VICENTE ESPINEL. ESTEVAN DE VILLEGAS.
VICENTE ESPINEL. ESTEVAN DE VILLEGAS.
The Poetry of Spain238Birth of Vicente Espinel1544.239His Parentage239His Death1634.240Birth of Estévan Manuel de Villégas, named the Anacreon ofSpain1595.240His Parentage240His original Anacreontics published1618.240His Marriage1626.241His Death1669.241Translation of one of his Sapphics242
The Poetry of Spain
238
Birth of Vicente Espinel
1544.
239
His Parentage
239
His Death
1634.
240
Birth of Estévan Manuel de Villégas, named the Anacreon ofSpain
1595.
240
His Parentage
240
His original Anacreontics published
1618.
240
His Marriage
1626.
241
His Death
1669.
241
Translation of one of his Sapphics
242
GONGORA.
GONGORA.
(11th of July.) His Birth1561.243His Parentage243A cursory Review of his Life243(24th of May.) His Death1627.244His Person and Disposition245His early Poetry245His Style245His "Song of Catherine of Arragon"246Extract from his Songs247His System248Quotations from Lope de Vega, showing the Absurdity ofGongora's Style248The "Polyphemus" of Gongora252Extract from his "Solitudes"252
(11th of July.) His Birth
1561.
243
His Parentage
243
A cursory Review of his Life
243
(24th of May.) His Death
1627.
244
His Person and Disposition
245
His early Poetry
245
His Style
245
His "Song of Catherine of Arragon"
246
Extract from his Songs
247
His System
248
Quotations from Lope de Vega, showing the Absurdity ofGongora's Style
248
The "Polyphemus" of Gongora
252
Extract from his "Solitudes"
252
QUEVEDO.
QUEVEDO.
The Talent and Genius of the Spaniards during the fourteenthand fifteenth Centuries255Their Energies and Genius blighted by the Infamy of thePolitical Institutions256(September.) Birth of Quevedo1580.256His Parentage256He enters the University of Alcalà256A Circumstance occurs which obliges him to quit the Court257He takes refuge in Italy258Don Pedro Giron Duke of Osuna258His Character258The Court of Philip III.258Quevedo sent as Ambassador to Madrid259His Success; a Pension bestowed on him259Duke of Osuna advanced to the Viceroyalty of Naples; hisVictories over the Turks259The Spanish Power threatens to become omnipotent in Italy260Charles Emanuel endeavours to make head against it260The Duke of Osuna opposes the Venetians260The lawless and dishonourable Means he takes260He protects the Uscocchi against the Venetians260The Merchants of Naples and the French make Representationsat the Court of Madrid in consequence260Osuna ordered to suspend Hostilities260The Bedmar Conspiracy1618.261Quevedo and Osuna supposed to be implicated in the Plot262Quevedo escapes from Venice262Osuna continues Viceroy of Naples; he is suspected ofintending to arrogate Power independent of the King263He is ordered to return to Madrid263Cautious proceedings of the Court with respect to him264Cardinal Don Gaspar de Borgia is named his Successor264Return of Osuna to Spain264His Imprisonment and Death1624.264Quevedo, his attachment to Osuna1620.264He is suspected of participating in his treasonable Designs265His Imprisonment in consequence265His Liberation265He is made Secretary to the King1632.266He leaves the Church, and marries1634.266His Wife dies266His own Words, alluding to his evil Fate267He is suspected of being the Author of certain Libels; isarrested and imprisoned in Consequence1641.268Two Letters of his269His Memorial to Count Olivarez270His Liberation271(September 8th.) His Death1647.272His Person272His Character272His Style273A singular Circumstance appertaining to his literary Career274Critique on his Prose Writings275His "Vision of Calvary"276His "Alguazil possessed"277
The Talent and Genius of the Spaniards during the fourteenthand fifteenth Centuries
255
Their Energies and Genius blighted by the Infamy of thePolitical Institutions
256
(September.) Birth of Quevedo
1580.
256
His Parentage
256
He enters the University of Alcalà
256
A Circumstance occurs which obliges him to quit the Court
257
He takes refuge in Italy
258
Don Pedro Giron Duke of Osuna
258
His Character
258
The Court of Philip III.
