Conceptismo vs. Culteranismo in Spanish Baroque Literature
Conceptismo and Culteranismo in Baroque Literature
Within the Spanish Baroque period, two main literary tendencies emerged: Conceptismo and Culteranismo.
Culteranismo
Its foremost representative is Luis de Góngora, who sought to create an enlightened and exclusive poetic language. This style emphasizes formal beauty, colorful brilliance, and sensory details. It is achieved through the careful elaboration of language and a profusion of various resources, such as:
- Bold metaphors
- Hyperbaton (altered word order)
- Learned and unusual words (cultismos)
- The musicality and sound of words
Conceptismo
This style is primarily represented by Francisco de Quevedo and Baltasar Gracián. It tends towards concision, density, and expressive acuity. It utilizes wit (ingenio) and various rhetorical figures to convey complex ideas in a condensed form, including:
- Ellipses
- Wordplay and puns
- Paradoxes
- Equivocal associations of words and concepts
- Antithesis and hyperboles
Baroque Prose
Prose during this period was diverse, featuring several genres:
- The picaresque novel
- The short story (e.g., María de Zayas)
- The Byzantine novel (e.g., Lope de Vega)
- The allegorical novel (e.g., Baltasar Gracián)
- The novel of manners (e.g., Agustín de Rojas)
The Picaresque Novel
Originating with Lazarillo de Tormes, this realistic and uniquely Spanish (autóctono) genre reached its peak in the 17th century.
Key Features of the Picaresque Novel
- First-person narration.
- An open, episodic narrative structure.
- Realistic events and settings.
- The protagonist, the pícaro, is a rogue from a dishonorable and ignoble background, as their parents lack honor (honra).
- The pícaro typically does not improve their social status and is often a victim of their own actions.
- A moralizing and satirical tone.
Luis de Góngora (17th Century Poet)
Luis de Góngora was a leading figure of Culteranismo, and his work is primarily poetic.
Letrillas and Romances
His letrillas and ballads (romances), such as ‘Hermana Marica’, show great thematic variety. His romances, like ‘Amarrado al duro banco’, ‘Servía en Orán al Rey’, and ‘Angélica y Medoro’, cover a range of themes including love, religion, mythology, and burlesque.
Sonnets
Góngora was also an accomplished author of sonnets. His works include cultured love poems, sonnets of praise (alabanza), and themes of disillusionment (desengaño).
Major Poetic Works
Fábula de Polifemo y Galatea
Written in 63 octavas reales (royal octaves), this work is inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses. It tells the story of the Cyclops Polyphemus, who is in love with the nymph Galatea. Jealous of the shepherd Acis, Polyphemus kills him with a boulder. The nymph then transforms her beloved into a river.
Soledades
The events described in this complex poem are minimal. It begins with the arrival of a young man, shipwrecked and scorned in love, to a pastoral land.
Francisco de Quevedo (17th Century Writer)
A master of Conceptismo, Francisco de Quevedo wrote sonnets, romances, letrillas, songs, epistles, and more. He was an exceptional writer in both his political and prose works, as well as in his satirical and festive pieces.
Poetic Works
- Love Poems: These poems adhere to the conventions of the amatory lyrics of the era.
- Metaphysical Poetry: These poems address vital issues such as anxiety, disillusionment (desengaño), resignation, the transience of life, and the ever-present reality of death.
- Moral and Critical Poetry: He satirizes and critiques human foibles.
- Satirical Poetry: His satirical poems allude to characters from 17th-century society, other writers, literary issues, myths, historical figures, and literary heroes.
Prose Works
Los Sueños (The Dreams)
This is a collection of five satirical prose pieces that offer a critical vision of society, including ‘El sueño de las calaveras’ (The Dream of the Skulls).
El Buscón
Fully titled Historia de la vida del Buscón, this is considered Quevedo’s best prose work and a culmination of the picaresque novel genre. It links the various episodes and misfortunes of its protagonist, Pablos de Segovia.