Luis de Góngora y Argote. Biography.
Brief Biography.
Luis de Góngora y Argote (1561-1627) was one of the most prominent/outstanding poets of Spain’s Golden Age, a period of remarkable literary achievements in prose fiction, drama and verse. In poetry, Góngora has traditionally been seen as the culmination of a rich trajectory beginning with Garcilaso de la Vega (1501?-36) and progressing via figures such as Fray Luis de León (1527-91, San Juan de la Cruz (1542-91) and Fernando de Herrera (c. 1534-97), to name a few.
During his day, Góngora was rivalled only by the poet-dramatist Lope de Vega (1562-1635) and the multi-talented Francisco de Quevedo (1580-1645). The former had a strained relationship with Góngora, but the latter was a bitter critic and implacable enemy.
Born in Córdoba to a noble family, Góngora was known as an aficionado of card playing and bullfighting from his early years. Beginning in 1576, he attended the University of Salamanca for four years with apparently little enthusiasm, and returned to Córdoba without a degree. Soon after his return, he accepted a Church office as prebendary, a post an uncle of his renounced in his favour. Although not a priest, as prebendary Góngora was expected to officiate and serve in the church, for which he received a stipend. However, his religious vocation and dedication were clearly wanting to judge from the criticisms directed at him by the Bishop of the Cathedral: he was accused of absenteeism, of talking during prayers, of going to bullfights and of associating with actors and writing frivolous verse. He received a small fine as punishment.
Nevertheless, his rebellious/ irreligious behaviour did not preclude him travelling widely on business for the cathedral. Significant were trips in 1602 to Valladolid (when it was the temporary capital of Spain,1601-06) and in 1609 to Madrid (once again the permanent capital). By now, he had already established himself as a poet of note and his visits to the centres of power allowed him rub shoulders with both literary, social and political heavyweights, including Rodrigo Calderón, the Count of Villamediana, the Count of Lemos and the powerful and influential Duke of Lerma, the king’s favourite.
Góngora continued to live in Córdoba until 1617 when thanks to the Duke of Lerma he was named to a royal chaplaincy in the court of King Philip III in Madrid, a position that required him to be ordained a priest. He spent most of the last ten years of his life in Madrid where, despite the initial favours of protectors –first Lerma and, following his fall in 1619, of the Count-Duke of Olivares— Góngora found himself in financial difficulties. Compulsive gambling, fierce rivalries, ill health and the deaths of patrons (Rodrigo Calderón was executed in 1621, the Count of Villamediana was assassinated in 1622) left him embarrassed as petitions for help went unheeded. Most humiliating for Góngora was the purchase in 1625 of the house he rented in Madrid by his arch enemy, Quevedo.
In 1627, following a serious illness, Góngora returned to Córdoba where he died on May 23 of the same year.
Sources.
Gaylord, Mary Malcolm “The Making of Baroque Poetry” in The Cambridge History of Spanish Literature, ed. Gies, David T Cambridge 2009, pp. 222-37.
Rivers, Elias ed Renaissance and Baroque Poetry of Spain Prospect Heights Illinois 1988 (With English prose translations of the poems.)
Jones, R.O. A Literary History of Spain. The Golden Age: Prose and Poetry. London, New York 1971.
Robbins, Jeremy The Challenges of Uncertainty: An Introduction to Seventeenth-Century Spanish Literature New York 1998.
Walters, D. Gareth The Cambridge Introduction to Spanish Poetry Cambridge 2002.
Wardropper, Bruce Spanish Poetry of the Golden Age New York 1971.
Image of Gongora: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_de_G%C3%B3ngora