Baroque Literature and Art: Pessimism and Opulence
Baroque Literature
Characteristics: Pessimism, worry about moral standards, the transience of life, the universal presence of death, and disappointment. Frequent contrasts of nature manifest the flawed reality. Baroque writers seek to create surprising and highly appreciated effects, and value originality. They use a complex style where rhetorical resources abound. The literary language gives rise to two streams:
- Culteranismo: Searches for formal beauty using cultisms and the creation of artifice.
- Conceptismo: Is based on ingenuity (irony, paradox, and caricature).
Baroque Art
A movement characterized by its pessimistic and skeptical vision of reality. A result of adverse historical circumstances: crisis, economic recession, and social unrest caused by the decline of the ideas that had encouraged the previous century. Baroque art was highlighted by opulence and brilliance. The artists leave the formal balance of Renaissance art and seek surprise and originality, creating a style based on dynamism, contrast, and contrivance. Baroque themes reflect the pessimism of the time: things look deceptive, their appearance hides reality, the fugacity of life, which is a simple and annoying transit toward death, and disappointment, the result of youthful dreams. “Everything has been unreal.”
Baroque Literature
Characteristics: Pessimism, worry about moral standards, the transience of life, the universal presence of death, and disappointment. Frequent contrasts of nature manifest the flawed reality. Baroque writers seek to create surprising and highly appreciated effects, and value originality. They use a complex style where rhetorical resources abound. The literary language gives rise to two streams:
- Culteranismo: Searches for formal beauty using cultisms and the creation of artifice.
- Conceptismo: Is based on ingenuity (irony, paradox, and caricature).
Baroque Lyric Poetry
Baroque poetry is an exaggeration of the Renaissance; it is an evolution of it. It retains genres and metrics (octosyllables and *villancicos*) and enriches the romance. The themes reflect the concerns of the time, and the style suits the conceptual and cultural innovations.
Important authors:
- Gongora
- Lope de Vega
- Quevedo
Luis de Gongora (1561-1627)
From Cordoba, dedicated to poetry, he has two types of compositions and arrangements:
- Romances
- Sonnets
Cultured poems of traditional popular lyric: romances and *letrillas*, written in a language without artifice. Major works of cultured poetry: *The Fable of Polyphemus and Galatea* (based on a classical myth and written in *cuartetos reales*); *Soledades*, an unfinished poem that exalts life in nature.
Baroque Prose
The prose of thought uses satire and caricature, criticizing the society of the time. The favorite style is the concept; its expressive concentration and verbal games lent itself well to prose, especially for authors like Quevedo and Baltasar Gracian. Regarding fiction prose, there is a boom in the picaresque novel with the publication of *Guzman*, by Mateo Alemán, and Quevedo’s *El Buscón*, modeled on the *Lazarillo de Tormes*. Baltasar Gracián’s *El Criticón*, an allegorical novel with a pessimistic vision, is important, as well as *Don Quixote*.