4 characteristics of 16th century Spanish literature

The characteristics of 16th century Spanish literature are the predominance of theater, the use of religious and political themes, it was written again in verse and the Spanish literary model was sought. At unProfesor we tell you.

He century XVI It was a very important time for Spanish literature, since a literary movement known as The Golden age. At this time, authors begin to flourish with new ideas of thought, art, and themes for their literary compositions. Furthermore, this moment coincided with the political and military rise of the Spanish Empire and the House of Austria.

In this lesson from a TEACHER, we are going to explain the maincharacteristics of 16th century Spanish literature, one of the key moments for letters in our country.

He Golden age It is the name that has been given to the period that goes from 1492 (the year in which America was discovered and published the first Castilian Grammar by Antonio de Nebrija), until the year 1659 (when this period ends political). If you look, everything

the 16th century, which is what interests us today, is framed in this literary trend.

16th century literature It begins with the Renaissance and ends with the Baroque, two very different literary movements, but which follow each other in a matter of a few years.

During this century, Spain witnessed a political strengthening due to the spirit of the Counter-Reformation and the Holy Inquisition of the Church, who fought against Luther's Reformation. This period, therefore, is mainly characterized by a new flowering of Catholicism, which is reflected through literature and art.

The first time the term "Golden Age" was used was in the study Origins of Castilian poetry of 1754. He invented it Luis José Velázquez, the Marquis of Valdeflores, an 18th century scholar. When he mentioned it in his writing, he was referring exclusively to 16th century literature.

Here we leave you a summary of the Renaissance and the Golden Age.

Now that you have situated yourself a little in the artistic and political period in which we find ourselves, we are going to present you the main characteristics of 16th century Spanish literature. However, you must keep in mind that the Golden Age was a movement of expressive freedom, therefore, some of the The characteristics that we will present to you below do not apply to all works, but only some will use them. authors.

Religion and patriotism as its main themes

Spanish religion and politics were going through their brightest moment in history, something that other nations envied. Therefore, patriotism and religion are recurring themes and constantly present in the texts of this literary movement. At no time does one go against the country, but instead defends what it is doing. This helps us a lot to understand how people thought at the time.

The theater predominates

The theater gained maximum importance in the 16th century, since the population began to have fun with these dramatic performances. This interest represented a source of income for the authors, so many opted for this guarantee of financial success. It doesn't mean that there was no poetry or narrative, but that the plays were the protagonists of the moment! Here we tell you what theater was like in the Golden Age.

Search for the Spanish literary model

This is another of the main characteristics of 16th century Spanish literature. The authors of the 16th century received a lot of external cultural influence, especially from the Greco-Latin world. Therefore, for them it was very important create their own Spanish literary models. The authors stopped imitating classical sources and took examples from them to define a new and very own Spanish literature.

In this context, several manuals written by the authors appear, which explain What is the best way to compose texts. A well-known example is the New art of making comedies in this time, written by Lope de Vega.

It is written in verse

The authors of the 16th century took up a characteristic that had had a lot of weight in the past: the use of verse in his literary compositions. The verse, for them, was more beautiful and allowed them to show their technical resources. Therefore, most plays and poetry of the time are written in verse. Although, prose was still used for essays and narrative texts.

Discover here the main authors of the Golden Age.

Another characteristic of 16th century Spanish literature that needs to be highlighted are the themes discussed in the books. These themes were greatly influenced by the situation that was being experienced in Spain and the culture of its population. These are the 4 main themes of the literature of the Golden Age:

1. Customs and traditions: Customs and traditions are shown in the text to criticize through them. The morality of people who followed traditions was attacked, without even knowing what they meant. An often hypocritical society that defended some values, but practiced others.
2. Everyday life: Everyday life stops being an immoral or low-class element, and becomes a palpable reality with which viewers feel very identified. Many of the plots occur in ordinary places and with characters known throughout the world.
3. Existentialism: Many of the authors wonder about reality, the reason for its existence or even its destiny. Some of the writers used dreams as a resource to address these themes, although others preferred madness.
4. The honor: At that time, an honest person was highly valued, so the authors addressed that topic, above all, from a family perspective. The reputation of a family was the starting point that writers used to compose their works, since impeccable conduct was expected of them.

We hope this lesson has helped you understand the characteristics of 16th century Spanish literature and the issues that concerned the population of that time. If you want to continue learning more about the literary currents of our country, do not hesitate to consult the history of literature section.