Themes and Forms of Baroque Poetry

Baroque poetry continued to cultivate previous poetic themes, intensifying expression. Texts often conveyed ideas of disappointment and awareness of the era's crisis. The most general feature is the diversity of themes and motifs.

Love Poetry in the Baroque Era

Focus: Continuing the Renaissance idea of love, expressing the pain of frustrated love, and physically describing the beloved in a Petrarchan vision. These images could change over time, with a focus on preventing amorous pain. Love was also treated from a parody or burlesque approach.

Philosophical and Moral Baroque Poetry

Marked by prevailing pessimism and disappointment, the contrast between reality and appearance, the transience of life, and awareness of death. Stoic ideas and the virtuous life are also reflected.

Religious Poetry of the Baroque

Predominantly poetry of celebrations, although spiritual reflection and repentance are also present.

Baroque Burlesque Poetry

Abounds in parodic and humorous mockery, both of nature and personal subjects. Classical myths are often attacked or dismantled.

Common Topics and Motifs

In the Baroque period, classical and Renaissance motifs were restated, corresponding to the abandonment of the Renaissance ideal of harmony. Related to the consciousness of crisis and concern for the transience of life are motifs like ruin, flowers, or the clock.

Formal Aspects of Baroque Poetry

Baroque poetry was characterized by remarkable formal, generic, and stylistic diversity. This is shown through varied language registers, displays of wit, and the use of expressive resources.

Baroque Poetic Meter

There was an appreciation for minor art meter, especially the octosyllable, in various combinations:

• Seguidillas
• Carols
• Letrillas
• Romances (especially, with a tendency to group lines in quatrains and introduce refrains)

Italianate Renaissance poem and verse types continued to be cultivated.

Concept and Expressive Devices

The exhibition of wit and the extreme development of poetic concept are reflected in both serious and satirical/burlesque poetry, often in hendecasyllable verse. The 'concept' (concepto) is the basic medium for expressing deep thought through sharp rhetorical devices such as:

• Metaphor
• Comparison
• Periphrasis

There is a trend towards contrasting beauty and ugliness and using antithesis, oxymoron, and paradox.