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48-410: Las Soledades ( Solitudes ) is a poem by Luis de Góngora , composed in 1613 in silva (Spanish strophe) in hendecasyllables (lines of eleven syllables) and heptasyllables (seven syllables). Góngora intended to divide the poem in four parts that were to be called "Soledad de los campos" (Solitude of the fields), "Soledad de las riberas" (Solitude of the riverbanks), "Soledad de las selvas" (Solitude of

96-666: A Fra Angelico Annunciation (it was a little old-fashioned), which Lerma passed on to the Dominicans of Valladolid and is now at the Prado , Madrid. The political treatise República Mista (1602) was dedicated by Tomás Fernández de Medrano , lord of Valdeosera, to his close friend and relative, the Duke of Lerma himself. As chief minister Lerma's ideas of foreign policy were firmly grounded in feudal ideas about royal patrimony. He cemented Spanish rule by many marriage alliances with

144-687: A canon associated with this cathedral, Luis de Góngora traveled on diverse commissions to Navarre , Andalusia and Castile . The cities that he visited included Madrid , Salamanca , Granada , Jaén , and Toledo . Around 1605, he was ordained priest, and afterwards lived at Valladolid and Madrid . While in Madrid, he attended the Medrano Academy (Poetic Academy of Madrid) founded by its president Sebastian Francisco de Medrano between 1616-1626. While his circle of admirers grew, patrons were grudging in their admiration. Ultimately, in 1617 through

192-454: A clear destination); speluncas ("caves"); surculos (sprouts, scions ). He was also the first to write poems imitating the speech of blacks. Góngora also had a penchant for apparent breaks in syntactical flow, as he overturned the limitations of syntax, making the hyperbaton the most prominent feature of his poetry. He has been called a man of "unquestioned genius and almost limitless culture, an initiator who enriched his language with

240-526: A courtier, and made himself a favourite with the young prince Philip , heir to the Spanish throne. The dying King Philip II foresaw that Lerma was one of those nobles who were likely to mislead the new sovereign. The old king's fears were, it is claimed by some, fully justified after his death. Others however, claim that Lerma was a fully capable favourite, as he led Castile and the Habsburg dominions on

288-427: A more modest and economically viable course of peace than both Phillip II and Olivares during the reign of Philip IV – both figures that have received far more positive recognition by historians. No sooner was Philip III king than he entrusted all authority to his favourite, who amassed power unprecedented for a privado or favorite and became the "king's shadow", the filter through whom all information passed, as he

336-584: A poet. He also argued that the apparent simplicity of some of Góngora's early poems is often deceptive. Rafael Alberti added his own Soledad tercera ( Paráfrasis incompleta ). In 1961, Alberti declared, "I am a visual poet, like all of the poets from Andalusia , from Góngora to García Lorca." García Lorca presented a lecture called "La imagen poética en don Luís de Góngora" at the Ateneo in Seville in 1927. In this lecture, García Lorca paid Jean Epstein

384-423: Is inclusive rather than exclusive", one scholar has written, "willing to create and incorporate the new, literally in the form of neologisms ." Góngora had a penchant for highly Latinate and Greek neologisms, which his opponents mocked. Quevedo lampooned his rival by writing a sonnet , "Aguja de navegar cultos," which listed words from Góngora's lexicon : "He would like to be a culto poet in just one day, / must

432-906: The College of Cardinals defended him, considering his banishment an attempt against ecclesiastical freedom and the prestige of the cardinalate. Under the reign of Philip IV, which began in 1621, Lerma was despoiled of part of his wealth. The Cardinal was sentenced, on 3 August 1624, to return to the state over a million ducats . Lerma died in 1625 at Valladolid. The Duke of Lerma married in 1576 Catalina de la Cerda y Portugal (1551–1603), daughter of Juan de la Cerda, 4th Duke of Medinaceli . They had 5 children: When Lerma fell from power in 1618, his status as cardinal (which he had acquired for exactly this purpose 6 months earlier) gave him immunity from prosecution by his numerous enemies, who instead turned on Lerma's trusted and unscrupulous secretary, Rodrigo Calderón, Count of Oliva (d. 1621), who as Lerma's agent

