Introduction
The common denominator that characterizes almost all the great works of the 16th century Hispanic poetry is that they passed through one major place where they sharpened their literal prowess and acumen, the University of Salamanca. The University has proven to be a fertile ground for nurturing of great talents since the times of Renaissance to date, with notable alumni in the fields of poetry, theology and law. The sixth century within the contexts of the Hispanic literature, Renaissance was majorly characterized by academicians, many of them are teachers, poets, lawyers among others and often led lives that were sedentary. Among the list of the greatest poets that shared the common academic passage through the corridors of the University in the second half of the 16th century were;San Juan de la Cruz, Fray Luis de León, Francisco de la Torre, Francisco de Figueroa and Santa Teresa de Jesús among other notable aluminum. These figures shared a common feeling chiefly among them being the feeling of disillusion towards what was happening at their time. These feelings were portrayed and then translated from the mundane views of their surroundings through to the Neo-Platonism and then towards the admiration of poetry that heavily featured the works of Horace, whose main theme was about the moral attitudes and decadence within their specific time in history. From these works of inspiration, the works of San Juan de la Cruz and Fray Luis de León received a lot of admiration from linguistic scholars and that forms the basis of this paper. To compare the two poets, their work and the influence they had on the history of Hispanic literature in great lengths.
Spiritual Convictions of the Two Poets
Both San Juan de la Cruz, also known as Saint John of the Cross, and Fray Luis de León, grew up in the era of deep spiritual realism in the greater Europe and therefore, their lives revolved around Christian teachings and this also informed the alignment of their poetic literature which is based on very deep religious connotations. Growing up, Juan was brought up from a humble background and his early school years as a child were spent in monasteries that operated as semi orphanages where they would feed and clothe the children under their care as well as offer them training in catechism. Juan narrates how as a child, he was saved several times from drowning by a beautiful woman (most likely the Virgin Mary). The narrative of these encounters may have formed the little Juan to make yup, his spiritual decisions of his later life as it is attested by the fact that later on in life; he decided to pursue a career in the priesthood. For Fray, the spiritual journey began when he joined the university to study Canon Laws at the University of Salamanca. He later abandoned his studies and decided to join the spiritual grouping known as the order of the Hermits of St Augustine. In his time as a member of the order of Hermits, he decided to make a choice of serving the poor and dedicating his entire life to the evangelism of the gospel to the people by becoming a Friar. The choices of the two men in what would form their careers in essence formed the foundation on which their poetical lyrical were based. The spiritual themes and moral compass that the major works of poetry of the two poets can be based on the spiritual beliefs that each of these two poets had and the training that they had in the theological frameworks(John and Jones 165).
The convents and the monasteries formed the main context as to which the two poets based their poetic verses in the Bible is the main reference point. The institutions informed the basis in which a major type of religion and sometimes devout poetry was developed. These poetic pieces were mirrored in line with the lyrics found in the anthologies, following the biblical traditions and the works of the early Christian communities that were spread throughout Europe. The works of San Juan de la Cruz mainly have elements of the spiritual Canticle of the Soul, which are explained through poetry in the “Ascent of Mount Camel” and later on in the poem of the “Dark Night of the Soul.” The two pieces tried to bring out to the masses the need for the cleansing of the soul through edification and sanctification against the very small pieces of sinfulness and imperfections that stand in the way between the unification of man and God. Though these poems, San Juan de la Cruz bring about his deep spiritual conviction in which he believes that the sinful nature and the imperfections that every mankind have in their lives must be abolished through self-discipline and the intervention from God Himself, by purging the sinful nature of man away through forgiveness and cleansing of the inner soul before uniting with mankind. San Juan de la Cruz heavily employed the use of mystical Christian praise and the contextualization of the spirituality of the divine presence of the Trinity in his poems. Even when he was imprisoned for his activities in promoting the reformation of the Carmelite Order under the nun Teresa of Avila, he still found time to compose one of his most famous poems, the Dark of the Soul(Lamm 33).
Likewise,Fray Luis de León was indicted into the contextualization of the spiritual literature when he joined the order of Hermits of Saint Augustine. The Friar later graduated with a degree in theology from the University of Toledo, where he had majorly concentrated in the study of Hebrew and Biblical interpretation. His work as a translator of the major lethargically and biblical lexical documents played a major role in his role as a poet, with works such as “Cantar de los Cantares” gaining controversy among the religious leaders and scholars of the time. Translation of the Bible from the original Latin Language that it had been translated to by the early Christians had been forbidden at the time due to the possibility of misinterpretation and mistranslation of some words into Spanish. The translation of the Song of Solomon by Fray made him imprisoned. The major works of Fray centered on the main themes that centered on the daily operations of the church and the daily Christian lives. His famous pieces such as“The Perfect Wife” and “The Names of Christ” were mainly done to help the Christian community in their lives and observe perfect life as Christians just like it is required of them by Christ.
