Spanish Literature: Authors and Genres of the 16th Century
Fray Luis de León
Maximum ascetic representative of lyric poetry. Defender of the vernacular language. His works are the result of demanding effort. He wrote prose and verse. His work can be divided into three groups:
Works of Fray Luis de León
- Poesía Original: Formed mostly by odas. The subjects are many and varied (e.g., “Ode to the Life of Withdrawal,” “Ode to the Calm of Night”).
- Translations of Classics: Translated verses of the odes of Horace and Virgil’s Eclogues.
- Las Traducciones Bíblicas: Translated into the vernacular language: the Song of Songs, excerpts from the Book of Job.
Influences and Themes
- Influences of Classical Tradition: Neoplatonism, Pythagoreanism, Stoicism.
- Predominant Themes: Nature, longing for the countryside, night, and music.
Style and Features
- Style: Odes; the verse form used is the lira.
- Features of his poetry: A sense of humor and irony.
San Juan de la Cruz
His work includes several popular songs and three major poems:
Major Poems
- Dark Night of the Soul: A poem composed in lira, which tells how a young woman (the soul) leaves home disguised to meet the Beloved (God), to whom she is delivered.
- Spiritual Canticle: A lira-written dialogue in which a shepherdess (the soul/wife) and a Shepherd (God/husband), whom she seeks, meet. The poem is an adaptation of the Song of Songs. It expresses the mystical process routes:
- The first stanza describes the purgative way: the soul goes in search of the Beloved and asks if the creatures have seen Him.
- The following verses, containing the answers given by the creatures, correspond to the illuminative way.
- The unitive way sings of the union of the Beloved and the soul.
- Living Flame of Love: Composed in lira. An ode describing the soul’s amorous feelings for God. Description of mystical ecstasy.
Style of San Juan de la Cruz
San Juan’s style is characterized by musicality, use of figurative language, and the use of allegory and symbol.
16th Century Spanish Prose
Development of Prose
Throughout the 16th century, although works in Latin were abundant, writing in Castilian prose became more frequent. Prose developed in two directions: didactic prose and prose fiction. Fiction is divided into works of ideal character and those that are realistic.
Narrative Forms of the 16th Century
- Book of Chivalry: The hero, a knight loyal to his king, loves beautiful women, and lives adventures. Representative work: Amadís de Gaula by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo.
- Italian Novella: Characterized by tangled intrigue and tragic or farcical themes.
- Pastoral Novel: Its characters, often archetypal shepherds, live and love in the midst of an idealized nature. Jorge de Montemayor (La Diana), Gaspar Gil Polo (Diana Enamorada).
- Byzantine Novel: Starring a pair of lovers who must undertake a long journey and face various adventures. Lope de Vega (El peregrino en su patria), Cervantes (Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda).
- Moorish Novel: Takes place in the border areas of the Iberian Peninsula, between the Christian and Arab kingdoms. Example: Historia del Abencerraje y la hermosa Jarifa.
The Picaresque Novel
It is a reaction to the idealized characters: the protagonist is the rogue, an anti-hero who is very real. The picaresque novel is considered a social document that reflects the life of the time.
Characteristics of the Picaresque Novel
- Protagonist: A low-class person whose parents lack honor. Their objective is to climb the social ladder, for which they resort to cunning, deception, and fraud.
- Autobiographical Form: The rogue recounts their adventures in the first person.
- Open Structure: It consists of loose scenes in different places. The unifying bond is the rogue protagonist, who serves many masters.
- Determinism: The protagonist’s origins force them into a certain type of life.
- Inserted Stories: Includes interpolated stories or elements of traditional tales.
- Final Justification: Often includes a final justification or apology for the protagonist’s dishonorable situation.
- Satirical: Critical of society.
- Realism: Describes life as it is.