This article concerns

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Medieval Spain

The Medieval period covers 400 years of different poetry texts and can be broken up into five categories.

Primitive lyrics

Since the findings of the Kharjas, which are mainly two, three, or four verses, Spanish lyrics, which are written in Mozarabic dialect, are perhaps the oldest of Romance Europe. The Mozarabic dialect has

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

origins with a combination of

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

fonts.

The epic

Many parts of ''

Cantar de Mio Cid ''El Cantar de mio Cid'', or ''El Poema de mio Cid'' ("The Song of My Cid"; "The Poem of My Cid"), is an anonymous '' cantar de gesta'' and the oldest preserved Castilian epic poem. Based on a true story, it tells of the deeds of the Castilian h ...

'', '' Cantar de Roncesvalles'', and '' Mocedades de Rodrigo'' are part of the epic. The exact portion of each of these works is disputed among scholars. The Minstrels, over the course of the 12th to the 14th centuries, were driving force of this movement. The Spanish epic likely emanated from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. There are also indications of Arabic and

Visigoth The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied barbarian military group united under the comman ...

. It is usually written in series of seven to eight syllables within rhyming verse.

Mester de clerecía

The cuaderna vía is the most distinctive verse written in Alexandrine verse, consisting of 12 syllables. Works during the 13th century include religious, epics, historical, advice or knowledge, and adventure themes. Examples of such themes include '' The Miracles of the Virgin Mary'', '' Poema de Fernán González'', '' Book of Alexander'', '' Cato’s Examples'', and '' Book of Apolonio'', respectively. Some works vary and are not necessarily mester de clerecía, but are reflective of it. Such poems are of a discussion nature, such as '' Elena y María'' and '' Reason to Love''.

Hagiographic A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an wiktionary:adulatory, adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religi ...

poems include '' Life of St. María Egipciaca'' and '' Book of the Three Wise Men''. Mature works, like '' The Book of Good Love'' and '' Rhyming Book of the Palace'', were not included in the genre until the 14th century.

Collection of verse ( Cancionero)

During this movement, language use went from Galician-Portuguese to Castilian. Octosyllable, twelve syllables, and verse of arte mayor were becoming the footing of verses. Main themes derive from Provençal poetry. This form of poetry was generally compilations of verses formed into books, also known as cancioneros. Main works include ''

Cancionero de Baena The ''Cancionero de Baena'' ("Songbook of Baena") was compiled between around 1426 to 1430 by the Marrano Juan Alfonso de Baena for the king John II of Castile and the Constable of Castile Álvaro de Luna, Duke of Trujillo, Álvaro de Luna. Its ...

'', '' Cancionero de Estuniga'', and '' Cancionero General''. Other important works from this era include parts of '' Dance of Death'', '' Dialogue Between Love and an Old Man'', verses of '' Mingo Revulgo'', and verses of the '' Baker Woman''.

Spanish ballads

The romanceros have no set number of octosyllables, but these poems are only parallel in this form. '' Romancero Viejo'' consists of the oldest poems in these epochs, which are anonymous. The largest amount of romances comes from the 16th century, although early works were from the 14th century. Many musicians of

used these poems in their pieces throughout the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

. Cut offs, archaic speech, and recurrent dialogue are common characteristics among these poems; however the type and focus were diverse. Lyrical romances are also a sizeable part of this era. During the 17th century, they were recycled and renewed. Some authors still stayed consistent with the original format. By the 20th century, the tradition still continued.

Notable Spanish poets

Early Middle Ages

* Mozarab Jarchas, the first expression of Spanish poetry, in Mozárabe dialect * Mester de Juglaría **

* Mester de Clerecía ** Juan Ruiz, Arcipreste de Hita ** Gonzalo de Berceo *

Troubadours A troubadour (, ; ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female equivalent is usually called a ''trobairitz''. The tro ...

* Xohán de Cangas * Palla (troubadour) * Paio Soares de Taveirós

Later Middle Ages

* Macías * Pero Ferrus * Juan Rodríguez de la Cámara * Alfonso Martínez de Toledo, Arcipreste de Talavera * Jorge Manrique * Íñigo López de Mendoza, 1st Marquess of Santillana * Juan de Mena

Arabic and Hebrew poetry during the Moorish period

During the time when

was occupied by the

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

after the early 8th century, the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

was influenced by the

language in both the central and southern regions.

still prevailed in the north. The

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

culture had its own Golden Age through the span of the 10th to 12th centuries in

Hebrew poetry {{Short description, Disambiguation page Hebrew poetry is poetry written in the Hebrew language. It encompasses such things as: * Biblical poetry, the poetry found in the poetic books of the Hebrew Bible * Piyyut, religious Jewish liturgical poe ...

was usually in the style of

Piyyut A piyyuṭ (plural piyyuṭim, ; from ) is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. Most piyyuṭim are in Mishnaic Hebrew or Jewish Palestinian Aramaic, and most follow some p ...

