Knowra Luis de Góngora Luis de Góngora Luis de Góngora (1561–1627) was a Spanish poet whose elaborate metaphors, intricate syntax, and learned allusions made him a defining voice of Baroque poetry.
Culteranismo : A Spanish literary style marked by elaborate syntax, learned allusions, and ornate vocabulary. Góngora became its leading practitioner, making linguistic difficulty a deliberate poetic effect.
Hyperbaton : A rhetorical figure that departs from ordinary word order for emphasis, rhythm, or expressive effect. Góngora’s reordered clauses delay meaning and make readers reconstruct the sentence.
Francisco de Quevedo : A Spanish writer of the Golden Age known for satirical poetry, prose, and rivalry with Góngora. Their literary antagonism became a famous clash between competing poetic styles.
Fábula de Polifemo y Galatea : Góngora’s 1612 mythological poem about Polyphemus, Galatea, and Acis, written in octaves. It offers a concentrated example of his intricate descriptions and classical transformations.
Baroque literature : Literature shaped by Baroque-era tastes for complexity, contrast, ornament, and theatrical expression. Its taste for elaborate form and striking contrasts frames Góngora’s poetry.
Metaphor : A figure of speech that describes one thing in terms of another to suggest a resemblance. His extended, surprising metaphors are central to the density of his verse.
Juan de Jáuregui : A Spanish poet, painter, and critic who wrote against Góngora’s Soledades. His attack records contemporary resistance to Góngora’s difficult new poetry.
La más bella niña : A traditional-style lyric by Góngora voiced by a young woman whose beloved has gone to war. Its direct, popular-song manner contrasts with his most elaborate poems.
Petrarchism : A European poetic tradition modeled on Petrarch’s sonnets, themes, and idealized language of love. Góngora reshaped inherited Petrarchan conventions through dense imagery and verbal ingenuity.
Allusion : An indirect reference to a person, story, work, or idea outside the text. Classical and literary allusions reward knowledge while enriching the poem’s imagery.
Show all 20