480-654: The Count of Villamediana , Gabriel Bocángel , and overseas, Juan de Espinosa Medrano y Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz . Rafael Alberti would later add his own Soledad tercera ( Paráfrasis incompleta ) The first novel of John Crowley's Aegypt series is named The Solitudes and the Góngora poem is read by the protagonist, and is referenced throughout the plot. Luis de G%C3%B3ngora Luis de Góngora y Argote (born Luis de Argote y Góngora ; Spanish: [lwis ðe ˈɣoŋɡoɾa] ; 11 July 1561 – 24 May 1627)

528-563: The Twelve Years' Truce was signed with them. There was constant anti-Spanish agitation in Portugal , which had been dynastically joined to Spain since 1580. In the end, Lerma was deposed by a palace intrigue carried out by his own son, Cristóbal de Sandoval, Duke of Uceda , manipulated by Olivares . It is probable that he would never have lost the confidence of Philip III, who divided his life between festivals and prayers, if not for

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576-430: The nymph Galatea , who rejects him. In the poem's end, Acis , enamored with Galatea, is turned into a river. Góngora's Fábula de Píramo y Tisbe ( Fable of Pyramus and Thisbe ) (1618) is a complex poem that mocks gossiping and avaricious women. Góngora also wrote sonnets concerning various subjects of an amatory, satirical, moral, philosophical, religious, controversial, laudatory, and funereal nature. As well as

624-456: The 2018 video game Detroit: Become Human . This inclusion likely serves as a symbolic reference to the game's exploration of themes such as identity, the human condition, and the blurred lines between appearance and reality—concepts that Góngora's poetry often delved into. Duke of Lerma Believed to have been born in 1552, Francisco de Sandoval was the son of Francisco de Rojas de Sandoval, Count of Lerma and Marquis of Denia . His mother

672-598: The Austrian Habsburgs and then with the French Bourbons . Lerma's administration began by making peace with France , in the 1598 Treaty of Vervins in 1598, but he persisted in costly and useless hostilities with England till 1604, when Spain was forced by exhaustion to make peace. Lerma used all his influence against a recognition of the independence of the Low Countries. Though in 1607

720-648: The Spanish language should not be underestimated, as he picked up what were in his time obscure or little-used words and used them in his poetry again and again, thereby reviving or popularizing them. Many of these words are quite common today, such as adolescente , asunto , brillante , construir , eclipse , emular , erigir , fragmento , frustrar , joven , meta , and porción . Góngora's poems are usually grouped into two blocks, corresponding more or less to two successive poetic stages. His Fábula de Polifemo y Galatea ( Fable of Polyphemus and Galatea ) and his Soledades (1613) are his best-known compositions and

768-461: The compliment of comparing the film director with Góngora as an authority on images. The philosopher Baruch Spinoza proposed in his Ethics (1677) that a man can die before his body stops moving. As an example he mentioned "a Spanish poet who suffered an illness; though he recovered, he was left so oblivious to his past life that he did not believe the tales and tragedies he had written were his own". The historian Carl Gebhardt wrote that "this

816-475: The domestic treachery of his son, who allied himself with the King's confessor, Luis de Aliaga Martínez , whom Lerma had introduced. After a long intrigue in which the King remained silent and passive, Lerma was at last compelled to leave the court, on 4 October 1618. As a protection, and as a means of retaining some measure of power in case he fell from favour, he had persuaded Pope Paul V to create him cardinal,

864-414: The following jargon learn: / Fulgores, arrogar, joven, presiente / candor, construye, métrica, armonía... " Quevedo actually mocked Góngora's style in several sonnets, including "Sulquivagante, pretensor de Estolo." This anti-Gongorist sonnet mocks the supposed unintelligibility of culteranismo and its widespread use of flowery neologisms, including sulquivagante (he who plies the seas; to travel without