258
Quevedo sent as Ambassador to Madrid
259
His Success; a Pension bestowed on him
259
Duke of Osuna advanced to the Viceroyalty of Naples; hisVictories over the Turks
259
The Spanish Power threatens to become omnipotent in Italy
260
Charles Emanuel endeavours to make head against it
260
The Duke of Osuna opposes the Venetians
260
The lawless and dishonourable Means he takes
260
He protects the Uscocchi against the Venetians
260
The Merchants of Naples and the French make Representationsat the Court of Madrid in consequence
260
Osuna ordered to suspend Hostilities
260
The Bedmar Conspiracy
1618.
261
Quevedo and Osuna supposed to be implicated in the Plot
262
Quevedo escapes from Venice
262
Osuna continues Viceroy of Naples; he is suspected ofintending to arrogate Power independent of the King
263
He is ordered to return to Madrid
263
Cautious proceedings of the Court with respect to him
264
Cardinal Don Gaspar de Borgia is named his Successor
264
Return of Osuna to Spain
264
His Imprisonment and Death
1624.
264
Quevedo, his attachment to Osuna
1620.
264
He is suspected of participating in his treasonable Designs
265
His Imprisonment in consequence
265
His Liberation
265
He is made Secretary to the King
1632.
266
He leaves the Church, and marries
1634.
266
His Wife dies
266
His own Words, alluding to his evil Fate
267
He is suspected of being the Author of certain Libels; isarrested and imprisoned in Consequence
1641.
268
Two Letters of his
269
His Memorial to Count Olivarez
270
His Liberation
271
(September 8th.) His Death
1647.
272
His Person
272
His Character
272
His Style
273
A singular Circumstance appertaining to his literary Career
274
Critique on his Prose Writings
275
His "Vision of Calvary"
276
His "Alguazil possessed"
277
CALDERON.
CALDERON.
Misrule and Oppression destroy the Spirit and Intellect of Spain278Luzan278Moratin278Birth of Calderon1601.279His illustrious Descent279He enters the University of Salamanca279He leaves Salamanca1620.280He enters the Military Service1626.280He serves in the Milanese and Flanders280He is recalled to Court1637.280Innumerable Dramas appear under the patronage of Philip IV.280He summons Calderon to his Court281Marriage of Philip VI. with Maria Ana of Austria1650.281Calderon quits the military Career, and becomes a Priest281He becomes Chaplain to the Royal Chapel at Toledo1654.282(May 29th.) His Death1687.282His Character282Characteristics of his Plays283Character of his Poetry285
Misrule and Oppression destroy the Spirit and Intellect of Spain
278
Luzan
278
Moratin
278
Birth of Calderon
1601.
279
His illustrious Descent
279
He enters the University of Salamanca
279
He leaves Salamanca
1620.
280
He enters the Military Service
1626.
280
He serves in the Milanese and Flanders
280
He is recalled to Court
1637.
280
Innumerable Dramas appear under the patronage of Philip IV.
280
He summons Calderon to his Court
281
Marriage of Philip VI. with Maria Ana of Austria
1650.
281
Calderon quits the military Career, and becomes a Priest
281
He becomes Chaplain to the Royal Chapel at Toledo
1654.
282
(May 29th.) His Death
1687.
282
His Character
282
Characteristics of his Plays
283
Character of his Poetry
285
THE EARLY POETS OF PORTUGALRIBEYRO—GIL VICENTE—SAA DE MIRANDA—FERREIRA.
THE EARLY POETS OF PORTUGALRIBEYRO—GIL VICENTE—SAA DE MIRANDA—FERREIRA.
Original Portuguese Tongue288Alphonso Henriquez, Founder of the Portuguese Monarchy288Portuguese Poetry289Bartolomeo Diaz doubles the Cape of Good Hope1487.289Vasco de Gama visits the Shores of India289A Portuguese Kingdom founded in Hindostan290Bernardim Ribeyro, the Ennius of Portugal290Saa de Miranda, Founder of Portuguese Poetry291Gil Vicente, the Portuguese Plautus292Antonio Ferreira, the Portuguese Horace292His Death1569.293His Style293
Original Portuguese Tongue
288
Alphonso Henriquez, Founder of the Portuguese Monarchy
288
Portuguese Poetry
289
Bartolomeo Diaz doubles the Cape of Good Hope
1487.
