THE SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH CENTURIES: SPAIN AND PORTUGAL
Poets: Quevedo, Gongora, Lope de Vega, Ercilla, Calderon, Rojas, etc.
Prose Writers: Montemayor, Cervantes, etc. Portugal: De Camoens, etc. The
Stage.
POETRY: QUEVERO; GONGORA.--The sixteenth century and the first half at
least of the seventeenth century were the golden age of both Spanish and
Portuguese literature. In poetry Quevedo is the first to be noticed, and
he is also notable in prose. Born at Madrid, but compelled by the
consequences of his youthful follies to take refuge in Sicily, then back
in Spain and either at the height of his fortune near the Duke of
Olivares or else pursued, imprisoned, and tortured by that minister, he
possessed facility and force which were alike extraordinary. His poems,
which are most satirical, revealed a glow and a freshness that were very
remarkable.
Gongora, like Lyly in England and Marini in Italy, enjoyed the fame of
founding a bad school. It was _Gongorism:_ that is, the art of writing
not to make oneself read, which could only suit lawyers, orators,
critics, and scientists, but the art of writing to cause one's idea only
to be discovered after many efforts, or even so as to prevent its being
discovered at all. _Gongorism_ belongs to every epoch, and in each epoch
is the means of scaring away the crowd, of obtaining a small band of
enthusiastic admirers, and of being able to scorn the suffrage of the
multitude. Gongora, both in Spain and in France, found devoted admirers
and imitators.
LOPE DE VEGA.--Lope de Vega was one of the greatest of the world's poets,
although he was intelligible. Prodigiously fertile, which is not
necessarily a sign of mediocrity, he published some romances in prose
(_Dorothea Arcadia_), some novels, epic or historic poems (_Circe,
_Shepherds of Bethlehem_, Jerusalem Conquered_, _The Beauty of Angelica_,
_The Pilgrim in his Land_, _The White Rose_, _The Tragic Crown_, of which
Mary Stuart is the heroine, _The Laurel of Apollo_, etc.), burlesque and
satirical poems, and dramatic poems the number of which exceed eighteen
hundred. In this mass of production may be discerned comedies of manners,
comedies of intrigue, pastorals, historical comedies (with characters
whose names are known in history), classical and religious tragedies,
mythological, philosophical, and hagiological comedies. Despite these
distinctions, which are useful as a guide in this throng, all the
dramatic work of Lope de Vega is that of imagination which seems to owe
little to practical observation and is valuable through happy invention,
dexterous composition, and the charming fertility and variety of ideas in
the details. The dramatic work of Lope de Vega (as yet incompletely
published and which probably never will be published in its entirety) was
a vast mine wherein quarried not only all the dramatic authors but all
the romancists and novelists of Europe. This prodigious producer, who
wrote millions of verses, is the Homer of Spain and more fertile than
Homer, whilst also a Homer as to whose existence there is no doubt.
ERCILLA.--Alonso de Ercilla created a peculiar species, that of
memorialist epic poems. He was a man concerned in important events, who
took daily notes and subsequently, or even concurrently, put them into
verse. Thus Ercilla made his _Araucana_: that is, the poem of the
expedition against the Araucanians in Chili, or rather he thus wrote the
first (and best) of the three parts; later, desirous of rising to epic
heights, he had resort to the contrivances and conventional traditional
ornaments of this type of work and became dull, without entirely losing
all his skill. "This poem is more savage than the nations which form its
theme," said Voltaire in a pretty phrase which was somewhat hyperbolical.
The _Araucana_ is agreeably savage in its first part without being
ferocious and fastidiously civilised in the sequels without being
contemptible.
MENDOZA.--Hurtado de Mendoza must be regarded--that proud, gloomy,
bellicose and haughty minister of Charles V--because he was the earliest
of the picaresque romancists. The picaresque method consisted in
delineating the habits of outcasts, bohemians, spongers, swindlers, and
vagrants. It lasted for about three quarters of a century. To this class
belonged _Guzmar of Alfargue_, by Mateo Aleman; _Marco of Obregon_, by
Espinel; _The Devil on Two Sticks_, by Guevara; and somewhat, in France,
the _Gil Bias_ of Le Sage. Now the prototype of all these was _The
Lazarillo of Tormes_, by Hurtado de Mendoza.
GUEVARA.--A moment's heed must be paid to the amiable Antonio de Guevara,
an insinuating moralist whose _Familiar Letters_ and _Dial of Princes_,
though rather affectedly grave, contain interesting passages which
commend the author to readers. He is more particularly interesting to
Frenchmen because it was from him La Fontaine borrowed his _Countrymen
of the Danube_, attributing it to Marcus Aurelius (which led to much
confusion), because the principal personage in _The Dial of Princes_ is
one Marcus Aurelius, who is discreetly intended for Charles V. In spite
of what Taine wrote, though his criticisms in detail were accurate,
La Fontaine followed pretty closely the fine and highly original wording
of Guevara.
