Luis de Góngora

Luis de Góngora y Argote (born Luis de Argote y Góngora; Spanish: [lwis ðe ˈɣoŋɡoɾa]; 11 July 1561 – 24 May 1627) was a Spanish Baroque lyric poet and a Catholic prebendary for the Church of Córdoba. Góngora and his lifelong rival, Francisco de Quevedo, are widely considered the most prominent Spanish poets of all time. His style is characterized by what was called culteranismo, also known as Gongorismo. This style apparently existed in stark contrast to Quevedo's conceptismo, though Quevedo was highly influenced by his older rival from whom he may have isolated "conceptismo" elements. Góngora was born to a noble family in Córdoba, where his father, Francisco de Argote, was corregidor, or judge. In a Spanish era when purity of Christian lineage (limpieza de sangre) was needed to gain access to education or official appointments, he adopted the surname of his mother, Leonor de Góngora. His uncle, Don Francisco, a prebendary of Córdoba Cathedral, renounced his post in favour of his nephew, who took deacon's orders in 1586.As a canon associated with this cathedral, Luis de Góngora traveled on diverse commissions to Navarre, Andalusia and Castile. The cities that he visited included Madrid, Salamanca, Granada, Jaén, and Toledo. Around 1605, he was ordained priest, and afterwards lived at Valladolid and Madrid.

While his circle of admirers grew, patrons were grudging in their admiration. Ultimately, in 1617 through the influence of the Duke of Lerma, he was appointed honorary chaplain to King Philip III of Spain, but did not enjoy the honour long.

He maintained a long feud with Francisco de Quevedo, who wanted to match his influence in talent and wit. Both poets composed many bitter, satirical pieces attacking one another, with Quevedo criticizing Góngora's penchant for flattery, his large nose, and his passion for gambling. Quevedo even accused his enemy of sodomy, which was a capital crime in 17th century Spain. In his "Contra el mismo (Góngora)", Quevedo writes of Góngora: No altar, garito sí; poco cristiano, / mucho tahúr, no clérigo, sí arpía. (English: There's no altar, but there's a gambling den; not much of a Christian, / but he's very much a cardsharp, not a cleric, definitely a harpy). Góngora's nose, the subject of Quevedo's "A una nariz", begins with the lines: Érase un hombre a una nariz pegado, / érase una nariz superlativa, / érase una alquitara medio viva, / érase un peje espada muy barbado (English: Once there was a man stuck to a nose, / it was a nose more marvellous than weird, / it was a nearly living web of tubes, / it was a swordfish with an awful beard).This angry feud came to a nasty end for Góngora when Quevedo bought the house Góngora lived in for the sole purpose of ejecting him from it. In 1626 a severe illness, which seriously impaired the poet's memory, forced him to return to Córdoba, where he died the following year. By then he was broke from trying to obtain positions and win lawsuits for all his relatives. He was buried in one of the side chapels in the Mezquita section of the Córdoba cathedral where his funeral monument can be seen.

An edition of his poems was published almost immediately after his death by Juan López de Vicuña; the frequently reprinted edition by Hozes did not appear until 1633. The collection consists of numerous sonnets, odes, ballads, songs for guitar, and of some larger poems, such as the Soledades and the Fábula de Polifemo y Galatea (Fable of Polyphemus and Galatea) (1612), the two landmark works of the highly refined style called "culteranismo" or "Gongorismo". Miguel de Cervantes, in his Viaje del Parnaso, catalogued the good and bad poets of his time. He considered Góngora to be one of the good ones.

Velázquez painted his portrait. Numerous documents, lawsuits and satires by his rival Quevedo paint a picture of a man jovial, sociable, and talkative, who loved card-playing and bullfights. His bishop accused him of rarely attending choir, and of praying less than fervently when he did go. Góngora's passion for card-playing ultimately contributed to his ruin. Frequent allusions and metaphors associated with card-playing in Góngora's poetry reveal that cards formed part of his daily life. He was often reproached for activities beneath the dignity of a churchman.