; however, under

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

rule in Spain, the style changed. These poets began to write again in what was the "pure language of the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

". Beforehand, poems were written in

Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

. This change was a result of the commitment the Arabs had to the

Koran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

. Tempos and secular topics were now prevalent in Hebrew poetry. However, these poems were only reflections of events seen by the

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and not of ones practiced themselves. *The

Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Muslim world, Islamic world. Additionally, the ...

Poets: ** Ibn al-Yayyab ** Ibn Zamrak ** Ibn al-Khatib * Ibn Sahl of Sevilla * Ibn Hazm of Córdoba * Ibn Gabirol * Moses ibn Ezra * Abraham ibn Ezra * Ibn Quzman *

Ibn Arabi Ibn Arabi (July 1165–November 1240) was an Andalusian Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest com ...

After 1492

*Anonymous writers of the '' Romancero'' * Juan Boscán * Gutierre de Cetina *

Alonso de Ercilla Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga (7 August 153329 November 1594) was a Spanish soldier and poet, born in Madrid. While in Chile (1556–63) he fought against the Araucanians (Mapuche), and there he began the epic poem '' La Araucana'', considered one ...

* Santa Teresa de Jesús * San Juan de la Cruz * Fernando de Herrera * Garcilaso de la Vega * Juan del Encina * Fray Luis de León * Diego Hurtado de Mendoza * Lope de Rueda * Ausiàs March (in

Valencian Valencian can refer to: * Something related to the Valencian Community ( Valencian Country) in Spain * Something related to the city of Valencia * Something related to the province of Valencia in Spain * Something related to the old Kingdom of ...

)

The Golden Age (''El Siglo de Oro'')

This epoch includes the

of the 16th century and the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

of the 17th century. During the Renaissance, poetry became partitioned into culteranismo and conceptismo, which essentially became rivals. :*Culteranismo used bleak language and

hyperbaton Hyperbaton , in its original meaning, is a figure of speech in which a phrase is made discontinuous by the insertion of other words.Andrew M. Devine, Laurence D. Stephens, ''Latin Word Order: Structured Meaning and Information'' (Oxford: Oxford Un ...

. These works largely included

neologisms In linguistics, a neologism (; also known as a coinage) is any newly formed word, term, or phrase that has achieved popular or institutional recognition and is becoming accepted into mainstream language. Most definitively, a word can be considered ...

and mythological topics. Such characteristics made this form of poetry highly complex, making comprehension difficult. :*Conceptismo was a trend using new components and resources. An example of this new extension was the ''Germanias''. Works included comparative and complex sentences. This movement derived from Petrarchanism. During the

period, Satire, Neostoicism, and Mythological themes were also prevalent. :*

Satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

tended to be directed to the elites, criticizing the defects of the society. This form of poetry often resulted in severe punishments being administered to the poets. :*

Neostoicism Neostoicism was a philosophical movement that arose in the late 16th century from the works of Justus Lipsius, and sought to combine the beliefs of Stoicism and Christianity. Lipsius was Flemish people, Flemish and a Renaissance humanist. The mov ...

became a movement of philosophical poetry. Ideas from the medieval period resurfaced. :*Mythological themes were more common in culteranismo. Not until the Generation of 1927 did these poems gain more importance. '' La Fábula de Polifemo y Galatea'' and '' Las Soledades'' are two key works. * Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra * Francisco de Quevedo y Villegas * Luis de Góngora y Argote established culteranismo. * Félix Lope de Vega Carpio *

Pedro Calderón de la Barca Pedro Calderón de la Barca y Barreda González de Henao Ruiz de Blasco y Riaño (17 January 160025 May 1681) (, ; ) was a Spanish dramatist, poet, and writer. He is known as one of the most distinguished Spanish Baroque literature, poets and ...

* Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

Romanticism

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

were the large forces in this movement. Over the course of the late 18th century to the late 19th century,

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

spread

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

through Western societies of the world. The earlier part of this movement overlapped with the Age of Revolutions. The idea of the creative imagination was rising above the idea of reason. Minute elements of nature, such as bugs and pebbles, were considered divine. There were many variations of the perception of nature in these works. Instead of

allegory As a List of narrative techniques, literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a wikt:narrative, narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political signi ...