THE ROMANCE.--The Spanish romance was at its zenith in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries. It had a legion of authors, but here the principal
only can be mentioned. Montemayor, who lived at the close of the
sixteenth century and led an adventurous existence, wrote the _Diana in
Love_, which became celebrated in every country under the title of
"_Diana_ of Montemayor." It is a mythological, bucolic, and magical
romance, entirely lacking in order, being wholly fantastical, sometimes
cruelly dull, sometimes graceful, affecting, seductive, and pathetic,
always ridiculously romantic. Its vogue was considerable in Spain,
France, and Italy. The _Astrea_ of Honoré d'Urfé proceeds in part from
it, but is more sensible and more restrained.
QUEVEDO.--Here Quevedo is again found, now as prose writer and in this no
worse than as poet. He was prolific in romances or satirical fantasies,
in social reveries wherein contemporary society is not spared and Juvenal
is often suggested. Finally, he put forth all his powers, which were
considerable, in his great romance, _Don Pablo of Segovia_, which, twenty
years ago, would have been called naturalist. Quevedo obviously was an
observer, possessed psychological penetration or, at least, the wisdom of
the moralist; but above all, his imagination was curiously original, he
invented, on an apparently true foundation, adventures which were almost
probable and were diverting, burlesque, or possessed a bitter flavour.
His was one of the most original brains in Spain, which has abounded in
mental originalities.
CERVANTES.--Montesquieu has said of the Spaniards: "They have only one
good book, the one which mocks at all the others." Nothing could be more
witty nor more unjust; but it is true that the greatest Spanish book is
that in which the author does mock at many other Spanish books. Cervantes
wrote his _Don Quixote_ to ridicule the romances of chivalry which in his
land were a craze among the townsfolk and smaller aristocratic
landowners, but he wrote in no spirit of animosity and even reserved for
his comic hero, that is, for his victim, a discreet sympathy which he
made his reader share. A hero of chivalry himself, warrior with
indomitable courage, thrice wounded at the battle of Lepanto, where he
lost an arm, seven years in captivity in Algiers, on his return to Spain
he became involved in adventures which again consigned him to prison
before he at length attained success, if not fortune, with _Don Quixote_.
_Don Quixote_ is a realistic romance traversed by a frenzied idealist:
here are the manners of the populace, of innkeepers, muleteers,
galley-slaves, monks, petty traders, peasants, and amid them passes a man
who views the entire world as a romance and who believes he finds romance
at every turn of his road. This perpetual contrast is, first, effective
and supremely artistic in itself, then is of a reality superior to that
of any realism, since it is the complete life of humanity which is thus
painted and penetrated to its very foundations and shown in all its
aspects. There are two portions to this romance, and they are constantly
near each other and, as it were, interlaced; namely, the episodes and the
conversations. The episodes, comic incidents, humorous or sentimental
adventures are of infinite variety and display incredible imagination;
the conversations between Don Quixote and his faithful Sancho represent
the two tendencies of the human mind to recognise on the one side, the
goodness, generosity, devotion, the spirit of sacrifice, and the
illusions; on the other side, common sense, the sense of reality, the
sense of the just mean and, as it were, the proverbial reason, without
malice or bitterness. This masterpiece is perhaps the one for which
would have had to be invented the epithet of _inexhaustible_.
Apart from his immortal romance, Cervantes wrote novels, romances,
sonnets, and also tried the drama, at which he did not succeed. The whole
world, literally, was infatuated with _Don Quixote_, and, despite all
changes of taste, it has never ceased to excite the admiration of all who
read.
THE DRAMA: FERDINAND DE ROJAS.--The drama, even apart from Lope de Vega,
of whom we have written, was most brilliant in Spain during these two
centuries. The Spanish stage was very characteristic, very original among
all drama in that, more than the ancient drama, more than in the plays of
Shakespeare himself, it was essentially lyrical, or, to express the fact
more clearly, it was based on a continual mixture of the lyric and the
dramatic; also it nearly always laid stress on the sentiment and the
susceptibility of honour, "the point of honour," as it was called, and
upon its laws, which were severe, tyrannical, and even cruel. These two
principal characteristics gave it a distinct aspect differing from all
the other European theatres. Without going back to the confused origins
and without expressing much interest in the Spanish drama until the
religious dramas of the _autos sacramentales_(which continued their
career until the seventeenth century), it is necessary, first, to note,
at the close of the fifteenth century, the celebrated _Celestine_ of
Ferdinand de Rojas, a spirited work, unmeasured, enormous, unequal, at
times profoundly licentious, at times attaining a great height of moral
exaltation, and also at times farcical and at others deeply pathetic.