289
Vasco de Gama visits the Shores of India
289
A Portuguese Kingdom founded in Hindostan
290
Bernardim Ribeyro, the Ennius of Portugal
290
Saa de Miranda, Founder of Portuguese Poetry
291
Gil Vicente, the Portuguese Plautus
292
Antonio Ferreira, the Portuguese Horace
292
His Death
1569.
293
His Style
293
CAMOENS.
CAMOENS.
Camoens and Cervantes, their Destiny similar in many Respects295The "Lusiad," Translation of it1817.295Origin of the Family of Camoens295Derivation of his Name296Vasco Perez de Camoens takes the Part of Castile againstPortugal1370.297Birth of Camoens1524.298Foundation of the University of Coimbra by King Diniz1308.299Camoens enters the University of Coimbra1537.300Extract from his fourth Canzone301Another Extract from another301He leaves Coimbra1545.302His Arrival at Court302He falls in Love; his Sonnet in Commemoration of thisOccasion303The Poetry of Camoens and Petrarch compared304Translations of Camoens' Sonnets, by Doctor Southey306Exile of Camoens from the Palace306Writes several of his Lyrics during his Banishment307Lord Strangford's Translation of an Elegy written at thisTime307Bravery of Camoens while with the Troops at Ceuta1550.310Loses one of his Eyes in a naval Engagement in the Straits ofGibraltar310He embarks for India1553.310Don Alfonso de Noronha, Viceroy of Goa312Camoens joins the Armament sent from Goa against the Kingof Cochin312Returns to Goa312Death of Antonio de Noronha312Camoens' Letter to a Friend, inclosing a Sonnet and Elegy onhis Death313Dom Pedro Mascarenhas succeeds Noronha in the Viceroyaltyof Goa1554.315Cruising of the Mahometans detrimental to the Portuguese315Expedition of de Vasconcellos to protect the Merchantmen315Camoens joins this Expedition315Returns to Goa, and writes his ninth Canzone1555.315Extortion and Tyranny of the Portuguese Government316Causes Camoens to write his Satire, "Follies of India"316Departs from Goa in the Fleet which Barreto despatched to theSouth1556.317Is appointed Commissary317Description of Camoens' Grotto at Macao318He composes the "Lusiad"318On his Return to Goa he is wrecked on the River Mecon319Arrives at Goa; the Kindness with which he is received by thenew Governor, Dom Constantine de Braganza320Accused of Malversation in the Exercise of his Office at Macao320Extract from the "Lusiad"320Camoens pursues his military Career in India321He commemorates the Death of Dona Catarina de Atayde322Pedro Barreto appointed Governor of Sofala in theMozambique323Camoens accompanies him323His dependent State323Quarrels with Barreto323Arrival of his Indian Friends, who supply his Wants, andinvite him to accompany them324Barreto refuses to let him go until he paid 200 Ducats324He accompanies his Friends home325Arrives at Lisbon1569.325The Plague at Lisbon325Political State of the Kingdom disadvantageous to Camoens325The "Lusiad" published1571.326Melancholy Circumstances attending the last Days ofCamoens327Defeat of Sebastian in Africa1578.328Its Effect on Camoens328Last Scene of Camoens' Life1579.328His Tomb329His Person329A Review of his Life330Extract from the "Lusiad," and a Critique on it332
Camoens and Cervantes, their Destiny similar in many Respects
295
The "Lusiad," Translation of it
1817.
295
Origin of the Family of Camoens
295
Derivation of his Name
296
Vasco Perez de Camoens takes the Part of Castile againstPortugal
1370.
297
Birth of Camoens
1524.
298
Foundation of the University of Coimbra by King Diniz
1308.
299
Camoens enters the University of Coimbra
1537.
300
Extract from his fourth Canzone
301
Another Extract from another
301
He leaves Coimbra
1545.
