Within the literature in spanish He stands out as one of the greatest writers in the Spanish language Garcilaso de la VegaAlthough he did not publish any works during his lifetime (1498-1536), his poems were collected and published after his death in the XNUMXth century. This has allowed us to fully understand his important literary legacy, which revolutionized Spanish poetry by introducing the new Italian poetic forms of his time.
Garcilaso de la Vega lived in a time when Renaissance humanism was gaining ground with force throughout Europe as a cultural and artistic movement. This movement deeply influenced his work, since Garcilaso not only witnessed these changes, but also integrated the most innovative elements of classical literature and the Italian Renaissance into the Hispanic sphere. His work, although brief in length, is essential to understanding the transition from medieval poetry to Renaissance poetry in the Castilian language.
Among his work, one of the most remembered and important texts is undoubtedly his Canticle of Salicio and Nemoroso, an eclogue that reflects the poet's amorous torments, linked in part to his love for Isabel Freyre. This love, which Garcilaso was unable to consummate, was a great source of inspiration for his poems, especially for his eclogues.
In addition to his famous eclogues, his texts also include a Petrarchan songbook that includes 40 sonnets and 5 songs, as well as epistolary essays. With these works, Garcilaso integrated Italian metrical models into Castilian poetry, such as the sonnet and the lyre, which survived in Spanish literature.
An epistle dedicated to Boscán
Juan Boscán was a key figure in the life of Garcilaso de la VegaThe two met in 1519 and quickly developed a deep friendship. This relationship was fundamental for Garcilaso to adopt the Italian poetic forms that Boscán already mastered. In one of his works, Garcilaso dedicates an epistle to his friend, in which he offers him advice on how to lead a peaceful life, free from excesses and worries.
The epistle first printed in Boscán's works It is a reflection of the great appreciation that Garcilaso felt for his friend, with whom he also shared a vision of literary art based on the ideals of Renaissance renewal.
The Elegies
Within lyrical poetry, that genre that encompasses both feelings and reflection, is the subgenre of elegyThese compositions express pain for some loss or tragic event. Garcilaso wrote two elegies that are particularly appreciated by critics for both their content and their style.
- 'On the death of Don Bernardino de Toledo': written in memory of the son of the Duke of Alba, who died in a military campaign. In this poem, Garcilaso reflects on the finitude of life, but, unlike other similar texts, he adopts a less melancholic approach, replacing traditional religious references with a pagan vitalism reminiscent of classical epics.
- 'Elegy II': dedicated to Boscán, this elegy was composed shortly before Garcilaso's own death. It reveals the poet's emotional state, marked by separation and exile. Garcilaso tells his friend how he lives in Sicily, alongside the emperor's troops, and expresses his longing for his past life and the moments shared in friendship and tranquillity.
The Eclogues
Garcilaso de la Vega is known mainly for his three pastoral eclogues, a genre in which he finds a way to express in a more abstract way his own feelings and reflections on love, nature and life.
- Eclogue I: This poem is one of the most emotional in Garcilaso's repertoire. It is clearly inspired by Isabel Freyre under the name 'Elisa'. Through the figure of Salicio, Garcilaso expresses his own pain at Isabel's death. It is a poem that idealizes country life and unrequited love.
- Eclogue II: Although it occupies second place in the order of his eclogues, various scholars agree that, chronologically, it was the first to be composed. It narrates the misfortune of Salicio and Nemoroso, literary representations of Garcilaso and his pain at the romantic rejection of Isabel Freyre.
- Eclogue III: This eclogue is dedicated to the wife of his friend Don Pedro de Toledo, and it once again reflects the loss of Isabel. Nature, the nymphs of the Tagus River and classical mythology are intertwined in one of the author's most melancholic and beautiful compositions.
Five songs by Garcilaso de la Vega
Among the songs that Garcilaso wrote, five stand out in particular for the depth of their lyricism and emotional content:
- 'The flower of Gnido': a love ode to Violante Sanseverino, whom Garcilaso refers to as the 'flower of Cnido'.
- 'With a gentle noise': poetry that reflects on the passage of time and the fleeting nature of beauty.
- 'I want the harshness of my ills': another song that addresses the recurring theme of emotional suffering experienced by the poet.
- 'La soledad seguido' and 'Si a la región desierta inhabitable': songs that refer to the loneliness in which Garcilaso finds himself immersed due to his personal and military circumstances.
Sonnets
The sonnets by Garcilaso They are another of the great pillars of his work, standing out both in number and quality. Throughout the approximately 38 sonnets that are preserved, it is possible to see a clear evolution of his style, from the earliest and simplest compositions, to those of greater maturity and complexity. In his last compositions, such as the famous 'En tanto que de rosa', Garcilaso reflects on the passing of time and the loss of youth, themes that were key in Renaissance aesthetics and that connect him with Petrarchism, but also with classical works such as Virgil's Bucolics.
In his verses, moreover, the nature and pastoral life have a prominent place. The idealized landscapes and the representation of shepherds and nymphs, always in contact with natural elements, reflect the harmony of man with his environment. However, beneath this bucolic surface, the poet's personal emotion, charged with melancholy and nostalgia, constantly reappears.
Garcilaso is also characterized by his use of personification and allegorical themes. In many of his sonnets, the passage of time and the fleeting nature of beauty appear in an underlying manner, represented through metaphors that connect natural elements with emotional states. This ability to intertwine the sensorial with the spiritual is one of the elements that has made his work endure over the centuries as a model of Renaissance poetry.
Throughout literary studies, several critics have recognized that Garcilaso's lyrical production can be classified into three stages: an initial one, in which his work is more strongly linked to the Castilian tradition; a second, in which Italian influence predominates, especially in relation to his love for Isabel Freyre; and a third, classicist and Neapolitan, in which references and themes from mythology and classical antiquity take a predominant place.
During his Italian period, Garcilaso came into contact with the work of authors such as Jacopo Sannazaro, whose Arcadia He also influenced the pastoral ideal that abounds in the eclogues of the poet from Toledo. In addition, his friendship with Italian scholars and writers such as Bernardo Tasso and Luigi Tansillo allowed him to acquire greater depth in the use of new poetic forms.
Garcilaso's legacy lives on, not only for his value in the history of poetry, but also for the influence he exerted on later generations of Spanish poets. From Luis de Góngora to Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, many authors have paid tribute to the poet from Toledo, recognizing him as the 'prince of Castilian poets'. His rise in Renaissance lyric poetry helped consolidate new poetic forms in Spanish and paved the way for others to continue exploring the relationship between feeling and lyrical expression.