912-412: The forests), and "Soledad del yermo" (Solitude of the wasteland). Góngora only wrote the "dedicatoria al Duque de Béjar" (dedication to the Duke of Béjar ) and the first two Soledades , the second of which remained unfinished. However, some critics like John Beverley propose that the "unfinished" ending can be read as a literary technique that suggests a connection with the beginning of the poem. From

960-599: The good and bad poets of his time. He considered Góngora to be one of the good ones. Velázquez painted his portrait. Numerous documents, lawsuits and satires by his rival Quevedo paint a picture of a man jovial, sociable, and talkative, who loved card-playing and bullfights . His bishop accused him of rarely attending choir , and of praying less than fervently when he did go. Góngora's passion for card-playing ultimately contributed to his ruin. Frequent allusions and metaphors associated with card-playing in Góngora's poetry reveal that cards formed part of his daily life. He

1008-525: The influence of the Duke of Lerma , he was appointed honorary chaplain to King Philip III of Spain , but did not enjoy the honour long. He maintained a long feud with Francisco de Quevedo , who wanted to match his influence in talent and wit. Both poets composed many bitter, satirical pieces attacking one another, with Quevedo criticizing Góngora's penchant for flattery, his large nose, and his passion for gambling. Quevedo even accused his enemy of sodomy , which

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1056-424: The lines: Érase un hombre a una nariz pegado, / érase una nariz superlativa, / érase una alquitara medio viva, / érase un peje espada muy barbado (English: Once there was a man stuck to a nose, / it was a nose more marvellous than weird, / it was a nearly living web of tubes, / it was a swordfish with an awful beard). This angry feud came to a nasty end for Góngora when Quevedo bought the house Góngora lived in for

1104-612: The lyrics for the song "Fortune Presents Gifts Not According to the Book" on their 1990 album Aion . In the second of the five parts of Roberto Bolaño 's novel 2666 (published posthumously in 2004), "The Part about Amalfitano", one of the characters (the poet, whose name is never explicitly stated) quotes a verse from Góngora: Ande yo caliente y ríase la gente . John Crowley 's novel "The Solitudes" (a.k.a."Aegypt", 1987) repeatedly refers to and quotes from Góngora's poem "Soledades." A portrait of Luis de Góngora appears as an Easter egg in

1152-532: The masses of people. It also provided a short-term boost to the royal treasury from the impounded property of the Moors, but would ruin the economy of Valencia for generations. Lerma's financial horizons remained medieval: his only resources as a finance minister were the debasing of the coinage and edicts against luxury and the making of silver plate. Bankrupt or not, the war with the Dutch dragged on till 1609, when

1200-461: The monarchy declared itself bankrupt, Lerma carried out the ruinous measures for the expulsion of the Moriscos , Moors who had converted to Christianity, from 1609–14, a decision affecting over 300,000 people. A policy motivated by religious and political considerations, in which no economic consideration played a part, the expulsion secured him the admiration of the clergy and was popular with

1248-504: The most studied. The Fábula is written in royal octaves ( octavas reales ) and his Soledades is written in a variety of metres and strophes, but principally in stanzas and silvas interspersed with choruses. Góngora's Fábula de Polifemo y Galatea (1612) narrates a mythological episode described in Ovid 's Metamorphoses : the love of Polyphemus , one of the Cyclopes , for

1296-479: The other are included within the story itself and poetry from each is included at the back of some of the books. In Giannina Braschi 's bilingual novel Yo-Yo Boing! (1998) contemporary Latin American poets have a heated debate about Góngora's and Quevedo's role in defining the Spanish empire through their works. The musical group Dead Can Dance used an English translation of Góngora's Da bienes Fortuna as

1344-466: The previous March (1618). He retired to the Ducal Palace of Lerma , and then to Valladolid , where it was reported that he celebrated Mass every day "with great devotion and tears". When the dying Philip III was presented with a list of prisoners and exiles to be forgiven, he granted grace to all except the cardinal-duke of Lerma. When Lerma learned the news, he started from Valladolid to Madrid but

