Spanish Renaissance Literature and the Picaresque Novel

Social and Cultural Context of the Renaissance in Spain

The Renaissance is a cultural movement that originated in Italy between the 14th and 15th centuries, eventually developing in Spain during the 16th century. This period coincided with the reigns of Carlos I and Felipe II. The movement represented a revolution in all aspects of life, including politics, art, and religion, bringing about a radical change in how the world and knowledge were understood.

The society and thought of the Renaissance are defined by several key features. There was a strong desire to bring about a "rebirth" of Classical Antiquity. This involved cultivating classical genres such as eclogues and odes, using traditional themes like love, nature, and mythology, and translating the works of Greco-Latin authors into Romance languages. Medieval society shifted as the feudal system weakened and the bourgeoisie grew. In Spain, the crisis of the second half of the century led to the birth of the picaresque novel. The ideal model for a man was the courtier, who was expected to master both "arms and letters" (las armas y las letras).

In contrast to medieval theocentrism, Renaissance society was anthropocentric, meaning the human being was considered the center of the universe and the measure of all things. This was closely linked to individualism and Humanism, the most important cultural movement of the time, which valued humans above all else. This thirst for knowledge led to significant scientific progress by figures like Galileo Galilei, Nicolás Copérnico, and Leonardo da Vinci. Furthermore, Johannes Gutenberg's invention of the printing press meant that culture was no longer exclusively in the hands of the clergy but became accessible to other social strata. The era was also marked by geographical discoveries, which sparked interest in historical and epic genres.

Religion underwent major changes as humanists studied the Holy Scriptures. This led to reform movements such as Erasmianism (initiated by Erasmus of Rotterdam) and Lutheranism (forged by Martin Luther). These movements eventually caused a division among Christians between Catholics, who recognized the Pope's authority, and Protestants, who rejected it. In response to the Reformation, the Catholic Church initiated the Counter-Reformation, which in Spain fostered a religious fervor that gave rise to ascetic and mystic literature.

The Stages of Spanish Renaissance Lyric Poetry

The Spanish Renaissance is divided into two clearly differentiated stages. The First Renaissance occurred during the first half of the 16th century, coinciding with the reign of Carlos I. During this period, Spain's expansion and openness toward Europe allowed for heavy influence from Italian literature. This stage is characterized by profane poetry, with Garcilaso de la Vega as its primary representative.

The Second Renaissance took place in the second half of the century under the reign of Felipe II. During this time, Spain closed itself off from external influences due to the Counter-Reformation. Literature became predominantly religious, featuring authors such as fray Luis de León, san Juan de la Cruz, and santa Teresa de Jesús.

Petrarchan Poetry and Garcilaso de la Vega

Profane lyric poetry in the Renaissance took as its model the Italian poet Francesco Petrarca and his work Canzoniere. This style is a highly sensitive lyric poetry focused on the expression of love and the poet's inner feelings. The primary features of Petrarchan poetry include protagonists who are often melancholy shepherds set within an idealized nature (locus amoenus). The "poetic I" constantly expresses its feelings using specific meters, mainly the endecasílabo ($11$ syllables) and the heptasílabo ($7$ syllables). Prominent stanzas included the sonnet, the tercet, and the octava real.

Garcilaso de la Vega is considered the father of modern Spanish poetry. Born in Toledo to an illustrious family, he belonged to the court of Carlos I and represented the ideal Renaissance knight. He introduced Petrarchan poetry to Spain after direct contact with it during his repeated stays in Italy. His body of work is brief: one epistle, two elegies, three eclogues, five songs, and thirty-eight sonnets. His most famous works are Égloga I and Égloga III, which are lyric dialogues between shepherds complaining about unfortunate loves in idealized settings.

• Égloga I: Written in estancias, it presents the shepherd Salicio lamenting the scorn of Galatea, and Nemoroso, who mourns the death of Elisa. Both shepherds represent Garcilaso himself at different stages of his life.
• Égloga III: Written in octavas reales, it takes place in a locus amoenus on the banks of the Tajo river. Four nymphs emerge to weave mythological motifs. The fourth nymph weaves the story of Nemoroso, representing the poet's experience regarding the death of his beloved.

Love is the constant theme in Garcilaso's poetry, whether as hopeful expression or a source of pain due to rejection or death. Nature and mythology are also prevalent. He utilized recurring literary topoi such as locus amoenus, carpe diem, descriptio puellae, and collige, virgo, rosas. His style is characterized by naturalness, musicality, harmony, rich adjectivization, and the use of figures like epithets, metaphors, antithesis, and parallelism.

Characteristics of Principal Strophic Forms

• Soneto (Sonnet): A poem consisting of fourteen endecasílabo verses ($11$ syllables), usually distributed into two quartets and two tercets with consonant rhyme. The metric scheme is typically $ABBA\,ABBA\,CDC\,CDC$ (or $CDE\,CDE$).
• Octava Real: A stanza of eight endecasílabo verses with consonant rhyme and a metric scheme of $ABABABCC$.
• Lira: A stanza of five verses consisting of heptasílabos ($7$ syllables) and endecasílabos ($11$ syllables) with consonant rhyme. The scheme is $7a\,11B\,7a\,7b\,11B$.
• Estancia: A stanza of endecasílabos and heptasílabos with consonant rhyme, distributed according to the poet's preference. This structure repeats throughout the poem.

Renaissance Narrative: Idealist vs. Realist

In Spain, the novel emerged in the 15th century but flourished in the 16th century due to the printing press, becoming the favorite entertainment for nobles and the bourgeoisie. Two trends coexisted: idealist and realist.