302
His Arrival at Court
302
He falls in Love; his Sonnet in Commemoration of thisOccasion
303
The Poetry of Camoens and Petrarch compared
304
Translations of Camoens' Sonnets, by Doctor Southey
306
Exile of Camoens from the Palace
306
Writes several of his Lyrics during his Banishment
307
Lord Strangford's Translation of an Elegy written at thisTime
307
Bravery of Camoens while with the Troops at Ceuta
1550.
310
Loses one of his Eyes in a naval Engagement in the Straits ofGibraltar
310
He embarks for India
1553.
310
Don Alfonso de Noronha, Viceroy of Goa
312
Camoens joins the Armament sent from Goa against the Kingof Cochin
312
Returns to Goa
312
Death of Antonio de Noronha
312
Camoens' Letter to a Friend, inclosing a Sonnet and Elegy onhis Death
313
Dom Pedro Mascarenhas succeeds Noronha in the Viceroyaltyof Goa
1554.
315
Cruising of the Mahometans detrimental to the Portuguese
315
Expedition of de Vasconcellos to protect the Merchantmen
315
Camoens joins this Expedition
315
Returns to Goa, and writes his ninth Canzone
1555.
315
Extortion and Tyranny of the Portuguese Government
316
Causes Camoens to write his Satire, "Follies of India"
316
Departs from Goa in the Fleet which Barreto despatched to theSouth
1556.
317
Is appointed Commissary
317
Description of Camoens' Grotto at Macao
318
He composes the "Lusiad"
318
On his Return to Goa he is wrecked on the River Mecon
319
Arrives at Goa; the Kindness with which he is received by thenew Governor, Dom Constantine de Braganza
320
Accused of Malversation in the Exercise of his Office at Macao
320
Extract from the "Lusiad"
320
Camoens pursues his military Career in India
321
He commemorates the Death of Dona Catarina de Atayde
322
Pedro Barreto appointed Governor of Sofala in theMozambique
323
Camoens accompanies him
323
His dependent State
323
Quarrels with Barreto
323
Arrival of his Indian Friends, who supply his Wants, andinvite him to accompany them
324
Barreto refuses to let him go until he paid 200 Ducats
324
He accompanies his Friends home
325
Arrives at Lisbon
1569.
325
The Plague at Lisbon
325
Political State of the Kingdom disadvantageous to Camoens
325
The "Lusiad" published
1571.
326
Melancholy Circumstances attending the last Days ofCamoens
327
Defeat of Sebastian in Africa
1578.
328
Its Effect on Camoens
328
Last Scene of Camoens' Life
1579.
328
His Tomb
329
His Person
329
A Review of his Life
330
Extract from the "Lusiad," and a Critique on it
332
In every other country, to treat of its literary men is at the same time to give a history of its literature. In Spain it is otherwise. We have no trace of who the poets were who produced that vast collection of ballads and romances, which, full of chivalry and adventure, love and war, fascinate the imagination, and bestow immortality on heroes—some real, some fictitious—who otherwise had never been known. To understand the merits of the later writers, to know on what their style and spirit was formed, it is necessary to give some account of the early, and also of the anonymous, poetry of Spain. Nor will it be foreign to the subject, nor uninteresting, slightly to trace the progress of literature in the Peninsula from its earliest date. From a thousand causes Spain is the land of romance. There never was any one who has travelled in that country, whatever might be his political opinions, or his view of human nature and society, but admired and loved the Spaniards. There is anoriginality, an independence, an enthusiasm, in the Spanish character that distinguishes them from every other people. Despotism and the Inquisition, ignorance and superstition, have been unable to level the noble altitude of their souls; and even while the manifestations of genius have been crushed, genius has survived.
