Garcilaso de la Vega (poet)
Garcilaso de la Vega entered the world in Toledo between 1498 and 1503. His father Garcilaso de la Vega served as a nobleman and ambassador to the royal court of the Catholic Monarchs. Sancha de Guzmán was his mother, and he grew up as the second son of their family. This birth order meant he did not receive the mayorazgo entitlement to his father's estate. He spent his younger years mastering five languages including Spanish, Greek, Latin, Italian and French. The young noble also learned to play the zither, lute and harp with skill. When his father died in 1509, Garcilaso received a sizeable inheritance that funded his future pursuits.
He joined the military after finishing his schooling with hopes of joining the royal guard. In 1520 he was named contino or imperial guard of Charles V. He became a member of the Order of Santiago in 1523. His duties took him to Italy, Germany, Tunisia and France during numerous battles. In 1532 he was exiled for a short period to a Danube island where he stayed as the guest of Count György Cseszneky. The King desired control over Marseille and eventually the Mediterranean Sea but never achieved this goal. Garcilaso fought his last battle at Le Muy in Nice on the 14th of October 1536. He suffered from an injury sustained there for twenty-five days before dying.
Garcilaso adapted the eleven-syllable line to the Spanish language in his sonetos mostly written in the 1520s. Increasing the number of syllables from eight to eleven allowed for greater flexibility in verse. He helped introduce several other types of stanzas to the Spanish language including the estancia formed by eleven- and seven-syllable lines. The lira stanza contained three seven-syllable and two eleven-syllable lines. Endecasílabos sueltos were unrhymed eleven-syllable lines that appeared in his work. This adaptation created a new standard for Spanish poetry that contrasted with the playful poetry of his predecessors. His tragic love poetry reflected influences from many Italian Renaissance poets during his Petrarchan period.
His works include forty Sonetos or Sonnets and five Canciones or Songs. Eight Coplas or Couplets appear alongside three Églogas or Eclogues in his surviving output. Two Elegías or Elegies complete the major categories of his writing plus the Epístola a Boscán or Letter to Boscán. Allusions to classical myths and Greco-Latin figures characterize these poems along with great musicality and rhythm. An absence of religion marks his work while alliteration flows through the verses. One example from his third eclogue reads: Más a las veces son mejor oídos el puro ingenio y lengua casi muda. Another line states: No me podrán quitar el dolorido sentir si ya del todo primero no me quitan el sentido.
Miguel de Cervantes mentioned Garcilaso in multiple works throughout his literary career. In the second volume of Don Quixote the protagonist quotes one of the poet's sonnets directly. Tomás Rodaja carries a volume of Garcilaso on his journey across Europe in El licenciado Vidriera. Pedro Salinas took the title of his poem sequence La voz a ti debida from Garcilaso's third eclogue. Gabriel García Márquez featured Father Cayetano Delaura as an admirer of the Spanish master in Of Love and Other Demons. Puerto Rican poet Giannina Braschi wrote both a poetic treatise and a book of poems entitled Empire of Dreams in homage to him. Seamus Heaney remains among the 21st
century pastoral poets who have enjoyed a revival of influence from this work.
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Common questions
When and where was Garcilaso de la Vega born?
Garcilaso de la Vega entered the world in Toledo between 1498 and 1503. His father served as a nobleman and ambassador to the royal court of the Catholic Monarchs.
What military role did Garcilaso de la Vega hold under Charles V?
In 1520 he was named contino or imperial guard of Charles V. He became a member of the Order of Santiago in 1523 and fought battles in Italy, Germany, Tunisia and France.
How did Garcilaso de la Vega change Spanish poetry structure?
Garcilaso adapted the eleven-syllable line to the Spanish language in his sonetos mostly written in the 1520s. This adaptation created a new standard for Spanish poetry that contrasted with the playful poetry of his predecessors.
Which poems make up the surviving works of Garcilaso de la Vega?
His works include forty Sonetos or Sonnets and five Canciones or Songs alongside three Églogas or Eclogues. Two Elegías or Elegies complete the major categories of his writing plus the Epístola a Boscán or Letter to Boscán.
When did Garcilaso de la Vega die from battle injuries?
Garcilaso fought his last battle at Le Muy in Nice on the 14th of October 1536. He suffered from an injury sustained there for twenty-five days before dying.