_Celestine_ was translated several times in various languages, and
especially in Italy and France was as much appreciated as in Spain.
CALDERON.--In the seventeenth century (after Lope de Vega) came Calderon.
Almost as prolific as Lope, author of at least two hundred plays, some
authorities say a thousand, Calderon was first prodigiously inventive,
then he was dogmatic, moralising, almost a preacher. Whether in his
religious plays, in his love dramas, in his cap and sword tragedies, even
in his comedies and highly complicated intrigues, the great sentiments
of the Spanish soul--honour, faith, the inviolability of the oath,
loyalty, fidelity, the spirit of great adventures--broaden, animate
and elevate the whole work. With Calderon the titles are always
indicative of the subject. His most celebrated plays are: _In this Life
All Is Truth and Falsehood_, _Life is a Dream_, _The Devotion to the
Cross_, _The Lady before All_, _The Mayor of Zamalea_, _Love after
Death_, _The Physician of his Own Honour_.
ALARCON.--Alarcon comes nearer to us owing to his regular and almost
classic compositions. Nevertheless he was a man of imagination and humour
with an adequate dramatic force. His tragedies must be mentioned: _What
Is Worth Much Costs Much_, _Cruelty through Honour_, _The Master of
Stars_; his comedies, _The Examination of Husbands_, and that charming
_The Truth Suspected_, from which Corneille derived _The Liar_.
TIRSO DE MOLINA.--Tirso de Molina was another prodigy of dramatic
literature, and his fellow-countrymen assert that he wrote three hundred
dramas, of which sixty-five are in existence. All Spanish dramatists
were unequal, he more especially; he passed from grossness to sublimity
with surprising facility and ease. He particularly delighted in
ingeniously complicated intrigue, in surprises, and in unexpected
theatrical touches. Yet _The Condemned in Doubt_ is a sort of moral
epopee, adapted to the stage, possessing real beauty and not without
depth. His most celebrated drama, in so far as it has aroused direct or
indirect imitations, and owing to the type he was the first to suggest,
was _The Jester of Seville_: that is, Don Juan. All European literatures,
utilising Don Juan, became tributaries to Tirso de Molina.
FRANCIS DE ROJAS; CASTRO; DIAMANTE.--Francis de Rojas, who must not be
confused with Ferdinand de Rojas, author of _Celestine_, though
possessing less spirit than his predecessors, is nevertheless a
distinguished dramatic poet. The French of the seventeenth century freely
pilfered from him. Thomas Corneille borrowed a goodly portion of his
_Bertrand de Cigarral_, Scarron a large part of his _Jodelet_, Le Sage an
episode in _Gil Blas_. If only for their connection with the French
drama, William de Castro and Diamante must be noticed. William de Castro
wrote a play, _The Exploits of the Cid in Youth_, which Corneille knew
and which he imitated in his celebrated tragedy, adding incomparable
beauty. Diamante in his turn imitated Corneille very closely in _The Son
who Avenges his Father_. Voltaire, mistaken in dates, believed Corneille
had imitated Diamante.
PORTUGUESE WRITERS.--In Portugal the sixteenth century was the golden
age. Poets, dramatists, historians, and moralists were extremely
numerous; several possessed genius and many displayed great talent. Among
lyrical poets were Bernardin Ribeiro, Christoval Falcam, Diogo Bernardes,
Andrade Caminha, Alvarez do Oriente, Rodriguez Lobo. Ribeiro wrote
eclogues half in narrative or dialogue, half lyrical. He also produced a
romance intersected with tales (Le Sage in his _Gil Blas_ thus wrote, as
is known, and in this only imitated the Spaniards), entitled _The
Innocent Girl_, which often evinces great refinement.
Christoval Falcam was also bucolic, but his eclogues often ran to nine
hundred verses. He also wrote _Voltas_, which are lyric poems suitable
for setting to music. Diogo Bernardes also wrote eclogues and letters
collected under the title of the _Lyma_. The Lyma is a river. To
Bernardes the Lyma was what the Lignon was to D'Urfé in his _Astrea_.
Caminha, a court poet decidedly analogous to the French Saint-Gelais,
possessed dexterity and happy phraseology. Eclogues, elegiacs, epitaphs,
and epistles were the ordinary occupations of his muse.
Alvarez do Oriente has left a great romanesque work, a medley of prose
and verse entitled _Portugal Transformed_ (_Lusitania transformanda_),
which is extremely picturesque apart from its idylls and lyrical poems.
Lobo was highly prolific. He was author of pastoral romances, medleys of
verse and prose (_The Strange Shepherd_, _The Spring_, _Disenchantment_),
a great epic poem (_The Court at the Village_), in prose conversations
on moral and literary questions which have remained classic in Portugal,
as well as romances and eclogues.
