Prose Fiction: Types of Novels in Spanish Literature
Prose Fiction: The Novel
- Books of Chivalry: Amadis of Gaul
- The Moorish Novel
The works of this genre are heirs to the tradition of the frontier romances of the fifteenth century.
- Themes: They feed on the latest episodes of the conquest and choose Granada and its surroundings as a backdrop.
- Characters: Prototypes are always of nobility; courage and beauty are idealized. The figure of the Muslim is idealized, with examples of coexistence between Arab and Christian culture.
- Works: The most representative are Abencerraje History and the Beautiful Jarifa, anonymous, distinctly sentimental and chivalrous, and the Civil Wars of Granada by Ginés Pérez de Hita.
- Italian Novella
- Pastoral Novel
Features of the Pastoral Novel
- It has poetic traits.
- The protagonists are false shepherds in an idealized pastoral landscape who express their love troubles. They always have honest and virtuous love. The feelings are of wistful sadness.
- The landscape is pleasant and peaceful. It reflects the Renaissance locus amoenus topic.
- Often includes the intervention of mythological characters.
- The prose is highly refined, with lyricism.
- Includes a wide variety of poetic meters.
Works of the Pastoral Novel
The Seven Books of Diana
Followers include:
- Gaspar Gil Polo: Author of Diana Enamorada, whose characters are shepherds and shepherdesses in the fields of his native Valencia. There are wonderful descriptions of the Mediterranean landscape.
- Miguel de Cervantes: He wrote La Galatea, set in an idealized landscape on the banks of the Tagus.
- Lope de Vega: Certain aspects of the genre are present in The Arcadia, a work that has some autobiographical elements.
The most striking features of the book are the descriptions of landscapes and the lyrical compositions included.
- Byzantine or Adventure Novel (Novela Bizantina)
- Picaresque Novel
The picaresque is understood as a reaction to the idealized figures of the pastoral novel and chivalry: its hero, the rogue, is unheroic and very real. From a sociological standpoint, the picaresque has been considered a social document that reflects the life of the time.
Features of the Picaresque Novel
- Protagonist: It’s the rogue, a person of low social class whose parents lack honor or are marginalized or criminal beings. Its sole purpose is to advance in social class, for which it resorts to cunning, deception, and fraud.
- Autobiographical Form: The rogue tells his adventures firsthand. Therefore, there is a single point of view, that of the main character.
- Open Structure: The novel is composed of loose scenes in different places with different characters, whose only bond is the rogue, a young man of many masters. This feature allows for social satire.
- Determinism: The rogue’s parents belong to lower social strata. These origins force him to lead a certain type of life.
- Technical Rowed: Involves the insertion of beads or elements of traditional and popular type that adorn the tale.
- Final Justification: The whole story is on track to justify the situation of dishonor in which the protagonist finds himself.
- Satirical: Picaresque works show a steely criticism of society, which is represented in all its layers.
- Realism: Describes reality as it is, never idealized.