1392-569: The royal court. From the Medici in Florence in 1601 came an over-lifesize marble of Samson Slaying a Philistine by Giambologna , presented as a diplomatic gift . It had been made for a Medici garden, and though it had recently been in storage, it was a princely gift (now in the Victoria and Albert Museum , London). Lerma assembled a vast collection of paintings. Duke Mario Farnese sent over

1440-538: The sole purpose of ejecting him from it. In 1626 a severe illness, which seriously impaired the poet's memory, forced him to return to Córdoba, where he died the following year. By then he was broke from trying to obtain positions and win lawsuits for all his relatives. He was buried in one of the side chapels in the Mezquita section of the Córdoba cathedral where his funeral monument can be seen. An edition of his poems

1488-552: The time of their composition, Soledades inspired a great debate regarding the difficulty of its language and its mythological and erudite references without an apparent didactic purpose. It was attacked by the Count of Salinas and Juan Martínez de Jáuregui y Aguilar (who composed an Antidote against the Soledades ). The work, however, was defended by Salcedo Coronel, José Pellicer , Francisco Fernández de Córdoba (Abad de Rute),

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1536-504: The unfinished Doctor Carlino . Although Góngora did not publish his works (he had attempted to do so in 1623), manuscript copies were circulated and compiled in cancioneros (songbooks), and anthologies published with or without his permission. In 1627, Juan Lopez Vicuña published Verse Works of the Spanish Homer , which is also considered very trustworthy and important in establishing the Góngora's corpus of work. Vicuña's work

1584-503: The usual topics ( carpe diem etc.) the sonnets include autobiographical elements, describing, for example, the increasing decrepitude and advancing age of the author. In addition, Góngora composed one of his most ambitions works, El Panegírico al Duque de Lerma (1617), a poem in 79 royal octaves. Cervantes, after reading "El Panegírico", said: "the [work] I most esteem from those I've read of his." He also wrote plays, which include La destrucción de Troya , Las firmezas de Isabela , and

1632-427: The vast power, beauty, and scope of a mighty pen." As far away as Peru , he received the praise of Juan de Espinosa Medrano (ca. 1629–1688), who wrote a piece defending Góngora's poetry from criticism called Apologético en favor de Don Luis de Góngora, Príncipe de los poetas lyricos de España: contra Manuel de Faria y Sousa, Cavallero portugués (1662). As Dámaso Alonso has pointed out, Góngora's contribution to

1680-487: Was Isabelle de Borgia , daughter of Saint Francis Borgia , Duke of Gandía and General of the Jesuit Order . The family of Sandoval was ancient and powerful. The future duke of Lerma was born and raised at Tordesillas . As long as Philip II lived, the nobles had little effective share in the government, with the exception of a few who were appointed viceroys or commanded armies abroad. Lerma passed his time as

1728-557: Was a Spanish Baroque lyric poet and a Catholic prebendary for the Church of Córdoba. Góngora and his lifelong rival, Francisco de Quevedo , are widely considered the most prominent Spanish poets of all time. His style is characterized by what was called culteranismo , also known as Gongorismo . This style apparently existed in stark contrast to Quevedo's conceptismo , though Quevedo was highly influenced by his older rival from whom he may have isolated "conceptismo" elements. Góngora

1776-407: Was a capital crime in 17th century Spain. In his "Contra el mismo (Góngora)", Quevedo writes of Góngora: No altar, garito sí; poco cristiano, / mucho tahúr, no clérigo, sí arpía. (English: There's no altar, but there's a gambling den; not much of a Christian, / but he's very much a cardsharp , not a cleric, definitely a harpy ). Góngora's nose, the subject of Quevedo's "A una nariz", begins with

1824-493: Was appointed Sumiller de Corps and Caballerizo mayor to the King. Philip III, preoccupied with piety and indolence, soon created him Duke of Lerma (1599), pressured the papacy to make his uncle Bernardo a Cardinal and delegated to him governorship of certain public offices and management responsibility of particular lands, authorized by the King and Queen, of the Kingdoms of Castile and Aragon . Gifts poured in from outside

