by the troubadours.
• Main theme: courtly love.
• Genres: The canso, the sirventes, and the tenso.

Galician-Portuguese Lyric

• Influenced by the Provençal.
• Appeared at the end of the 12th century and had its most flamboyant period in the 13th century.
• Genres: The songs of love, cantigas de amigo, cantigas de escarnio.
• Use of parallelistic stanzas with a chorus, repeating the theme with slight variations.

Traditional Castilian Lyric

The metric is formed by a chorus of two or three verses and repeated verses (glosses) that develop the proposed theme. The most common lines are 6 or 8 syllables, and the rhyme may be consonant or assonant.

Genres: The planto, the maya, the albada, and love songs.

Jorge Manrique (1440-1479)

Born in Palencia and died in battle, Jorge Manrique is the best Castilian poet of the 15th century. He knew how to combine tradition and originality. In his literary production (he wrote 49 poems), his moral poetry stands out, represented by the verses on the death of his father.

These verses are composed of two sextuplets per stanza. The topics are:

• The transience of worldly things.
• The instability of fortune.
• The equalizing power of death.
• The importance of fame due to courage and good works.

These topics are treated from a Christian perspective.

The Ballads

The romances (15th century) are statements disseminated by the minstrels and are one of the most important manifestations of traditional poetry. It is considered that they are linked to epic poems. It is said that the romances are fragments of epic poems that were sung separately due to their particular emotion, but ultimately ended up being a genre apart.

Form

Series of poems composed of octosyllabic verses with the same rhyme. They are transmitted orally, which is why different versions of the same work are preserved.

Features

• Mix of narrative and dialogue.
• Fragmentary narrative.
• Abundance of repetitions.
• Use of expressive formulas to call the attention of the listener.
• Use of the historical present.
• Simplicity of expressive resources.

Classification

Heroic romances, historical romances, news romances, and romantic and lyrical ballads.