Spanish Prose Fiction: Genres and Literary Evolution

Prose Fiction in Spanish Literature

Books of Chivalry

Books of chivalry were a prominent literary genre of the late 16th century. They first appeared in the Middle Ages and reached their peak between 1510 and 1560. Key characteristics of chivalric fiction include:

• Exaggerated and fantastic elements
• Presence of wizards and wonderful creatures
• Constant battles where the knight demonstrates courage and strives to be worthy of his lady's love

The narrator recounts the exploits in the third person, often acting as a chronicler of the deeds of a great knight. The most important work was Amadís de Gaula by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo.

Pastoral Novel

The first pastoral novel published in Spain was Los siete libros de Diana (The Seven Books of Diana) by Jorge de Montemayor. In these novels, shepherds in refined, idealized, and beautiful settings fall in love, cry, suffer from jealousy, and sing beautiful songs.

Notable Authors and Works:

• Cervantes: La Galatea
• Lope de Vega: La Arcadia

Byzantine Novel

The Byzantine novel describes the adventures of two lovers in imaginary places and times. Several were written in Spain during the 16th century. Cervantes wrote a novel of this kind entitled Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda (The Labors of Persiles and Sigismunda).

Morisco Novel

The Morisco novel evokes the frontier life of the 15th century, which separated the Kingdom of Castile from the last Muslim kingdom in Spain. The most important work is Historia del Abencerraje y la hermosa Jarifa (History of Abencerraje and the Beautiful Jarifa). The concept of love is similar to that found in romances, but the setting is realistic.

Picaresque Novel

Key characteristics of the Picaresque novel include:

• The protagonist is a rogue (pícaro) narrating his own life from childhood.
• He is often the son of dishonorable parents and speaks with cynicism.
• He is a thief and uses clever tricks to survive.
• He aspires to climb the social ladder.
• It narrates credible events, emphasizing realism.

Most Important Work:

La vida de Lazarillo de Tormes, y de sus fortunas y adversidades (The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes, and of His Fortunes and Adversities).

Structure:

The composition of Lazarillo is structured around two models: autobiography and the epistolary form. All elements (including many written texts and oral tradition, mixed with data drawn from reality) make sense because they are part of the story of a character's life, told by himself in the form of a letter.