Characteristics of the Golden Age

The golden age is called the period between the years 1492 to 1681, taking as the beginning of this period the publication of the Castilian grammar of Antonio de Nebrija and finally the death of the writer Calderón de la Boat. It is the heyday of Spanish culture both in literature and in art in general, being a model that had an influence on art and universal literature.

The so-called "golden age" It can be divided into two periods, the Renaissance period and the Baroque period, which were the philosophical currents, artistic and cultural that predominated during the course of the "golden age", giving different nuances to literature, art and culture Spanish.

Characteristics of the golden age:

Influence in various fields by Spain.- During this time, there was a political, military, cultural, economic and commercial expansion on the part of Spain in the rest of Europe and in the newly discovered American lands. After the unification of the peninsula by the Catholic Monarchs, and the discovery of America, various territorial expansions began (mainly in the American continent), the Spanish crown taking power in Italian, German, Austrian territories, and in other places at different times within the time that lasted “the century of gold". Expansions that influenced Spanish culture, such as the Italian Renaissance culture that was beginning to emerge at that time, a culture that through the Spanish dominions in Italy, introduced the Renaissance to Spain, influencing all expectations of culture, such as literature and the various manifestations of the art.

Great influx of wise men and scholars to Spain.- In this period, in addition to the fact that Spain exports a large amount of knowledge, art and literature, there is the phenomenon that several lawyers from Europe flock to universities Spanish to study and acquire the knowledge existing there (mainly the product of medieval Hebrew and Arab scholars), as well as geographical knowledge and other types that were being obtained by Spain and Portugal, especially with respect to the American and African continents, as well as the maritime routes to reach the East.

Apogee of Spanish painting.- In this "golden" period there are two main currents in Spanish painting, the Renaissance current and the Baroque current, having "al Greco" and Velázquez as some of the most notable exponents of him and spread along with some others, taking paintings such as “el burial of the count of Orgaz ", or the" altarpiece of María de Aragón "(by Greco)" las meninas ", and" the jester don Sebastián ", by Velázquez) and others of various authors. In the baroque part of the painting of this golden period, the constant use of models with deformities such as dwarfs stands out. of the court, as a contrast to the "beauty and order" with which it was intended to represent the monarchs, the nobility and the clergy.

Literary Golden Age:

Apogee of Spanish literature.- During the so-called golden age, there was a heyday of Castilian literature, both in philosophical, ecclesiastical, and romantic works, as well as in various works. comic and dramatic, especially aimed at being represented theatrically, which influenced their dissemination not only among the literate society, but also among the illiterate population, as well as among foreigners being "exported" several of these works to other countries, influencing the literature of the countries to which arrived.

The Spanish literature of this period creates some aesthetics that were basic for universal literature. It was in this period that the triplet, the quartet, the sonnet, and the redondilla were created and perfected.

Topics are taken in which ideas such as the following are inserted: life is short, time destroys everything, the world has no value, it is a chaos full of pain and danger or life is a dream, one lives deceived since reality is not seen and living is like dying little by little, they rise at certain times within literature, reflected in several of the works of this period.

First period of the literary golden century.- In a first period belonging to the golden age, during the Renaissance period, some aesthetics are established in literature, such as the dissemination of the humanistic knowledge of the Renaissance, with effects that led to some "anti-classical" tendencies, being This break with classicism is more noticeable in works destined for the theater, ceasing to respect the units of time, place and theme. In general, there is a vulgarization of literature, coupled with a realistic aesthetic of a tendency contrary to the classical, becoming exaltations of "vulgar themes" such as villains, peasants, shepherds, villagers and others in literary works, as well as a profuse use of the common language.

Second period of the literary golden century. In the second stage, the baroque stage, there is an exaltation of the noble, over the vulgar, going back against the vulgarization of the previous period, recovering values ​​of yesteryear such as those of a religious and courtesan nature, doing this through the exaltation of the courtly and refined life, creating a refined literary language, whose aim was the elevation of the noble over the vulgar, giving a touch of intellectuality to the speech and giving the texts a flexibility in expressions. In this "baroque" stage of the golden age there is a tendency in literary works moralizing, in line with the aforementioned recovery of religious and courtly values of the time.

Some authors of the Spanish Golden Age and some of the works of this period:

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Hernando de Acuña, Bernardo de Balbuena, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Leonor de la Cueva y Silva, Luis Díez de Aux, Luis de Góngora y Argote, Baltasar Gracián, Lorenzo van der Hamen, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, Antonio Hurtado de Mendoza, San Juan de la Cruz, Alonso de Ledesma, Fray Luis de León, Lope de Vega, Santa Teresa de Jesús, Jerónimo de Pasamonte, Francisco de Quevedo, Francisco de Rojas Zorrilla, Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, the count of Villamediana, Juan Luis Vivés, as well as some authors born in Spanish viceregal America, such as Juana Inés de Asbaje and Ramírez de Santillana (Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz)

Some works from this period:

The Arcadia, Shepherds of Bethlehem, The dragontea, Isidro, The beauty of Angelica, Garcilaso, The art of prudence, The guide to Tormes, The names of Christ, La Gitanilla, The liberal lover, The force of the blood, The jealous man from Extremadura, The illustrious mop, novel of the Two Maidens, the Deceptive Marriage, The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha, The Way of Perfection, The Pilgrim in His homeland, The efforts of a house, The second Celestina.