Golden Age Prose: Lazarillo de Tormes, Origins of Castilian Lexicon, and Literary Realism
The Prose in the Golden Age
The prose in the Golden Age: The most important narrative contribution of the 16th century is the first picaresque novel, Lazarillo de Tormes (1554). It is an autobiographical novel where the protagonist is a child of poor parents, a vagabond character who goes from one place to another.
Lazarillo de Tormes (1554)
The author is anonymous, and the novel recounts his life in the first person across seven chapters.
Argument
The work is divided into seven treatises and is a first-
Read MoreSpain’s Cultural Heritage: Romans, Christians, Muslims, Jews
Plural Culture: Christians, Muslims, and Jews
In the Middle Ages, despite war and confrontation, there was coexistence and fusion between the three cultures and religions in the peninsula: Christian, Muslim, and Jewish. Until the 10th century, Islamic Spain was culturally superior to the Christian kingdoms. In the 9th century, a key event occurred: the discovery of the remains of the Apostle Santiago. The Camino de Santiago became a crucial route in the spread of culture. From the 11th century, a
Read MoreLa Celestina by Fernando de Rojas: Characters & Structure
La Celestina by Fernando de Rojas
La Celestina is one of the most appreciated works of literature, written by Fernando de Rojas in the last years of the 15th century. It hinges at the junction of two major phases of culture and picks up echoes of the medieval universe, which is ending, and the early Renaissance world, which reflects the start of the Modern Age.
Genre
La Celestina is included within the humanistic comedy genre. The theatrical elements are narrative; it lacks a narrator (except for the
Read MoreLazarillo de Tormes: Summary and Features
Lazarillo de Tormes
Plot Summary
Lazarus, the protagonist, tells his life story from birth to the present, emphasizing the societal pressures that shaped him. He is a humble boy, orphaned, with a mother who, after losing her husband, seeks another boyfriend. The story follows Lazarus’s transformation from a naive child into a rogue, a necessary adaptation for survival. This evolution is depicted through his experiences with different masters. Eventually, Lazarus finds employment as a town crier in
Read MoreSpanish Theater Before the Civil War: Trends & Authors
Spanish Theater Before the Civil War
Spanish theater before the Civil War emerged as a genre driven by entrepreneurs seeking works that appealed to the bourgeois public for financial gain. The bourgeoisie favored pieces that provided aesthetic and ideological entertainment without delving too deeply into reality. This led to the rise of two distinct theatrical trends: the successful commercial theater and the innovative theater, which included elite authors from the Generation of ’98 and ’27.
Commercial
Read MoreQuevedo, Gracián and Origins of Peninsular Theater
Quevedo’s Satirical Prose
Quevedo’s satirical prose includes works on political, philosophical, and moral-satirical themes. Dreams (moral-satirical), published in 1627 and re-edited in a series of stories in 1631, features social satire that exemplifies reprehensible individual behaviors.
- Sueño del Juicio Final: All characters representing different social classes and types are raised and submitted to the final trial.
- Sueño del Infierno: A beautiful natural area gives birth to two paths. One is the