Francesco Petrarca and the Italian Renaissance
Petrarch and Rebirth
Francesco Petrarca, the 14th-century Italian poet, embodied the ideals of Latin humanism like no other. He wrote several works of humanistic inspiration, but his historical importance lies in his vernacular compositions. His most famous work is the Canzoniere (Songbook).
The Triumphs
The Triumphs is an allegorical poem composed in chained triplets and comprises six parts or chapters of varying lengths. They deal with the themes of love, chastity, death, fame, time, and eternity.
The Canzoniere (Songbook)
The Canzoniere is a collection of over 350 poems with love as the fundamental theme. Petrarca meticulously selected and edited these poems throughout his life. The first part contains songs of the anguish of love that the poet experiences, full of sensuality and life. In the second part, the deceased Laura is the subject of the most sublime poetry.
Petrarchism
Petrarca’s songs had immense significance and decisively influenced later lyric poets. The characteristics of Petrarchism include:
- Courtly love themes from the medieval period, such as idealized love and poetic lament for the unrequited love of a lady.
- Incorporation of classical lawsuits and expressions similar to those found in Latin poets.
- Expression of a wide range of feelings with inspiration, intelligence, and ingenuity.
- Clear language with poetic figures like antithesis, correlations, paradoxes, alliteration, similes, and metaphors.
- Use of metric forms like the sonnet, the silva, and the hendecasyllable.
Poetry in the Spanish Renaissance
Petrarca’s influence extended to Spanish poetry, contributing to the renewal of Renaissance lyricism. In the 15th century, there was a distinction between learned poetry and popular poetry. In the 16th century, both types of poetry continued, with learned poetry gaining popularity thanks to the Cancioneros Generales. Romances also continued their journey, reaching their peak in the second half of the century.
Italianate Poetry
Italianate poetry was another educated and innovative form that dominated the 16th century and marked the resurgence of poetry in Spanish literature. Its characteristics include:
- Deep and comprehensive influence of Italian metrics on Spanish poetry.
- Influence not only on metric aspects but also on themes and poetic attitudes.
The Theater
In the first half of the 16th century, popular theater and Italian-inspired theater were represented in palaces. In the middle of the century, Juan de la Cueva from Seville was a precursor to the Golden Age theater thanks to the innovations he introduced into his works.
The Novel
The novel reached a significant development in the 16th century, culminating in the appearance of works by Cervantes. In the first half of the century, two types of narrative flourished: the realistic and the idealistic, with chivalric and amorous characters. The second half of the century saw the great success of chivalric novels.
Lazarillo de Tormes
Lazarillo de Tormes, published in 1554 in four different locations, tells the life of Lázaro and his fortunes and adversities. It was written well before its publication, and it is almost certain that there were no previous editions. The author’s name was never revealed, leading to speculation about why a work of such quality would be published anonymously.
Argument
The story begins with Lázaro as a child serving his first master, a blind man. Throughout the novel, he serves several others: a clergyman, a nobleman, a friar, a pardoner, a painter, a chaplain, and a constable.
Plot and Structure
Lazarillo de Tormes consists of a prologue and seven chapters of unequal length. The book is highly autobiographical and presents a succession of episodes. Despite this episodic structure, the work offers a significant unit. It starts and ends with references to Lázaro’s father, who was a fugitive from justice, and his mother, who determines Lázaro’s fate by placing him with the Archpriest of San Salvador, raising suspicions about her honor.
Lazarillo and the Picaresque Novel
Lazarillo de Tormes was not born as a picaresque novel but as a harsh social critique. It hides beneath the funny and painful incidents told in the first person by a child who learns to survive thanks to his cunning, defending himself against the cruelty, greed, and other shortcomings of his masters. Many of its characteristics would become defining features of the picaresque novel in the 17th century:
- First-person narration.
- Realistic description of adventures.
- The rogue is born into a family without honor.
- The rogue’s social class does not change.
- The work is open-ended, allowing for the inclusion of new episodes.