Idealist Narrative

During the first half of the 16th century, novels of chivalry (libros de caballerías) remained popular. In the second half, they shared the stage with the pastoral, Byzantine, and Moorish novels. These works featured omniscient, third-person narrators, idealized heroes, and exotic or fantastic environments.

1. Novela de caballerías: Relates the warring and amorous adventures of knights-errant in lands of giants and magicians. Example: Amadís de Gaula by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo.
2. Novela pastoril: Narrates the amorous misfortunes of refined, cultured shepherds in a locus amoenus. Example: La Diana by Jorge de Montemayor.
3. Novela morisca: Relates relationships between Muslims and Christians via love and war stories. The "Moor" is idealized despite being an enemy. Example: Historia del Abencerraje y la hermosa Jarifa (Anonymous).
4. Novela bizantina: The story of two young lovers forced to separate, suffering adventures like shipwrecks and captivity until a happy reunion. Example: Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda by Miguel de Cervantes.

Realist Narrative: The Picaresque Novel

The picaresque novel is a realist subgenre that began with the anonymous work La vida de Lazarillo de Tormes y de sus fortunas y adversidades (1554). This was followed by Guzmán de Alfarache (1599) by Mateo Alemán. Key features include:

• Protagonist (Pícaro): A character from the lower class (delinquents, marginalized), child of parents without honor, possessing great astuteness and wit.
• Autobiography: Written in the first person using an epistolary technique (letter form), presenting a worldview characterized by hunger and poverty.
• Retrospective Narrative: An adult narrator recounts events starting from childhood as a servant to different masters.
• Pessimism and Social Critique: A desire to unmask social hypocrisy, focusing on sordid aspects.
• Humor and Irony: Present in both situations and language.

Detailed Study of Lazarillo de Tormes

Authorship: The work is anonymous, likely because of the author's fear of prosecution by powerful institutions like the Church, which the book criticizes for corruption and immorality. It was prohibited in 1559. Modern theories suggest two possible authors: Diego Hurtado de Mendoza or Alfonso de Valdés. Some argue the anonymity is a stylistic device to identify Lázaro as the real author.

Structure and Argument: The novel begins with a prologue in the form of a letter addressed to an unidentified "Vuestra Merced." Lázaro recounts his life to justify rumors regarding his wife's infidelity. The story is divided into seven tratados (treatises):

• Tratados I-III: Lázaro's origins and his service to a cruel blind man (el ciego), a stingy priest (clérigo), and a poor squire (escudero). These are the longest chapters where he discovers the suffering of the world.
• Tratados IV-V: Shorter chapters where Lázaro serves a sinful friar and a fraudulent seller of bulls (bulero).
• Tratados VI-VII: Adult Lázaro obtains paid work with a chaplain and an alguacil, finally becoming a town crier under an archpriest. He marries the archpriest's servant, ignoring town gossip about her being the priest's lover, claiming he is at the "summit of all good fortune."

Characters:

• Lázaro: The protagonist whose life story centers on a psychological evolution from childhood naivety to adult cynicism and pragmatism. He is a "round" character and an antihero.
• The Blind Man: The first master who beats Lázaro out of his innocence, representing astuteness and folk wisdom.
• The Clergy: Specifically the Cleric of Maqueda, criticized for egoism, materialism, and lack of chastity. The cleric's avarice almost starves Lázaro to death.
• The Squire: A poor but proud man obsessed with the honor of his minor nobility (hidalguía).

Themes:

• The Vital Process: A boy achieving prosperity at the cost of moral degradation.
• Religion: Five of the nine masters are clergy who fail to live by Christian values (anticlericalism).
• Honor: The book is a justification for a "case" of honor. The squire also demonstrates being willing to starve rather than renounce his honor.
• Hunger and Poverty: Central motifs, especially in the first three chapters.

Literary Originality: Lazarillo is the precursor to the modern novel because its protagonist is an antihero rather than a knight. It is a Bildungsroman (novel of learning) where the character changes through experience. It introduced literary realism by reflecting and criticizing the daily life and vices of 15th-century Spanish society using a "coarse style" (grosero estilo) filled with proverbs, slang, and natural dialogue.

Analysis of Text 1: Soneto XXIII (Garcilaso de la Vega)

This sonnet utilizes various literary devices to describe the beauty of a girl (descriptio puellae):

• Epithets: Frequent use of adjectives related to the girl's beauty.
• Synesthesia: Sensations perceived through different senses.
• Antithesis: Contrast between red (rose/passion/fire/lover) and white (lily/purity/coldness/beloved).
• Enumeration: Listing elements of her beauty.
• Hyperbaton: Altering logical word order.
• Metaphors: Idealized comparisons for the lady's beauty.
• Anaphora: Repetition of ("En tanto que…").
• Personification of Time: Time is given human-like qualities to show its inexorable passing (tempus fugit).
• Literary Topos: Collige, virgo, rosas (gather, girl, the roses of youth), a variation of carpe diem.

Analysis of Text 2: Égloga I (Nemoroso)

In this excerpt, Nemoroso addresses the "divine Elisa," who now resides in heaven. Key features include:

• Metaphor: Comparing her transition to heaven as treading with "immortal feet."
• Antithesis: Contrast between her "staying still" while witnessing "change."
• Rhetorical Question: Asking why she forgets him and does not ask for time to hasten so he can join her.
• Idealized Setting: Describing flowery valleys and shady mountains where they might meet again without fear of loss.
• Metric: This text uses the estancia form.