The revival of literature coincides in Spain with the period of its greatest power and prosperity. The early part of the sixteenth century is called “el Siglo de oro.” An Italian influence is predominant. Castillejo keeps to the earlier style in his charming compositions: “Dialogo entre el autor y su pluma,” and “Sermones de Amores.” Boscan and Garcilaso were the first to introduce the Italian measure into Spanish verse. Some poets wrote in both these styles. Gregorio Sylvestre is among the best of them; an excellent poet, but very little known.
Garcilaso was the earliest lyrical poet, 1503-1536. His verses are pure in style, in the manner of Virgil and Horace. His life is interesting: he fought by the side of Charles V., and was killed at the assault of the fortress of Frejus (Nice). One of his contemporaries, Hurtado de Mendoza, a soldier and statesman, popularized classical studies. His best works are the “Rebellion de los Moriscos” and the well-known “Lazarillo de Tormes.” The classical style is now universally adopted in Spain. Fray Luis de Leon was undoubtedly the best poet of this period. His ode on the “Ascension” and his “Poema a la Virgen” may certainly be reckoned among the best compositions in the language. Several poets of an inferior order belong to the sixteenth century. Cesina, Acuna, Figueroa, Medrano, La Torre, Mesa and Alcazar are among the best. Their works are clever in parts, but are generally unequal. This characteristic becomes a leading feature in Spanish poetry. At the end of the seventeenth century lyrics began to decay, but no author carried affectation and exaggeration to such a height as Gongora, 1561-1627: a gifted poet, full of charm in his simple compositions (vide translations by Archdeacon Churton), though most obscure in his “Soledades” and “Polifemo.” This style was called in Spain culteranismo, and not even the best dramatic authors of the seventeenth century were free from its defects. The imitators of Gongora continued until the eighteenth century, although here and there a poet like Rioja tried to check the movement.
Epic poetry in Spain is inferior to the dramatic and lyrical styles. The specimens which exist are old and devoid of inspiration. “El Monserrate,” by Virues; “La Cristiada,” by Hojeda; “La Vida de San Jose,” by Valdivieso, and “El Bernardo,” by Balbuena, may be quoted as examples. “La Araucana,” by Ercilla, contains some poetical passages, but in general is hardly more than a historical narrative. “La Gatomaquia,” by Lope de Vega, though a burlesque, is considered by many critics the best epic poem in the Spanish language.
Dramatic literature unites, perhaps, the highest conditions of originality and power. Its earliest productions are the liturgical representations of the Middle Ages, “Misterios” or “Autos.” Although works of this kind are mentioned as early as the thirteenth century, the first which have a distinct dramatic character are the “Coplas de Mingo Revulgo” and “El Dialogo entre el Amor y un viejo.” These compositions were written under the reign of Henry IV. At the latter part of the fifteenth century a series of dramatic works already existed. Juan de la Encina began the history of the Spanish drama. Lucas Fernandez was a contemporary writer, and shortly afterward Gil Vicente. Torres Naharro, 1517, published his “Propaladia,” which contains eight comedies. Lope de Rueda founded the modern school, and he is imitated and improved by his followers. The drama does not attain its highest importance until Lope de Vega (1562-1635), the most prolific of Spanish poets. He tells us he had written fifteen hundred plays, without counting “Autos” and “Entremeses.” Cervantes says that forty companies of actors existed at this time in Madrid alone, consisting of no less than one thousand actors. In 1636, three hundred companies of actors appeared in different parts of Spain. Lope de Vega is rather unequal as a dramatic author; but “El mejor Alcalde el rey,” “La Estrella de Sevilla,” “La dama boba,” and “La moza de cantaro,” entitle him to rank among the best European dramatists. Three authors share Lope’s glory, Tirso, Calderon and Alarcon.
No Spanish dramatist has surpassed Tirso in his facility of treating the most varied subjects in admirable versification. His comedy of “Don Gil de las calzas verdes” is as good as his dramas of “El Rey Don Pedro en Madrid,” “El condenado por desconfiado,” or “El convidado de piedra.” The popular type of Don Juan is taken from this drama. Alarcon is undoubtedly the most philosophical Spanish dramatist. His comedy, “Las paredes oyen,” is admirable, and “La verdad sospechosa,” so much admired by Corneille, as he tells us himself, when he took the plot for his “Menteur.” Calderon is the most popular dramatic author. He idealizes more than his predecessors, and his genius embraces the most varied subjects. His comedies are charming; as examples, “La dama duende” and “Casa con dos puertas” are among the best. “El medico de su honra” is full of dramatic power, and nothing can be more poetical than “La Vida es sueno” (vide MacCarthy’s translations). The best imitators of the great dramatists are Rojas and Moreto: “Garcia del Castanar,” by the former, and “Desden con el Desden” of the latter, are equal to the dramas of the great masters.
The earliest Spanish novels are “Lazarillo de Tonnes,” by Hurtado de Mendoza, and the “Diana Enamorada,” by Monte Mayor. They are followed by “El Picaro Guzman de Alfarache” and “El Escudero Marcos de Obregon,” by Aleman and Espinel. A great number of novels were written in the following century, but were all eclipsed by Cervantes’ “Don Quixote,” which is too well known to need any comment.
Several authors in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries cultivated different literary styles. Quevedo is the most remarkable of them. He was the quaintest and most original of humorists. He wrote a number of works of real merit, none of which has been so popular as his “Satiras” in prose and verse.
Political and moralist writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries are very numerous. Of these Guevara, Sta. Teresa, Fray Luis de Granada, Gracian, Saavedra Fajardo, Mariana, Morales, Zurita, and Solis are the most remarkable.
The end of the seventeenth century was the worst period of Spanish literature. Philip V., the first king of the House of Bourbon, 1700, did his utmost to improve the intellectual culture of the country. The Biblioteca Real was founded in 1711, and the Academias de la Lengua, Historia, and Bellas Artes in 1714; several literary reviews also appeared. The best poets of this period are Antonio de Toledo and Gerardo Lobo. The only productions, however, of any literary merit are the critical works of Flores, Masdeu, Mayans and others. During the reign of Charles III., 1759-1788, Melendez wrote some tolerable verses. He is followed by Fr. Diego Gonzalez, Cienfuegos, Nicolas de Moratin and others. The most original writers of the end of the eighteenth century are, however, undoubtedly Leandro Moratin and Ramon. The two comedies, “El Si de las ninas” and “El Cafe,” by the former, are charming, and the “Sainetes,” by De la Cruz, in the manner of Plautus, continue to be very popular in Spain.
Spanish literature of the present century possesses no definite character, although several writers can bear comparison with the best Spanish authors of other periods. Every school and style has been copied: Byron, Schiller, Goethe, Victor Hugo, and Dumas. The earliest author of any importance is Quintana, a correct and inspired poet. His odes on “La Imprenta,” “Panteon del Escorial,” and “Batalla de Trafalgar” are very good. Martinez de la Rosa, Lista, and Nicasio Gallegos form a group of able versifiers. Espronceda is a constant imitator of Byron, although his legend of “El Estudiante de Salamanca” is original, and a very fine composition. Zorrilla is the best representative of the romantic school of 1830-40: his works are sometimes unequal, and his legends are his best lyrical compositions. His finest dramas are “Don Juan Tenorio” and “El Zapatero y el Rey.” The “Romances” and drama of “Don Alvaro de Luna,” by the Duke of Rivas, have been very popular; but no author is so deservingly so as Breton de los Herreres, an excellent writer, who has left behind nearly one hundred comedies, some of which, “Marcela,” “Muerete y veras,” “El pelo de la dehesa,” etc., are perfect in their way.