Spanish Renaissance Literature and Lyric Poetry

The Spanish Renaissance and Its Literary Evolution

The Renaissance is a European movement of the 16th century that applied ideals spread by humanist culture and politics. We can distinguish two basic periods:

First Renaissance (1517–1556)

During this era, Spain emerged as a country open to foreign expansion. This lifestyle fostered a common approach to Italian trends. Thus, a new metric was adopted, based on the use of heroic verse (hendecasyllables), seven-syllable verses, and stanzas such as the sonnet, silva, and lira. The aesthetic ideal was naturalness. Garcilaso de la Vega is the most representative author of this moment. His subject matter is fundamentally sourced from Petrarchan love; love arises in conflict with desire and the impossibility of consummation.

Mannerism or the Second Renaissance (1556–1598)

Resulting from the Counter-Reformation, Spain closed its borders to new ideologies from the exterior. Vitalism gave way to the earthly, renouncing what is natural, which was replaced by selection. Fernando de Herrera, San Juan de la Cruz, and Fray Luis de León represent these trends. Patriotic, moral, and religious themes were added to the theme of love. The first works of Góngora and Lope de Vega are also located within Mannerism.

Lyric Poetry in the First Renaissance: Garcilaso

His body of work is short but of very high quality, consisting of three Eclogues, 38 sonnets, two elegies, four songs, and one ode. As a Petrarchan poet, he focused almost exclusively on amorous matters. He presents two attitudes toward love:

• Poems in vita: Written during Isabel's life, showing a love disappointed by the lady's refusal.
• Poems in morte: Written after Isabel's death, conveying a painful love due to the inability to accept her loss.

Lyric Poetry in the Second Renaissance

The lyric creation of this era has been divided into two main schools:

• School of Seville: Characterized by the predominance of form over content, which results in brilliant poetry. Key figure: Fernando de Herrera.
• School of Salamanca: Finding a balance between expression and content, driven by a marked concern for religious, moral, and philosophical issues. Key figure: Fray Luis de León.

Fray Luis de León

His production developed in both prose and verse. Of his prose, The Perfect Married Woman (1583) and The Names of Christ (1575) stand out. His work in verse is small but notable for its masterly handling of the ode. We find reflections on the simple life, contempt for material goods, and human vanity. His style is a reflection of the Renaissance spirit. The majority of his poems are written in liras.

San Juan de la Cruz

His work was inspired by a deep religious feeling. Although his output is small, not reaching 1,000 verses, his greatest works of mystic themes stand out:

• The Dark Night of the Soul (8 liras): Describes the soul's flight and union with the beloved.
• Spiritual Canticle (40 liras): Explains the way to God.
• Living Flame of Love (4 lira-sextets): The poet sings of supreme joy, full of love.

He utilizes all expressive resources, including repetition, antithesis, and paradox. He expresses with great intensity the passion of divine love, the desire, and the attainment of union with the beloved.