EPIC POETS.--The most notable epic poets were Corte-Real, Manzinho,
Pereira de Castro, Francisco de Saa e Menezès, Doña de la Lacerda, and,
finally, the great Camoens. Corte-Real, a writer of the highest talent,
was author of an epic which we would style a romance in verse, although
founded on fact, upon _The Shipwreck of Sepulveda_ and her husband
Lianor. The varied and picturesque narrative is often pathetic. It would
be more so, to us at least, were it not for the incessant intervention of
pagan deities.
Francisco de Saa e Menezès sang of the great Albuquerque and of _Malaca
Conquered_. He mingled amorous and romantic tales with narratives and
descriptions of battles. He possessed the sense of local colour and
brilliant imagination; he has been accused of undue negligence with
regard to correction.
Doña de la Lacerda, professor of Latin literature to the children of
Philip III, although born at Porto, wrote nearly always in Spanish. The
_Spain Delivered_ (from the Moors), an epic poem, is her chief work; she
also composed comedies and various poems in Spanish. On rare occasions
she wrote in Portuguese prose.
CAMOËNS.--The glory of these sound poets is effaced by that of Camoëns.
Exiled in early youth for a reason analogous to the one which occasioned
the banishment of Ovid, a soldier who lost an eye at Ceuta, wandering in
India, shipwrecked and, according to tradition, only saving his poem
which he held in one hand whilst swimming with the other, he returned to
Portugal after sixteen years of exile, assisting at the struggles,
decline, and subjection of his country, dying (1579) at the moment when
for a time Portugal ceased to have a political existence. He wrote _The
Lusiad_ (that is the Portuguese), which was the history of Vasco da Gama
and of his expedition to India. The description of Africa, the Cape of
Tempests (the Cape of Good Hope), with the giant Adamaston opposing the
passage, and the description of India were the foundation of the
narrative. Episodes narrated by individuals, as in Virgil and as in the
Spanish romance, formed an internal supplement, and thus was narrated
almost all the history of Portugal, and so it came to pass that the love
of Inez de Castro and of Don Pedro formed part of the story of Vasco da
Gama. Camoëns was a powerful narrator, a magnificent orator in verse,
and, above all, a very great painter. He evinced curious taste, even as
compared with his contemporaries, such as the continual commingling of
mythological divinities with Christian truths: for instance, a prayer
addressed by Vasco to Jesus Christ was granted by Venus. It may also be
observed that the poem lacked unity and was only a succession of poems.
But, as Voltaire said, "The art of relating details, by the pleasure
it affords, can make up for all the rest; and that proves the work to be
full of great beauties, since for two hundred years it has formed the
delight of a clever race who must be well aware of its faults."
DRAMATISTS.--The principal Portuguese dramatists were Saa de Miranda,
Antonio Ferreira, Gil Vicente. Saa de Miranda was a philosophical poet
or, to express it more correctly, a poet with ideas; he broke with
the eternal idylls, eclogues, bucolics, and pastorals of his predecessors
without declining to furnish excellent examples, but more often aiming
elsewhere and higher. He also reformed the versification, introducing
metres employed in other languages, but hitherto unused in his tongue. He
wrote odes, epistles after the manner of Horace, sonnets, lyric poems in
Latin, and epic compositions. In all this portion of his work he may be
compared to Ronsard. Finally, he wrote two comedies in prose--_The
Strangers_ and _The Villalpandios_ (the _Villalpandios_ are Spanish
soldiers, who have a recognised position in comedy). His mind was one of
the most elevated and best stored with classic literature that Portugal
ever produced.
FERREIRA.--Ferreira, who wrote lyric poems, elegiac poems, and especially
epistles, by which he gained for himself the name of the Portuguese
Horace, was more particularly a dramatist. He created _Farcas_, which
must not be regarded as farces, but as dramatic poems in which the
profane and religious are interwoven; he wrote _The Bristo_, a popular
comedy; _The Jealous One_, which was perhaps the earliest comedy of
character ever produced in Europe, and finally, a tragedy, _Inez de
Castro_, the national tragedy, a tragedy so orthodox and regular in form
that the author felt bound to introduce a chorus in the classic manner;
it is charged with pathos and handled with much art.
GIL VICENTE.--Gil Vicente, a prolific poet who wrote forty-two dramatic
pieces, two thirds in Spanish and the rest in Portuguese, touched every
branch of theatrical literature; he produced religious plays (_autos_),
tragedies, romantic dramas, comedies, and farces. His chief works are
_The Sibyl Cassandra_, _The Widow_, _Amadis de Gaule_, _The Temple of
Apollo_, _The Boat of Hell_. His comedies possess a vivacity that is
Italian rather than Portuguese. Tradition has it that Erasmus learnt
Portuguese for the sole purpose of reading the comedies of Gil Vicente.