From early times Spain was the birthplace of men of eminence in literature. We know little of the aborigines, and nothing of their language, except that from the earliest times they appear to have been gifted with that love of song that survives to this day. Silius Italicus hears testimony to this taste, when with all the arrogance of assumed superiority he speaks of the verses sung by the Gallicians in their native dialect, "barbara nunc patriis ululantem carmina linguis," and Strabo alludes to immemorial ballads sung by the inhabitants of Betica. When the Spaniards shared the refinements and learning of the capital, several names became distinguished. Lucan was a native of Cordova. We can fancy that we trace the genuine Spanish spirit in this poet—earnestness, enthusiasm, gaudiness, and an inveterate tendency to diffuseness. The two Senecas were natives, also, of the same town.[1]The Spaniards with fond pride collect other names which the tide of time sweeping by, has cast on the shore, too obscure for fame, but sufficiently known to prove that the Spanish nation was always prolific in men who sought to distinguish themselves in literature.
These recollections, however, belong to another race. The Visigothsswept over the land, annihilated the Roman power, and, as far as any traces that have come down to us avouch, absorbed the aboriginal Iberian in their invasion. Yet, though they conquered and reigned over the land, it is to be doubted how far they actually amalgamated with the natives. And it is conjectured that one of the causes why the Moors, after conquering Don Roderick in battle, so soon possessed themselves of city and district, and founded what at first was a sway as peaceful as universal, was occasioned by the distinction still subsisting between Iberian and Goth, which led the former the more readily to submit to new masters.
The Goths were an illiterate people. There is an anecdote recorded in proof of their barbarism on this point. Queen Amalasunta, who appears to have possessed a more refined and exalted mind than the men of her time, was eager to confer on her son Alaric the graces and accomplishments of literature. The warriors of the land opposed her purpose,—"No," they cried, "the idleness of study is unworthy of the Goth: high thoughts of glory are not fed by books, but by deeds of valour. He is to be a king whom all should dread. He shall not be compelled to fear his instructors."[2]
Another proof of the ignorance and small influence of the Goths is their having adopted the language of the conquered country. All that has come down to us from them, with the exception of a few inscriptions, is in the Latin language, and several poems were written in that tongue. Still the Goths loved warlike songs and music. To their days some would trace the redondilla, while it has also been conjectured that the peculiar rhythm of these national ballads had its origin in the camp songs of the Roman soldiers.[3]
At length the Gothic power fell—the Moors entered, overran, and conquered Spain. At first the resistance they met was not at all proportionate to what we should consider to have been the resources ofthe Spanish nation. But a noble spirit of resistance was awakened. Difference of religion kept alive what difference of language and habits originated. The enthusiastic patriotism which had gathered as waters in a mountain tarn, overflowed from the heights to which it had retreated, and finally poured over the whole land. From the struggle that ensued a thousand deeds of heroism had birth, and those circumstances were developed, which became the subjects to be consecrated by those beautiful ballads and songs, "in which," to use the appropriate language of a modern critic, "truth wears the graceful garb of romance, and romance appears the honest handmaid of truth."
Spain owed much to the Moor, however, from other causes. The Arabs were a learned and refined race. They built cities, palaces, and mosques; they founded universities, they encouraged learning. The most eminent scholars came from the East to grace their schools, and introduced a spirit of inquiry and a love of knowledge which survived their power. Abdorrhaman III. founded the university at Cordova. He established schools and collected a library, it is said, to the extent of six hundred thousand volumes. The blessings of civilisation was fostered by the Omajad dynasty. Mahometanism never flourished with such true glory as under the Spanish caliphs.
One of the most remarkable circumstances of this era is, the prosperity and learning of the Jews settled in Spain. Persecuted by the Goths[4],this hapless nation doubtless welcomed the Moors gladly; and finding toleration under their rule, and their schools open to them, they flocked to the universities of Cordova and Toledo in such numbers, that one Jewish writer tells us that there were twelve thousand Israelitish students at Toledo; and they gave evidence of the perseverance, sagacity, and talent which belong to that people, and which, fostered by the blessed spirit of toleration, bore worthy fruit.
A succession of Hebrew scholars may be traced from the tenth to the fifteenth centuries. De Castro gives an account of seven hundred different works. Every Jew could read. The higher classes flourished in glory and prosperity, so that many of the noblest Spanish families include Jewish sprouts in the tree of their genealogy. Even to this day the Jews' sons of those driven from Spain to this country remember their Spanish renown, and have preserved a recollection of its language.
