Renaissance Poetry in 16th-Century Spain
Introduction
During the 16th century, Castilian lyric poetry underwent a renewal by incorporating Italian forms.
Principal Developments
In terms of Metrics:
- Use of the hendecasyllable and heptasyllable.
- Use of the sonnet as the predominant verse form.
In terms of Topics:
- Love, especially unrequited love and the melancholy sadness it inspires, is the principal theme.
- Nature is the scenario for amorous laments.
- Classical mythology appears in many compositions, with stories often compared to the poet’s own personal experiences.
With Regard to Songbooks:
These are collections of poems by different poets and on various subjects.
Garcilaso de la Vega
Life:
Born in Toledo in 1501, into a noble family. In 1520, he was appointed to the service of Carlos I. In 1525, he married Elena de Zúñiga, but soon met Isabel Freyre, who became the inspiration for his love poems. In 1531, Garcilaso was confined on an island in the Danube and later exiled to Naples, where he served the viceroy Don Pedro de Toledo. It was in Naples where he completed his humanist training and wrote his most important poems. He died in 1536.
Work:
Three stages can be identified in his work:
- The influence of Hispanic poetry.
- Assimilation of Petrarchism and the influence of the new Petrarchan art. Garcilaso took from Petrarch his stanzas, themes, and imagery.
- Fulfillment: Following the death of Isabel Freyre, Garcilaso composed some of his most beautiful and emotionally intense creations.
Garcilaso’s work was brief but intensive. He composed 3 eclogues, 2 elegies, 1 epistle, 4 songs, the Ode to the Flower of Knidos, 38 sonnets, and 8 songs in Castilian verse. In his sonnets and songs, Garcilaso combined the Petrarchan style with amorous rhetoric. However, his eclogues are considered his most important works. An eclogue is a poetic composition with a bucolic tone in which two or more shepherds engage in a dialogue about love.
Garcilaso wrote 3 Eclogues:
- Eclogue I: This is the best known. It is composed of stanzas, divided into 2 parts and preceded by a dedication to the Duke of Alba. Salicio and Nemoroso recount their loves with Galatea and Elisa, and lament, one for the absence of his beloved and the other for her death.
- Eclogue II: This is the first one he composed. It is also the longest and the only one that can be performed. It recounts the unhappy loves of the shepherdess Camila and Albanio.
- Eclogue III: This is a poem in octaves in which 4 nymphs of the Tagus embroider stories of their loves: the first 3 weave myths of Orpheus and Eurydice, Apollo and Daphne, Venus and Adonis. The 4th tells the story of the nymph Eliza.
Fray Luis de León
Life:
Luis de León (1528-1591) was born in Belmonte. A descendant of Jewish converts, he entered an Augustinian convent in Salamanca, where he graduated in Theology. He was denounced to the Inquisition for having translated the Song of Songs into Castilian and for defending the translation of the Hebrew Bible into vernacular languages instead of only Latin. He spent 4 years imprisoned in Valladolid. In 1576, he was acquitted and returned to his cathedral.
Work:
He wrote both in prose and verse. His prose work can be divided into 3 groups:
- Original poetry, mostly composed of odes. The themes are varied, but they all follow the Horatian model, from whom he took the theme of “Beatus ille”. Works include: Ode to the Retired Life and Ode to a Serene Night.
- Translations of classical verse into Castilian. He translated odes by Horace and Virgil’s Eclogues.
- Translations of biblical texts into the vernacular language. He translated the Song of Songs, some passages from the Book of Job, and several psalms.
The style of Fray Luis de León is characterized by its linguistic precision. His work reflects his moral and humanist concerns.
Religious Poetry: Ascetical and Mystical
During the reign of Philip II, there was a special development of religious poetry. “Divine” versions of existing works appeared, introducing changes intended to encourage devotion and moral teachings.
Asceticism:
It advocates the perfection of people through a life of effort and sacrifice. The most important works are written in prose, by authors such as Fray Luis de Granada and San Juan de la Cruz.
Mysticism:
It aims for union of the soul with God. This process unfolds in 3 stages: purgation (the soul sheds its earthly attachments), illumination (feeling God’s presence), and union (the mystical soul is united with God). Mystics usually write in verse. San Juan de la Cruz and Santa Teresa de Jesús stand out.
San Juan de la Cruz
Life:
Born in Fontiveros (Ávila) in 1542. From a family of Jewish converts, he professed in the Carmelite Order in 1563 and in 1567 undertook the reform advocated by the Carmelite hermits, which sought a return to a life of solitude. He was imprisoned and later escaped in 1578. He died in Segovia in 1591.
Work:
During his imprisonment, he composed his 3 principal mystical poems:
- Dark Night of the Soul: A poem in lira stanzas that tells how a young woman, disguised, leaves her house at night to meet her beloved (God), to whom she surrenders. The poem is accompanied by a prose commentary that unfolds, stanza by stanza, the doctrine of the mystical process.
- Spiritual Canticle: This is a poem in lira stanzas in which a shepherdess and a shepherd dialogue, and she seeks to be reunited with him. It is an adaptation of the Song of Songs and, like the previous one, is accompanied by a prose commentary that explains the illuminative and unitive stages of the mystical process.
- Living Flame of Love: It is also composed in lira stanzas and is an ode that describes the poet’s amorous feeling of union with God.
The style of San Juan de la Cruz is characterized by its musicality and the use of allegory and symbol.