, this era moved towards

myths Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

and

symbol A symbol is a mark, Sign (semiotics), sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, physical object, object, or wikt:relationship, relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by cr ...

s. The power of human emotion emerged during this period. * Manuel José Quintana * José Zorrilla * Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer * Rosalía de Castro (in Galician and Spanish) * José de Espronceda

1898 until 1926

went through drastic changes after the demise of Spain’s colonial empire. French and German inspiration along with

Modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

greatly improved the culture of Spain with the works of the Generation of 1898, which were mostly novelists but some were poets. * Rubén Darío * César Vallejo *

Pablo Neruda Pablo Neruda ( ; ; born Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto; 12 July 190423 September 1973) was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Neruda became known as a poet when he was 13 years old an ...

* Miguel de Unamuno *

Antonio Machado Antonio Cipriano José María y Francisco de Santa Ana Machado y Ruiz (26 July 1875 – 22 February 1939), known as Antonio Machado, was a Spanish poet and one of the leading figures of the Spanish literary movement known as the Generation ...

* Manuel Machado * Ultraism

1927 until 1936

The Generation of 1927 were mostly poets. Many were also involved with the production of music and theatre plays. * Rafael Alberti * Vicente Aleixandre * Dámaso Alonso * Manuel Altolaguirre * Luis Cernuda *

Gerardo Diego Gerardo Diego Cendoya (October 3, 1896 – July 8, 1987) was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27. Diego taught language and literature at institutes of learning in Soria, Gijón, Santander and Madrid. He also acted as lite ...

* Manuel de Falla; influential on poets, for his vision of Moorish Spain * Juan Ramón Jiménez *

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...

* Jorge Guillen * Emilio Prados * Pedro Salinas

1939 until 1975

Poets during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and under General Franco in peacetime: * Juan Ramón Jiménez received the Nobel Prize in Literature 1956, "For his lyrical poetry, which in Spanish language constitutes an example of high spirit and artistical purity." Was the last survivor of Generation of 1898. During the mid-20th century, works steadily moved back to literary and political aspects. * Gabriela Mistral * Nicanor Parra * Alejandra Pizarnik *

Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish and Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians and directors to be one of the greatest and ...

* Ángel Crespo *

Jaime Gil de Biedma Jaime is a common Spanish and Portuguese male given name for Jacob (name), James (name), Jamie, or Jacques. In Occitania Jacobus became ''Jacome'' and later ''Jacme''. In east Spain, ''Jacme'' became ''Jaime'', in Aragon it became ''Chaime'', and ...

* Carlos Edmundo de Ory * León Felipe * Ángel González Muñiz * Miguel Hernández * José Hierro * Lluis Llach * Leopoldo Panero * José María Pemán

1975 until present

These works became experimental, using themes, styles and characteristics of traditional poetry throughout Spain’s time and combining them with current movements. Some poets remain more traditional, while others more contemporary. Post-Franco and Contemporary Spanish Poets: * Blanca Andreu * Miguel Argaya * María Victoria Atencia * Felipe Benítez Reyes * Carlos Bousoño *

Giannina Braschi Giannina Braschi (born February 5, 1953) is a Puerto Rican poet, novelist, dramatist, and scholar. Her notable works include '' Empire of Dreams'' (1988), '' Yo-Yo Boing!'' (1998), '' United States of Banana'' (2011), and '' Putinoika'' (2024). ...

* Francisco Brines *

José Manuel Caballero Bonald José Manuel Caballero Bonald (November 11, 1926 – May 9, 2021) was a Spanish novelist, lecturer and poet. Early life Caballero was born in Calle Caballeros, Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. His father was Plácido Caballero, a Cuban whose mothe ...

* Matilde Camus * Luisa Castro * Antonio Colinas * Isla Correyero * Aurora de Albornoz * Luis Alberto de Cuenca * Francisco Domene * Rafael Pérez Estrada * José María Fonollosa * Gloria Fuertes * Vicente Gallego * Antonio Gamoneda * Enrique García-Máiquez * José Agustín Goytisolo * Félix Grande * Clara Janés * Diego Jesús Jiménez * Chantal Maillard * Antonio Martínez Sarrión * Carlos Marzal * Bruno Mesa * Juan Carlos Mestre * Luis García Montero * Luis Javier Moreno * Lorenzo Oliván * Leopoldo María Panero * Francisco Pino * Juan Vicente Nuevo Piqueras * Claudio Rodríguez * Ana Rossetti * Ángel Rupérez * Elvira Sastre * Jaime Siles * Jenaro Talens * Andrés Trapiello * José Miguel Ullán * José Ángel Valente * Álvaro Valverde *