Modern Spanish Lyrics | Page 6

either?as a study or an accomplishment. The poems of Saint?Theresa (1515-1582) are few and mostly mediocre. San Juan?de la Cruz, the Ecstatic Doctor (1542-1591), wrote the?most exalted spiritual poems in the language; like all the?mystics, he was strongly attracted by the Song of?Songs which was paraphrased by Pedro Malón de Chaide?(1530-1596?). It is curious to note that the stanza?adopted in the great mystical lyrics is one page xxiii invented by Garcilaso and used in his amatory fifth?_Canción_. It has the rime-scheme of the Spanish?quintilla, but the lines are the Italian eleven-and?seven-syllable (cf. pp. 9-12). Religious poems in more?popular forms are found in the Romancero espiritual?(1612) of José de Valdivielso, and in Lope de Vega's?Rimas sacras (1614) and Romancero espiritual (1622).
There were numerous secular disciples of Garcilaso at?about the same period. The names most deserving mention?are those of Francisco de la Torre (d. 1594?), Luis?Barahona de Soto (1535?-1595) and Francisco de Figueroa?(1536?-1620), all of whom wrote creditably and sometimes?with distinction in the Italian forms. Luis de Camoens?(1524?-1580), author of the great Portuguese epic _Os?Lusiadas_, employed Castilian in many verses with happy?result.
These figures lead to the threshold of the seventeenth?century which opened with a tremendous literary output in?many lines. Cervantes was writing his various novels;?the romance of roguery took on new life with _Guzmán de?Alfarache_ (1599); the drama, which had been developing?rather slowly and spasmodically, burst suddenly into full?flower with Lope de Vega and his innumerable followers.?The old meter of the romance was adopted as a favorite?form by all sorts and conditions of poets and was turned?from its primitive epic simplicity to the utmost variety?of subjects, descriptive, lyric and satiric.
From out this flood of production--for every dramatist was?in a measure a lyric poet, and dramatists were legion--we?can select for consideration only the men most prominent?as lyrists. First in the impulse which he gave to?literature for more than a century following stands Luis?de ARGOTE Y GóNGORA (1561-1627), a Cordovan page xxiv who chose to be known by his mother's name. His life was?mainly that of a disappointed place-hunter. His abrupt?change of literary manner has made some say that there?were in him two poets, Góngora the Good and Góngora the?Bad. He began by writing odes in the manner of Herrera and?romances_ and _villancicos which are among the clearest?and best. They did not bring their author fame, however,?and he seems deliberately to have adopted the involved?metaphoric style to which Marini gave his name in Italy.?Góngora is merely the Spanish representative of the?movement, which also produced Euphuism in England and?_préciosité_ in France. But he surpassed all previous?writers in the extreme to which he carried the method, and?his Soledades_ and _Polifemo are simply unintelligible?for the inversions and strained metaphors with which they?are overloaded.
His influence was enormous. Gongorism, or culteranismo,?as it was called at the time, swept the minor poets?with it, and even those who fought the movement most?vigorously, like Lope and Quevedo, were not wholly free?from the contagion. The second generation of dramatists?was strongly affected. Yet there are few lyric poets worth?mentioning among Góngora's disciples for the reason that?such a pernicious system meant certain ruin to those who?lacked the master's talent. The most important names are?the Count of Villamediana (1580-1622), a satirist whose?sharp tongue caused his assassination, and Paravicino y?Arteaga (1580-1633), a court preacher.
Obviously, such an innovation could not pass without?opposition from clear-sighted men. LOPE DE VEGA?(1562-1635) attacked it whenever opportunity offered, and?his verse seldom shows signs of corruption. It page xxv is impossible to consider the master-dramatist at length?here. He wrote over 300 sonnets, many excellent eclogues,?epistles, and, in more popular styles, glosses,?letrillas, villancicos, romances, etc. Lope more than?any other poet of his time kept his ear close to the?people, and his light poems are full of the delicious?breath of the country.
The other principal opponent of Gongorism was Francisco?GóMEZ DE QUEVEDO Y VILLEGAS (1580-1645), whose wit and?independence made him formidable. In 1631 he published?the poems of Luis de León and Francisco de la Torre as a?protest against the baleful mannerism in vogue. But he?himself adopted a hardly less disagreeable style, called?conceptism, which is supposed to have been invented by?Alonso de Ledesma (1552-1623). It consists in a strained?search for unusual thoughts which entails forced?paradoxes, antitheses and epigrams. This system, combined?with local allusions, double meanings and current slang,?in which Quevedo delighted, makes his poems often?extremely difficult of comprehension. His _romances de?jaques_, written in thieves' jargon, are famous in Spain.?Quevedo wrote too much and carelessly and tried to cover?too many fields, but at his best his caustic wit and?fearless vigor place him high.
There were not lacking poets who kept themselves free from?taint of culteranismo, though they did not join in?the fight against it. The brothers Argensola (LUPERCIO?LEONARDO DE ARGENSOLA, 1559-1613, BARTOLOMé LEONARDO DE?ARGENSOLA, 1562-1631), of Aragonese birth, turned to?Horace and other classics as well as to Italy for their?inspiration. Their pure and dignified sonnets, odes and?translations rank high. Juan