Theater and Epic Poetry: Subgenres, Characteristics, and the Song of My Cid
Theater: Subgenres and Characteristics
Theater encompasses texts in which the narrative is conveyed directly through the dialogue of the characters.
Major Theatrical Subgenres
- Tragedy: Characters, usually of high status, struggle against their fate before ultimately succumbing. Classical tragedy was written in verse, and its hero was often a mythological figure. The modern period saw its peak in England during the 16th and 17th centuries.
- Comedy: Characters represent the actions of everyday life, treated comically, leading to a happy ending.
- Drama: Shares features with both tragedy and comedy, presenting a painful conflict but allowing for lighter moments.
Performing Subgenres
- Auto Sacramental: A short, one-act play with religious and allegorical themes, culminating in the exaltation of the Eucharist. (Notable playwright: Calderón de la Barca)
- Appetizer: A short play depicted in the 17th century during the long intermissions of comedies to entertain the audience.
- Sainete: A short piece featuring popular characters who develop a comedic action of manners in a clear setting.
Minstrelsy and Epic Poetry
Minstrelsy was part of oral culture, and poems were recited by minstrels.
Epic Poem
With its historicist nature, the world of epic poems is that of the warrior. The hero often appears as a character unfairly treated by his society, whose exploits ensure a triumphant return. The hero embodies the fate of his people and spreads the ideals of the feudal class to which he belongs. The structure of the chansons de geste were compositions formed by sets of lines as long as between 14 and 16 syllables, divided into two hemistiches with assonance and rhyme.
Spanish Epic Poetry
- Song of Roncesvalles: 13th century, 100 verses are preserved.
- Mocedades de Rodrigo: 14th century.
- Song of My Cid: 13th century, nearly complete.
Song of My Cid
Characteristics
- Loyalty to the King: The Cid is faithful and true, even though the king ignores the accusations of the Cid’s enemies.
- Consideration and Honor: The Cid obtains the royal pardon and comes to intermarry with royal lineages.
- Personal Effort: His hero status is based on personal effort in considering what is good and right. The Cid’s virtue of faith is based on loyalty to the King, Christian justice to his subjects, and love for his wife and daughters.
- Restraint: In all his actions, the Cid is always wise and knows how to express his affection.
Theme and Structure
The main theme of the Cid is honor, specifically the alternation and loss of honor throughout the work. Another prominent theme is the relationship between the vassal and King Alfonso VI. The Cid is divided into three songs:
- Song of Exile: The Cid is exiled and goes on to conquer Valencia.
- Song of the Wedding: The Cid retrieves his honor from the king, and his daughters are married to the Heirs of Carrión.
- Song of the Affront of Corpes: The Heirs abandon the Cid’s daughters, and the Cid calls for justice. The daughters are then married to the princes of Navarre and Aragon.
Style
- Epic Epithets: Adjectives that enhance the characteristics of heroes.
- Pleonasm: Used to add expressiveness to the text.
- Appeals to the Public: Particles used to maintain the reader’s attention.
- Particle and Use: Used as an equivalent to “oh.”
- Frequent Deletion of the Verb: Removing verb forms brings speed and dynamism.
- Rhetorical Repetition: Repeating the same concept with different words.
Characters
- Doña Jimena: The Cid’s wife, included to enhance the hero as a good husband. Her presence in the battle of Valencia highlights the Cid’s courtesy.
- Álvar Fáñez: The second most important character, the Cid’s right hand.
- Heirs of Carrión: The reverse of the hero, always seen together, constituting a single personality.
Historical Value
The historicity of the poem is remarkable when compared with other cantares. The Cid tells a part of the biography of a historical figure who lived between 1046 and 1099, belonged to the lower nobility, and achieved upward mobility through battles and conquests. Compared to other French or German songs, it is plausible, though that does not mean that they are completely historical.