Golden Age Spanish Literature: Baroque Poetry and Theater
Spanish Golden Age Literature
Baroque Poetry
Luis de Góngora
Creator of culterano poetry: refined, cultured, brilliant, and complex. He invented a metaphorical language that departs from common language, presenting a transformed world. He also wrote mocking poems and traditional forms like romances and letrillas.
Work
Góngora invented a brilliant, elitist poetic language. His poetry purports to represent reality but transforms it, through metaphor, into a new world of beauty. His sonnets showcase learned
Read MoreSpanish Theater Before 1939: From Benavente to Lorca
Spanish Theater Before 1939
Theater Prior to 1939
The early 20th century saw Spanish theater dominated by “high comedy” in the style of Echegaray and melodramas aimed at thrilling audiences. Public taste and the reluctance of theater owners hindered attempts at innovation. The first third of the century was characterized by:
- Bourgeois comedy (rural high comedy and drama)
- Madrid or Andalusian farces
- Poetic and symbolic theater
Renewed efforts at innovation came from the Generation of ’98 and, in the 1930s,
Read MoreRomanticism in Spanish Literature: A Deep Dive
Romanticism in Spanish Literature
Key Characteristics
1. Subjectivism:
Serving as a mode of expression, the exalted soul of the Romantic poet expresses desires of love, social justice, individual happiness, and a longing for the past. Romanticism cultivates a true cult of the individual, with love as a subjective phenomenon.
2. Rebellion and Escape:
The clash between a rejected everyday reality and the desire for individual freedom produces a state of disillusionment and failure. This leads to suicide
Read More20th-Century Spanish Literature: From Novecentismo to Vanguard
20th-Century Spanish Literature
Novecentismo and the Vanguard
The Novecentismo movement, encompassing writers between the Generation of ’98 and the Generation of ’27, sought to revitalize Spanish literature and art in the 20th century. Key aesthetic principles included:
- Serenity, beauty, and balance as core values of pure art, focused on aesthetic pleasure.
- Precision and rigor of ideas.
- A departure from sentimental and romantic Modernism in poetry.
- A rejection of Realism in the novel, prioritizing artistic
Spanish Literature: Romanticism to Modernism
Romanticism
Expository texts explain and present ideas to the public. Romanticism expressed the cultural ideals of the rising bourgeoisie. Romantic individualism emphasized originality, rebellion, and nonconformist attitudes. Subjectivism prioritized personal beliefs, while sentimentality valued feelings as guides to action. Irrationalism viewed the world as mysterious and contradictory.
José de Espronceda led a typical romantic life, writing about social outcasts. His Student of Salamanca is
Read MoreAnalysis of Jorge Manrique’s Couplets: Themes, Structure, and Style
XV Century Literature
Jorge Manrique’s Coplas a la Muerte de su Padre
Metric of the Coplas
The poem consists of forty stanzas, known as coplas de pie quebrado (couplets with a broken foot). Each copla comprises two sextuplets (six eight-syllable verses, except the 3rd and 6th, which are tetrasyllabic or broken foot). These stanzas are also called manriqueñas in honor of the poet.
Themes of the Coplas
The poem explores fundamental medieval thought, including:
- The Instability of Fortune: Fortune, or luck,