Spanish Theater and Literature: From Renaissance to Baroque
Theory: Theater
Origins of Spanish Theater
The origins of theater in Spain are rooted in two religious festivals: Christmas and Easter. Initially, scenes from the life of Jesus were represented at the altar following religious ceremonies. Gradually, secular elements were introduced into these scenes, moving them outside the realm of religion and transforming them into a form of theater performed in church courtyards. Eventually, the secular elements superseded the religious ones, and theater evolved into a public spectacle performed in town squares.
La Celestina
The Work
Also known as The Tragicomedy of Calisto and Melibea, La Celestina is a prose work told through dialogue. Due to its length and structure, it is not suitable for theatrical performance.
The first edition (Burgos, 1499) consisted of 16 acts. The Seville edition (1502) expanded to 21 acts, and a further act was added in the Toledo edition of 1562.
The Author
The authorship of La Celestina has long been debated. It is widely accepted that Fernando de Rojas, born in Puebla de Montalbán (Toledo), likely in 1476, played a significant role. He studied law at the University of Salamanca and later became mayor of Talavera (Toledo), where he died in 1541.
As Rojas explains in the prologue, he encountered the first act of the play circulating among university students, unaware of its author. He enjoyed it and decided to continue the work, completing the remaining events in 15 days during his vacation.
Some literary critics believe that Fernando de Rojas’s style is so consistent with the author of the first act that he may have written the entire work. However, the prevailing view is that two authors collaborated on its creation.
The Argument
La Celestina portrays the tragic love of Calisto and Melibea and the manipulative schemes employed by the bawd Celestina to unite them.
Calisto, a clever and upper-class young man, encounters the beautiful Melibea in a garden outside the city and falls deeply in love. Upon meeting her again near the church, he confesses his feelings, but she angrily rejects him. Dejected, Calisto returns home and confides in his servant, Sempronius, who suggests enlisting the services of the elderly Celestina to soften Melibea’s heart.
Celestina gains access to Melibea’s mansion and, through her persuasive words, overcomes Melibea’s resistance, leading her to reciprocate Calisto’s love. Sempronius and Pármeno, Calisto’s servants, conspire with Celestina to exploit their master’s infatuation. Calisto promises the old woman a gold chain if she succeeds in her mission. The servants demand their share from Celestina, but she refuses. In a fit of rage, they kill her and flee, only to be apprehended and executed for their crime.
Calisto frequently visits Melibea in her garden, climbing a rope ladder to reach her. During one such visit, a street fight breaks out. Believing his new servants are involved, Calisto attempts to intervene and falls to his death. Overwhelmed by grief, Melibea climbs a tower and throws herself off, ending her life. The play concludes with the lament of Pleberio, Melibea’s father.
Characters
Two worlds collide in La Celestina: the ideal or Renaissance world of the young lovers, consumed by their passion, and the real or medieval world of Celestina and the servants, who basely exploit that love.
Celestina, the cunning and malevolent old woman whose seductive words corrupt Melibea, is the most compelling character in the play.
One of the work’s strengths is its masterful characterization through language. Noble characters like Calisto and Melibea express themselves with sensitivity and eloquence, while common characters like Celestina and the servants use a more spontaneous and colloquial language, rich in proverbs and idioms.
The Intention
Despite its often crude depiction of passions and language, La Celestina has a didactic purpose. It aims to warn young women against the dangers of bawds who seek to undermine their virtue and to caution young people of all times against the follies of love, particularly the temptation to elevate love to the single most important thing in life, or as something that, if not controlled, can lead to destruction and death.
The Baroque
The Baroque period represents the evolution of Renaissance art, culminating in the 17th century. Baroque artworks are characterized by elaborate ornamentation, and their themes often focus on disillusionment and pessimism.
| Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) | Renaissance (16th century) | Baroque (17th century) |
|---|---|---|
| Conception of Life | ||
| Medieval individuals viewed life as a vale of tears. Death was often seen as a liberation. | Renaissance individuals viewed life as a stage to be enjoyed before death. | Baroque individuals experienced a sense of pessimism and disillusionment. They saw the world as a series of illusions ending in death. |
| Political Situation | ||
| During the Middle Ages, royal power was weak. Monarchs relied on the nobility for military support. | In the Renaissance, royal power was consolidated. The absolute monarch held supreme authority, and nobles became courtiers. | Spain, once a global power, experienced a decline, and its empire crumbled under the last Habsburg kings. |
Baroque Literature
The Baroque period in Spain coincided with the reigns of the last three Habsburg kings: Philip III, Philip IV, and Charles II. It was a time of contrasts, marked by social and political decay on the one hand and artistic flourishing on the other.
Themes
Baroque literature criticizes and satirizes ambition, power, and money. The brevity of life, viewed as a swift journey toward death, is another recurring theme.
Purpose
Baroque writers sought to stimulate the senses and intellect with intense stimuli, whether sensory, emotional, or intellectual. To achieve this, they employed a bombastic and convoluted language, often difficult to understand.
Culteranismo and Conceptismo
The Baroque period was characterized by contrasts, reflected in its literature through two opposing trends, both aiming to disrupt classical balance: Culteranismo and Conceptismo.
Culteranismo focuses primarily on the form of words, while Conceptismo emphasizes the meaning or concept of words.
| Culteranismo | Conceptismo |
|---|---|
| A literary movement prioritizing the form of words over their content. It aims to create a world of beauty by stimulating the senses with varied stimuli of light, color, and sound, using bombastic and elaborate language. | A literary movement that explores the meaning or concept of words. It can be defined as a mental sharpness that prioritizes ideas to impress the intellect or the desire to express much with few words. |
| Resources | Resources |
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| Exponent | Exponent |
| Luis de Góngora y Argote | Francisco de Quevedo y Villegas |