Modern Spanish Lyrics | Page 7

MARTíNEZ DE JáUREGUI page xxvi (1583-1641) wrote a few original poems, but is known?mainly for his excellent translation of Tasso's Aminta.?He too succumbed to Gongorism at times. The few poems of?Francisco de RIOJA (1586?-1659) are famous for the purity?of their style and their tender melancholy tone. A little?apart is Esteban Manuel de VILLEGAS (1589-1669), an?admirer of the Argensolas, "en versos cortos divino,?insufrible en los mayores," who is known for his attempts?in Latin meters and his successful imitations of Anacreon?and Catullus.
The lyrics of CALDERóN (1600-1681) are to be found mostly?in his comedias_ and _autos. There are passages which?display great gifts in the realm of pure poetry, but?too often they are marred by the impertinent metaphors?characteristic of culteranismo.
His name closes the most brilliant era of Spanish letters.?The decline of literature followed close upon that of the?political power of Spain. The splendid empire of Charles?V had sunk, from causes inherent in the policies of that?over-ambitious monarch, through the somber bigotry of?Philip II, the ineptitude of Philip III, the frivolity of?Philip IV, to the imbecility of Charles II; and the death?of the last of the Hapsburg rulers in 1700 left Spain in?a deplorably enfeebled condition physically and?intellectually. The War of the Succession (1701-1714)?exhausted her internal strength still more, and the final?acknowledgment of Philip V (reigned 1701-1746) brought?hardly any blessing but that of peace. Under these?circumstances poetry could not thrive; and in truth the?eighteenth century in Spain is an age devoted more to the?discussion of the principles of literature than to the?production of it. At first the decadent remnants of page xxvii the siglo de oro still survived, but later the?French taste, following the principles formulated by?Boileau, prevailed almost entirely. The history of Spanish?poetry in the eighteenth century is a history of the?struggle between these two forces and ends in the triumph?of the latter.
The effects of Gongorism lasted long in Spain, which, with?its innate propensity to bombast, was more fertile soil?for it than other nations. Innumerable poetasters of the?early eighteenth century enjoyed fame in their day and?some possessed talent; but the obscure and trivial style?of the age from which they could not free themselves?deprived them of any chance of enduring fame. One may?mention, as the least unworthy, Gabriel álvarez de Toledo?(1662-1714) and Eugenio Gerardo Lobo (1679-1750).
Some one has said that the poetry of Spain, with the?exception of the romances_ and the drama of the siglo?de oro_, has always drawn its inspiration from some other?country. Add to the exceptions the medieval epic and the?statement would be close to the truth. First Provence?through the medium of Galicia; then Italy and with it?ancient Rome; and lastly France and England, on more than?one occasion, have molded Spanish poetry. The power of?the French classical literature, soon dominant in Europe,?could not long be stayed by the Pyrenees; and Pope,?Thomson and Young were also much admired. Philip V, a?Frenchman, did not endeavor to crush the native spirit in?his new home, but his influence could not but be felt. He?established a Spanish Academy on the model of the French?in 1714.
It was some time before the reaction, based on common?sense and confined to the intellectuals, could take deep?root, and, as was natural, it went too far and condemned?much of the siglo de oro_ entire. The Diario page xxviii de los literatos_, a journal of criticism founded in 1737,?and the _Poética_ of Ignacio de Luzán, published in?the same year, struck the first powerful blows. Luzán?(1702-1754) followed in general the precepts of Boileau,?though he was able to praise some of the good points in?the Spanish tradition. His own poems are frigid. The?_Sátira contra los malos escritores de su tiempo_ (1742)?of Jorge Pitillas (pseudonym of José Gerardo de Hervás, d.?1742) was an imitation of Boileau which had great effect.?Blas Antonio Nasarre (1689-1751), Agustín Montiano?(1697-1765) and Luis José Velázquez (1722-1772) were?critics who, unable to compose meritorious plays or?verse themselves, cut to pieces the great figures of the?preceding age.
Needless to say, the Gallicizers were vigorously opposed,?but so poor were the original productions of the defenders?of the national manner that their side was necessarily the?losing one. Vicente García de la Huerta (1734-1787) was?its most vehement partisan, but he is remembered only for?a tragedy, Raquel.
Thus it is seen that during a century of social and?industrial depression Spain did not produce a poet worthy?of the name. The condition of the nation was sensibly?bettered under Charles III (reigned 1759-1788) who did?what was possible to reorganize the state and curb the?stifling domination of the Roman Church and its agents?the Jesuits and the Inquisition. The Benedictine Feijóo?(1675-1764) labored faithfully to inoculate Spain, far?behind the rest of Europe, with an inkling of recent?scientific discoveries. And the budding prosperity,?however deceitful it proved, was reflected in a more?promising literary generation. page xxix
Nicolás FERNáNDEZ DE MORATíN (1737-1780) followed the?French rules in theory and wrote a few mediocre plays in?accordance with them; but he showed that at heart he was