The Golden Age: What It Is And Who Are Its Most Important Authors
Invoked endlessly as the most splendid period of Spanish arts and literature, the so-called Golden Age continues to resonate in our ears as a unique moment in the history of Spain. Names such as Miguel de Cervantes, Lope de Vega, Calderón de la Barca or Francisco de Quevedo have become established as the great exponents of the literature of the 16th and 17th centuries in Spain.
What exactly was the Golden Age? How many years does it cover? Who were its great protagonists? Is it true that the Hispanic monarchy that gave rise to it was an empire already in clear decline?
In this article, we talk about one of the most famous and brilliant stages of Hispanic literature.
What is the Golden Age and where does the term come from?
The stage in which Spanish arts and letters acquired a brilliance never seen before is known as the Golden Age. In general, it is considered that this period of splendor begins with the publication of the Spanish grammar by Antonio de Nebrija (1492) and ends with the death of the great Calderón de la Barca, which occurred in 1681.
However, its limits are not always clear, and even vary depending on the expert who analyzes it. Thus, for other authors the end date would be none other than 1659, the year in which the Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed and with it concluded Spanish hegemony in Europe in favor of other nations, such as the France of Louis XIV.
On the other hand, the name Golden age It has not always been “canonical.” According to the literary critic Juan Manuel Rozas (1936-1896), the term emerged for the first time in 1736; Alonso Verdugo invoked it in his entrance speech to the RAE, in a clear parallel with the Golden age of the human being (in which he lived peacefully with the gods), which Hesiod already sang in the jobs and the days and which Don Quixote himself recovers in Cervantes’ novel.
A golden age that refers, therefore, to a time of splendor. It seems that from then on the idea began to spread (the following year we found the concept of the Golden Age in the third chapter of Ignacio de Luzán’s Poetics), only to end up being consolidated at the end of the 18th century. In 1804, the illustrated writer Casiano Pellicer (1775-1806) included Calderón in the name, until then excluded from the Golden Age and, already in the 20th century, the inclusion of Luis de Góngora by the Generation of Poets of 27 took place. , completely fascinated by the beauty and innovation that his poetry represented.
Son of a “decadent Spain”
One of the great topics that surround the Spanish Golden Age is the idea that it was the result of a Hispanic monarchy in full decline. This is not accurate for several reasons; first, because, in truth, the beginning of the Golden Age occurred precisely in parallel with the rise of the Hispanic monarchy (just with the first Austria, Charles V), and continued throughout the 16th century with such preeminent figures in the Spanish history as Philip II. On the other hand, Hugo A. Huidobro demonstrated in his thesis The defensive strategy of the empire in the times of Philip III (2017) that the myth of Philip III’s reign as the starting point for the great decline is just that, a myth. In fact, and according to his research, The real decline of the Hispanic Empire did not come until much later, well into the 18th century
It is true, however, that the Golden Age (which, in reality, covers much more than a century) must be framed in a context of social and economic difficulties and conflicts. It is not a “decadence” in the sense that it has traditionally been given, but it is true that the Spain of the 17th century (the century of Quevedo and Lope de Vega, among others) is a Spain afflicted by extremely high pressure. fiscal and that presents marked economic and social contrasts.
At the top of the social pyramid, the two privileged classes continue to exercise political dominance, the nobility and the Church, the owners of most of the land but who, on the other hand, represent only a minimal percentage of the population. The bulk of the population is made up of artisans, bourgeois, literate and, above all, peasants. It is a very unequal and bipolar society, in which, in addition, religious and ancestry differences are added: on the one hand, there are the old Christians, those who can experience several generations of a Christian family; on the other, the descendants of Jewish or Muslim converts.
The basic productive system is still agriculture that is little or not at all adapted to the impressive demographic growth that occurred in the 16th century. On the other hand, the enormous military enterprises of the Habsburgs bleed the state treasury, until, At the beginning of the 17th century, the economic crisis broke out and materialized in a devaluation of the currency and an exorbitant increase in fiscal pressure That is the Spain that gave birth to the golden century of arts and letters: a monarchy that is still “glorious” on a military and political level, but within which a great crisis is brewing that, on the other hand, many historians do not see as something isolated, but as part of the general regression that occurs in Europe.
Between the Renaissance and the Baroque
In the long century and a half that the golden age of Hispanic arts and letters lasted, specialists distinguish two basic periods: the Renaissance stage and the Baroque stage, to which a third could be added, the Mannerist period. As is often the case, the boundaries of the different stages are not at all clear. Some authors, such as José Antonio Miravall (1911-1986), place the baroque of the Golden Age in the 17th century (until the death of Calderón), while others, such as Ángel del Río (1901-1962), expand its existence and They place its beginning around 1580, an end of the century that, on the other hand, coincides with Mannerist expression in the arts.
There is no doubt about the important role that the Peninsular Renaissance had in the birth of this golden age of Hispanic culture. In this sense, It is essential to highlight the predominant influence of universities such as those of Salamanca and Alcalá de Henares as well as the poetry of Garcilaso de la Vega (1501-1536), the true promoter of Renaissance poetry in the Hispanic crown.