The Divinity of God
In comparing the context of the divinity of God as brought about by the two poets, the works of Juan de la Cruz comes out as the perfect poetry that brings out the topic of God’s divinity and superiority over all creations. His major work on Spiritual Canticle and the bridegroom of Christ brings out the topic in a much contextualized formthat embodies the very tenets that Juan devoted his entire life for. He spearheaded the reformation of the Carmelite Order and therefore much of his poetry is centered into the wholeness of God and his spiritual cleanliness. On the contrary, the works of Fray Luis de León centers much on helping the Christian communities follow the ways of the Lord and as being goo observance of the laws that are laid down for them in the bible. Fray Luis mainly did his work with the main aim of assisting the unlearned Christians of his time understand the Christian texts of the time that were mainly written in Latin, a language that only a few who had the privilege to access good education could understand. Fray Luis believed in the few elements of art that were found within the Christian communities could help them become better Christians and therefore concentrated his poetry on that line. The major pieces of poetry were mainly based on the attainment of peace, happiness and liberty and his abhorrence of the materialism too was included in the majority of his poetry. The poems such as “The Life Removed” and “Ode to Salinas” exemplifies his beliefs in the simple and humble lives that a Christian should be living instead of engaging in the extravagance and leading lives that are full of materialistic appeal.
Comparison of the Two Divine Poems: “Dark Night of the Soul” and “The life Removed”
Both poets tend to agree on one element that is chaste and spiritual cleanliness before the Almighty God who abhors the sinful nature of man and requires that every human being live in spiritual cleanliness. In Juan de la Cruz’s poem, the “Dark Night of the Soul,” he centers mainly in the reunification of mankind with God through the renouncing of every kind of activity that might lead to the ultimate rejection by God Himself. Juan admonishes the believers from engaging in any kind of self-satisfaction or any other kind of pleasures that might be in the way of them to reunifying with God which might bring about the “Darkness” of the soul. The term “Dark Night of the soul” is heavily borrowed from the Roman Catholicism and is often used to denote to the period of spiritual crisis that a believer experiences in their journey towards uniting with the presence of God(Zimmerman). The spiritual crisis is often believed to be temporary in nature and at times it might occur for a long duration of time. Yuan uses this poem to remind the Christians of his time that unless they strictly observe the ways of the Lord, then they will certainly be in a spiritual darkness which at times they might not recover from as a result of the sinful nature that they live in. Yuan’s poem is a reflection of his own life that he believed in the chastity of his soul and his participation in the promotion of the reformation of the order of the Carmelites whose cause he was ready to face imprisonment. He writes;
“In an obscure night, Fevered with love’s anxiety, (O hapless, happy plight!) I went, none seeing me, Forth from my house, where all things quiet be”(Underhill 352)
On the other hand, the major piece of divine poetry by Fray Luis, “The Life Removed” follows in the footsteps of Horace, which is structured to bring out the mundane happenings of the society through lyrical notes of poetry. The main elements brought out in this poem is the need for the Christian community to be wary of the irrationality that is placed in materialism and the sinful desires of this world in order to be in line with God’s perfect nature. The context of the poem brings about some shared similarities with Juan’s poem, “The Dark Night of the Soul.” Both poems brings about the need for purification of Christians before the eyes of God in order to be able to dwell in Hhis divine presence. The poem by Fray Luis speaks of the men who aspire of the powers and the wealth that is accumulate on earth and therefore disregard the words and commands of God in their pursuit of their dreams and happiness. He admonishes them as those people who travel in the paths that are hidden. He likens them to a ship travelling in the course of a storm where the sailors’ only motivation is greed and ambition towards what they are looking for forgetting that everything lies in the mighty hands of God. They will all perish, and never meet their desired achievements just like those who travel through the hidden paths(Thompson 23).
Conclusion
Both poems by the two men of the cloth are salient on features that touch the spirituality of Christians of their times. The spiritual Renaissance as well as the literal reawakening of the medieval settings presented a fertile ground for the two poets to put their thoughts into lyrical tunes of poetry. The two divine poems presented the Christians of the time something on which to base their inner intellectual and spiritual thoughts into action. To the respective leadership of the time, the two poets presented some sort of threats into the established religious doctrines and therefore they could not be allowed to flourish. But today, the two poems are a reflection of the growth of literature in the wider European continent as well as the broader outlook into the values that forms a believer’s life in the face of extreme elements within the Christian world.
Works Cited
John, Of C, and Kathleen Jones. The Poems of St John of the Cross. Tunbridge Wells: Burns & Oates, 2001. Print.
Lamm, Julia A. The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Christian Mysticism. Hoboken: J. Wiley, 2013. Print.
Thompson, Colin P. The Strife of Tongues: Fray Luis De León and the Golden Age of Spain. Cambridge [Cambridgeshire: Cambridge UP, 1988. Print.
Underhill, Evelyn. Mysticism; a Study in the Nature and Development of Man's Spiritual Consciousness. New York: Dutton & Co, 1961. Web.
Zimmerman, Benedict. "Spiritual Canticle of the Soul and the Bridegroom Christ." Christian Classics Ethereal Library. N.p., 2005. Web. 18 June 2016.