Of the Arabic authors of Spain the greater portion were natives of Andalusia. The number of their poets was very considerable. Of theRomances Moriscosdoubtless many originated in Arabic poetry. The old Roman rhythm, the Gothic love of music, the Arab chivalry, and the noble spirit generated by a generous love of freedom, were the sources of these romances. Before we recur to them however, we will mention the connection between the troubadour and Provençal poetry with the Valentian. It is a singular anomaly, we may almost call it, in literature, that a dialect become a written one, adorned by poets and spoken through extensive provinces, should have become the dead tongue of modern times. The French, Italian, and Castillian absorbed the genius that once took form in a tongue which, whether it be called Provençal, Limousin, or Valentian, is still the same, and in it were written the earliest modern verses. Petrarch and Dante raised their native tongue in opposition; but the poetry they studied as anterior to their own was theProvençal. The peculiar tone of troubadour poetry; the refined and somewhat abstract mode in which love is treated, was adopted by Petrarch, and by Dante also, in his sonnets and canzoni. The rhythm and the subjects were more artful and scientific than the songs of Castille, and thus at one time it was held in higher regard by the Spanish sovereigns who wished to introduce learning and poetry among their subjects. John I. of Arragon invited many Provençal and Narbonne poets to settle at Barcelona and Tortosa. He established an academy in the former city for the cultivation of poetry. The Spanish troubadours became celebrated;Mosen Jordi de Sant Jordiis one of the first and best-known. Petrarch read and, perhaps, imitated him.[5]
Though protected and encouraged by the sovereigns of Arragon, and read and lauded, and even imitated, by the nobles of their courts, the Valentian never became the national poetry of Spain, and we turn frompoets who will find better place among the early French writers to the genuine productions of Castille.
We have seen that it was during the Moorish wars, under the successors of Don Pelayo, that these romances had birth. The kings of the various provinces of Spain, ever at war with the Moors, were, of course, in a state of great dependence on their warrior nobles. They needed their subjects to form expeditions against the enemy or to resist their encroachments. Often, also, the Spanish princes were at enmity with each other; and civil discord, or the war of one Christian kingdom against the other, caused temporary alliance with the Mahometans. This brought the chivalry of the two nations into contact. The Spaniards learned the arts of civilisation from their conquerors—they learned also the language of love.
In the midst of these romantic wars, there sprung up a species of poetry which in its simplicity and truth resembles the old English ballads, but which, from the nature of the events it commemorates, is conceived in a loftier and more chivalrous tone. The most ancient of these is a poem on the Cid, written an hundred and fifty years before the time of Dante: its versification is barbarous. It was written in the infancy of language; but it displays touches of nature, and a vivacity of action, that show it to have been the work of men of an heroic and virile age.
By degrees the romances or ballads of Spain assumed a lighter and more tripping rhythm, fitter to be easily remembered and to be accompanied by music. These metrical compositions were calledredondillas.[6]Boutervek imagines that they may be considered as a relic of the songs of the Roman soldiers. There was something singularly popular in theirfreedom from constraint, and catching in their effect on the ear. The sonorous harmony of the Spanish language gave them dignity; they were easy to compose, easy to remember; they required only a subject, and the words flowed, as it were, with the facility of a running stream.
There are several volumes, calledthe Cancionerogeneral and Romancero general, filled with these compositions. The most singular circumstance is, that they are nearly all anonymous. No doubt, as language improved, they were altered and amended from oral tradition, and no one had a right to claim undivided authorship. Their subjects were love and war, and came home to the heart of every Spaniard: the sentiments were simple, yet heroic; the action was always impassioned, and sometimes tragic.
Doctor Bowring, who has a happy facility in rendering the poetry of foreign nations into our own, has been more felicitous than any other author in translating these compositions. His volume is well known, and we will not quote largely from it, as we are tempted. One poem, which Boutervek pronounces to be untranslatable through its airiness and lightness, we present as a specimen of that talent, so peculiar to the redondilla, of catching and portraying a sentiment, as it were, by sketches and hints, where the reader fills up the picture from his own imagination, and is pleased by the very vagueness which incites him to exert that faculty.