Spanish Golden Age Literature: Cervantes and the Picaresque Novel
Lazarillo de Tormes and the Picaresque Novel
Themes and Motifs
Lazarillo de Tormes presents a profound social and religious satire. It criticizes the false honor that prioritizes maintaining outward appearances. Strong anticlerical criticism is also evident, as all church members who appear in the work behave as:
- Cheaters
- Exploiters
- Licentious
- Greedy
Literary Style
The simple style of the work is a product of the Renaissance trend toward simplicity and naturalness. It is expressed in plain language, befitting the characters’ social status, a feature that lends greater credibility to the work.
The First Modern Novel
Many literary critics have noted that this novel, in addition to initiating the picaresque genre in Spain, marks the beginning of the modern novel. Lazarillo is a character who forges his own path from childhood; he is a hero who emerges from poverty and misery, evolving gradually as the story progresses.
About Miguel de Cervantes
A Brief Biography
Born in Alcalá de Henares in 1547, many details of Miguel de Cervantes’ childhood and youth are unknown. He settled in Madrid in 1566, enlisted in the army, and participated in the Battle of Lepanto, where he was wounded in his hand, which he could no longer use. In 1604, he moved to Valladolid and published the first part of The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, which appeared a year later (1605). The second part was published ten years later (1615). He lived in Madrid until his death in April 1616.
Literary Works
His work is distinguished by its narrative. As a poet, he composed numerous ballads, and as a playwright, his entremeses (short plays staged during the breaks of longer works) stand out.
Poetry
Cervantes famously referred to his poetic side as “the grace that heaven would not give me.” Most of his poems have been lost; only those included in his novels or plays are preserved.
Theater
Beginning with two classical tragedies, Cervantes later adopted the model of Lope de Vega. The entremeses were his most outstanding theatrical works and earned him his reputation. Notable examples include The Marvelous Pageant, The Vigilant Guard, and The Jealous Old Man.
Novels
His first narrative work was the pastoral novel La Galatea, which consists of six books about refined shepherds experiencing love in an idealized natural setting. The Exemplary Novels is a collection of 12 short stories with various themes. The collection includes both realist novels, which focus on Spanish reality, and idealist novels, which show Italian influence and are more fanciful. In his works, Cervantes develops the figure of the “wise fool,” a character reminiscent of Don Quixote.
Analysis of Don Quixote
Publication History
The first part of the novel, The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, was published in 1605. The second part, The Ingenious Knight Don Quixote of La Mancha, followed in 1615.
Author’s Intent
Cervantes intended to ridicule the popular chivalric romances of his time. The author also aimed to distract and entertain his readers, incorporating numerous side events and stories outside the main plot.
Narrative Technique and Style
Cervantes acts as an omniscient narrator, but the book includes narrative complexity, as the narrator is also presented as a transcriber of a found manuscript. Following Renaissance ideals, Cervantes employs a naturalness in his language. His technical mastery is evident in the vast linguistic variety he displays. In Don Quixote, each character uses a linguistic register appropriate to them: from the cultured and archaic language of Don Quixote himself to the plain, proverb-filled speech of Sancho Panza.
Significance and Interpretation
Don Quixote is a work with multiple interpretations. In its time, it was primarily read as a comic novel. However, during the 19th century with the rise of Romanticism, the figure of Don Quixote—the mad knight-errant—became a powerful symbol of the individual struggling against society to defend their ideals.