The Spanish Golden Age: Literary Flourishing and Cultural Zenith

Posted on Aug 7, 2025 in Latin

The Golden Age of Spain spans approximately from the end of the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, transitioning from the 15th to the 16th century, until the death of the last Habsburg monarch, Charles II, in 1700. During these two centuries, Spain reached its political and territorial zenith. This was a period marked by continuous wars, whose expenditures, despite the silver flowing from the Indies, profoundly affected the economy.

Literary Zenith and the Evolution of Castilian

From a literary perspective, the 16th and 17th centuries are undoubtedly considered the most important period in Spanish history. Spanish literature, from La Celestina (1499) to Calderón de la Barca (1600-1681), broke new ground and exerted extraordinary influence. During this time, Spanish acquired many of its present features, both in vocabulary and pronunciation.

The Birth of Modern Spanish: Nebrija’s Grammar

In fact, Antonio de Nebrija had composed a Castilian Grammar in 1492, assuming that Castilian had reached a degree of perfection. Humanists believed that, as had happened with the languages of other great empires, there would come a time when Castilian might disappear; however, thanks to its grammar, future speakers of another universal language could rebuild it.

Masterpieces of Castilian: Dictionaries and Grammars

Castilian then became the most important Romance language. Numerous grammars emerged to teach it, and excellent dictionaries were composed, such as Sebastián de Covarrubias’s Treasury of the Castilian or Spanish Language (1611). This work provides definitions of words, sometimes including the author’s relaxed ideas and opinions.

Renaissance Poetry in the 16th Century

The poetry of the 16th century can be divided into two stages:

  • From 1511 (date of the Cancionero General) until 1543 (when the works of Juan Boscán and Garcilaso de la Vega were published). In this early period, poetry followed the themes, genres, and verses of cancionero poetry from the second half of the 15th century. The focus of the literature was courtly love.
  • From approximately 1543 to 1580, when Lope de Vega and Luis de Góngora began to write. The publication of Boscán’s works and some of Garcilaso de la Vega’s in 1543 was crucial for the dissemination of new Renaissance poetry. With the works of both authors, new versification, genres, and themes from Italian poetic currents were introduced.

Key Poetic Forms and Themes of the Golden Age

Petrarchan and Classical Influences

The themes and motifs of Renaissance poetry stemmed from two major currents: the Petrarchan and the classical tradition. The canzoni (songs) of the Italian poet Petrarch, which tell the story of the poet’s love for Laura, became the model for Golden Age poetry. The classical tradition also recovered literary forms such as the ode and the love elegy.

Golden Age Poetic Structures: Sonnet, Canción, Lira

Except for the canción (song) and the lira, which combine hendecasyllable lines and seven syllables, other forms primarily used only the hendecasyllable.

  • The sonnet is composed of two quatrains with a fixed rhyme scheme (ABBA-ABBA) and two variable-rhyming tercets (DCD, CDC, CDE, CDE).
  • The Petrarchan canción consists of several stanzas, called estancias (rooms), comprising hendecasyllables and seven-syllable lines, providing various combinations.
  • The terceto encadenado (chained tercet) – ABA BCB CDC – was used mainly in elegies, epistles, and satires.
  • The octava real (royal octave) – ABABABCC – is the epic and narrative verse par excellence.
  • The lira, which combined hendecasyllables and seven-syllable lines according to the scheme aBabB, attempted to imitate the Horatian ode.

Garcilaso de la Vega: The Quintessential Renaissance Poet

Garcilaso de la Vega (Toledo, c. 1501 – Nice, 1536) represents the ideal Renaissance man: of good pedigree, virtuous, exquisitely courteous, a skilled soldier, and, above all, an excellent poet. Garcilaso’s work is brief but encompasses almost all genres and themes of the later tradition.

Garcilaso’s Poetic Legacy and Themes

It consists of about forty sonnets, four canciones, the aforementioned Ode to Cnidus, two elegies, one epistle, and three églogas (eclogues). In the sonnets and canciones, the process of a fated love, resulting in the lover’s pain and melancholy, is recounted as if it were a short story.

Periods of Garcilaso’s Poetry

These compositions can be grouped into two periods:

  • Poetry before 1533: Despite Petrarch’s influence, the tone reflects the rhetoric of cancionero love poetry and, notably, the Valencian poet Ausiàs March.
  • Poetry after 1533: Sentimentality is softer and more melancholy.

Notable Eclogues by Garcilaso

  • Égloga II (Second Eclogue): This is the first and longest eclogue he wrote. It is a dramatic piece that relates the unhappy loves of the shepherdess Camila and Albania, who are consoled by Salicio and Nemoroso.
  • Égloga I (First Eclogue): Written in silvas, it is divided into two parts.
  • Égloga III (Third Eclogue): This poem, composed in stanzas, tells how four nymphs of the Tagus River go to a quiet and somber meadow on its shore to weave four stories.