The Best-Loved Spanish Poets Across The Ages

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Poetry is a Difficult Mission in the World of the Fine Arts but is also the Beginning of it all. Even Before there was any Writing Involved, Poetry was about Public Declamation. Let´s Take a Look at Those Who Gave First and Last Name to This Utterly Important Passion Through the Ages.

The Beginning

The First Poet

Spanish poetry started in the early 13th century and, as many forms of art in that time of human civilization, has a lot to do with the Catholic Church that provided the means and was the fountain of much of the wisdom during that age.

  • Gonzalo de Berceo – He is the first poet historians can recall and was born in 1198 (a long, long time ago) in Spain. He was an ecclesiastical notary and depurated the language bringing terms of Latin along with the oral tradition. His main work was written in verse and dedicated to Saints biographies. The first ever Spanish poet? Very likely.

Courtesan Poetry (XV Century)

The 15th Century is the transition between two very important movements in western cultural: The Middle Age and The Renaissance. The main themes of the century were fortune, love, and death and it´s the first time in history in which Italian literature floods the Spanish authors with the long-loving Greco-Latin culture.

  • Jorge Manrique – His main work is “Coplas a la muerte de su padre” (Couplets to his father´s death) and is an extensive piece divided into pieces; it starts with a general evocation of death and its meanings to finally arrive at his own father´s death and its impact on the author.

The Golden Century

The Renaissance & Baroque Art

Have you ever heard about Baroque Art? Well, it is basically the art of the addition, meaning by this that is very detail-oriented. In this period of time, many currents were clashing in all art forms because the world was leaving The Renaissance revolution and adapting to new forms. Some poets were more traditional than others and two main currents disputed glory and fame: “Culteranismo” and “Conceptismo” which is something like “The Forms” vs. “The content”.

  • Francisco Gómez de Quevedo – The main exponent of “Conceptismo”, a fully baroque poet and an important influence for many poets to come, Quevedo often included satirical passages in his poetry and was not distracted by metaphors at all.
  • Luis de Góngora – This man is the main exponent of the “Cultreanismo” and also a baroque poet. He often criticized and diminished Quevedo´s poetry and private life and cultivated a style which gave a more prominent stage to the forms using as many words as possible attempting to create a minimum of meaning.

The Modern Age

Brother Crush - Still Art?
Brother Crush – Still Art?

Modern age art, not only poetry, is becoming very complex. The society we are living in faces new issues almost daily. Ethics of our doings are judged by other and this is what causes so much stress. To have a relief we found the series of Brother Crush to be one of the best ideas. It’s online series and it’s not poetry – it’s videos. Having a crush on step brother is not socially-acceptable and authors of this website want to break the chains, using fantasy scenarios.

Neoclassicism And Romanticism

The world was turning towards the Modern Age and the 18th Century was starting out with the devotion to a Higher, non-Catholic truth like science and philosophy. There´s still a clear influence of baroque poetry, but it is the beginning of a new beginning.

  • José Cadalso – A poet and a military man was killed during a battle at a young age, but was a prominent writer who employed several styles and was revered by his pairs as well as widely read.

Modernism

This moment in literary history can be considered the big revolution in terms of style, aesthetics and content of each piece showing a more rebellious version of the poetry that will lead eventually to many transformations and the shape it has nowadays.

  • Antonio Machado – He is the symbol of the movement and was quite prolific as an author. A bright man who was referred to as “speaking in verse and living in poetry” during his time. An influential poet still read to this day.

Conclusion

These are some of the formational ages of poetry in Spain. Nowadays we live in the all-in-one age in which traces back to every form in the past can be found. Hopefully, the future of poetry is as bright as its past.