1872-564: Was appropriated by the Spanish Inquisition and was later surpassed by an edition by Gonzalo de Hozes in 1633. The Generation of '27 took its name from the year 1927 in which the tricentennial of Góngora's death, ignored by official academic circles, was celebrated with recitals, avant-garde happenings, and an ambitious plan to publish a new critical edition of his work, as well as books and articles on aspects of his work that had not been fully researched. The Generation of '27

1920-508: Was born to a noble family in Córdoba , where his father, Francisco de Argote, was corregidor, or judge. In a Spanish era when purity of Christian lineage ( limpieza de sangre ) was needed to gain access to education or official appointments, he adopted the surname of his mother, Leonor de Góngora. His uncle, Don Francisco, a prebendary of Córdoba Cathedral , renounced his post in favour of his nephew, who took deacon 's orders in 1586. As

1968-594: Was intercepted on the road and commanded by Olivares, favorite of the heir to the throne, who professed an implacable hatred for the cardinal, to return to Valladolid. The Cardinal was in Villacastín and remained there until he learned of the death of the King. Then he went back to Valladolid to celebrate the requiem in the church of San Pablo . He was ordered by the count of Olivares to reside in Tordesillas but he did not obey and appealed to Pope Gregory XV and

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2016-416: Was made a scapegoat. Calderón was tortured and executed on trumped up charges of witchcraft and other crimes, which demonstrated what would likely have been Lerma's fate, if a cardinal's hat hadn't protected his head. Lerma was also responsible for the appointment of Don Pedro Franqueza to reform royal finances, but who instead managed to embezzle enough funds to purchase the title of Count of Villalonga. He

2064-463: Was often reproached for activities beneath the dignity of a churchman. Culteranismo apparently existed in stark contrast with conceptismo , another movement of the Baroque period which is characterized by a witty style, wordplay, simple vocabulary, and conveying multiple meanings in as few words as possible. However, all elements of "conceptismo" were already present in Góngora's late style, which

2112-536: Was passionately debated and misunderstood even by his defenders. The best-known representative of Spanish conceptismo , Francisco de Quevedo, had an ongoing feud with Luis de Góngora in which each criticized the other's writing and personal life. The word culteranismo blends culto ("cultivated") and luteranismo (" Lutheranism ") and was coined by its opponents to present it as a heresy of "true" poetry. The movement aimed to use as many words as possible to convey little meaning or to conceal meaning. "Góngora's poetry

2160-480: Was placed on trial and forfeited his riches. At a time when the state was practically bankrupt, he encouraged the King in extravagance, and accumulated for himself a fortune estimated by contemporaries at forty-four million ducats. On the hilltop overlooking the village of Lerma in Old Castile that provided his grand title, the duke built a palace (1606–1617, by Francisco de Mora) capped with corner towers, on

2208-480: Was probably Góngora, whose works Spinoza possessed, and who lost his memory a year before his death". The narrator of the Captain Alatriste series, a friend of Francisco de Quevedo within the stories, illustrates Góngora's feuding with Quevedo, both by quoting poetry from each as well as describing Quevedo's attitude toward Góngora through the course of the story. Excerpts of poetry from one against

2256-621: Was published almost immediately after his death by Juan López de Vicuña; the frequently reprinted edition by Hozes did not appear until 1633. The collection consists of numerous sonnets, odes, ballads, songs for guitar, and of some larger poems, such as the Soledades and the Fábula de Polifemo y Galatea ( Fable of Polyphemus and Galatea ) (1612), the two landmark works of the highly refined style called "culteranismo" or "Gongorismo". Miguel de Cervantes , in his Viaje del Parnaso , catalogued

2304-562: Was the first to attempt to self-consciously revive baroque literature. Dámaso Alonso wrote that Góngora's complex language conveyed meaning in that it created a world of pure beauty. Alonso explored his work exhaustively and called Góngora a "mystic of words." Alonso dispelled the notion that Góngora had two separate styles – "simple" and "difficult" poems – that were also divided chronologically between his early and later years. He argued that Góngora's more complex poems built on stylistic devices that had been created in Góngora's early career as

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