However, the main protagonists of the Golden Age cultivate a type of literature that is somewhat “contrary” to Renaissance ideals; a literature that some authors have wanted to see as “anti-classical”, because it opposes the high idealism of the Renaissance. The 17th century is the century of the Baroque, a time of strong contrasts and harsh social criticism, in which, although mythological and pastoral themes are still in vogue, a new meaning can often be traced in them. It is the century of the picaresque novel (whose beginning we find in the Lazarillo de Tormesby an anonymous author and published in the previous century), or popular plays (the “new comedy”), whose great exponent is Félix Lope de Vega (1562-1635).
The turn of the century and the new baroque airs accentuate the critical spirit of literature. In 1605 it appears The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quijote of La Mancha, by Miguel de Cervantes, a critique of society as “ingenious” as its protagonist, and which became so popular that, in 1614, Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda openly copied the character. An enraged Cervantes responds with the second part of his Don Quixote, published in 1615 and, for many, far superior to the first.
Realism is a key piece to understand the art and literature of the baroque world We have already commented how Cervantes carries out a dissection of society and its miseries in his Don Quixote (and, by the way, a sharp criticism of chivalric novels and their idealism), as well as the adventures of Lázaro and Guzmán de Alfarache, the two “ rogues” stigmatized by the misery and lack of opportunity characteristic of the time. Thus, the literature of the Golden Age becomes a vehicle for capturing the surrounding reality, testimony of the lights and shadows of that extravagant and pompous baroque and, at the same time, disillusioned and contradictory.
The great literary genres in the Golden Age
Tradition has identified the Golden Age almost exclusively with Hispanic letters. Although the truth is that this golden age also extended to other artistic manifestations, such as painting and architecture, it was in the field of literature where this period of splendor acquired its greatest fame, and it is in this area where we will focus our description.
1. Poetry
Garcilaso de la Vega and his Renaissance sonnets are the standard of poetry of the first half of the 16th century Later, and as the crisis and instability of the monarchy become more acute, poetry will give way to a gradual abandonment of this idealization that the Renaissance entailed. Many themes continue to be maintained (especially those extracted from classical mythology) and some of the literary topics persist, although some new ones very characteristic of the Baroque are added, such as the Memento mori and Vanitas.
Broadly speaking, we can speak of two apparently irreconcilable currents, championed by two of the most famous poets of the Golden Age and that, if we believe the legend, were also irreconcilable. We are talking, of course, about Luis de Góngora (1561-1627) and Francisco de Quevedo (1580-1645)
The first adopted the current that has come to be called culteranism or gongorism, which is characterized by the use of intricate, far-fetched and excessive language, as can be seen in one of his best-known works, The Fable of Polifemo and Galatea (1612). . Quevedo, for his part, displayed poetry full of criticism and ridicule, based on the somewhat far-fetched association of ideas, but much closer and understandable to the general public; the conceptualist current.
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616) is one of the most important authors, not only of the Spanish Golden Age, but also of universal literature His Quixote It has transcended borders and is considered a masterpiece of literature. Cervantes’ work navigates between two centuries and two worlds; While some authors include it in Mannerism (the style of the final decades of the 16th century), others attribute it to a Renaissance style first and then Baroque.
Be that as it may, The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quijote of La Mancha It is, for many, the first modern novel in history. Considerations aside (since this point has been quite discussed), the truth is that Spanish narrative has a before and after with the appearance of the Cervantine novel, since it constitutes a substantial departure from the style of novels that were then in vogue, the novels of chivalry. Not just a distancing; Don Quixote is a true criticism of this type of narrative, in addition to being a magnificent social satire.
On the other hand, we have already commented on the importance that, in a world crossed by social and economic differences, picaresque novels acquire, an authentic reflection of the misery of the lower classes. The picaresque novel uses the resource of the picaro, the great outcast of this Spain full of contrasts, to in turn make a juicy satire of baroque society. To the already mentioned Lazarillo we have to add The Buscón by Francisco de Quevedo (1580-1645) and Guzmán de Alfaracheby Mateo Alemán (1547-1614).
3. The theater
Needless to say; The Golden Age is the great century of theater. What began in the 16th century as an entertainment show in the corrals (authentic animal pens, hence the name that the spaces intended for theater later acquired), continued in the 17th century with names as important as Félix Lope de Vega, who elevated this entertainment to the category of culture.
Lope de Vega is the great theatrical innovator of our literature He not only broke with the classical concepts of space and time, but also made his characters speak with a popular language, far from the cultisms that prevailed in the world of literature. Thus, under the guidance of the playwright (who is estimated to have written some 400 works), Spanish theater acquired levels of excellence never seen before.
In Lope’s extensive work (in which works such as Fuenteovejuna and El Caballero de Olmedo stand out) we find the leitmotiv of the time; the theme of honor. Many of his dramas revolve around a matter of tarnished honor that must be avenged. This theme is taken up by many other authors, such as Calderón de la Barca in his famous Mayor of Zalamea. And it is precisely to this last one that we also owe philosophical theater, more focused on moral and philosophical issues than on entertainment, whose greatest exponent is the well-known The life is dream. With the death of Calderón the Golden Age of Hispanic letters ended.
