GÓNGORA Y ARGOTE, LUIS de. — Spanish priest and poet, born in Cordova on 11 July 1561, and died there on 23 May 1627. Beneficiary in his native Catte-
Catte-dral and, in Madrid, honorary chaplain to Philip III, he devoted himself to poetry, winning admirers and friends through his singular inspiration.
When, however, he reached those excesses of style which he himself called “gongorisms,” he incurred the wrath of his rivals, among them Lope de Vega and Quevedo; nevertheless, even his enemies were obliged to acknowledge the excellence of his poetic gifts. “Gongorism” ultimately prevailed and, together with “gerundianism,” gave rise to the Baroque, whose greatest exponent was Baltasar Gracián.
In G. it is necessary to distinguish two different manners of poetry: the youthful manner, conforming to the popular Castilian style, of agitated and at times picaresque inspiration; and the second, properly Gongorine, which is revealed in the Fábula de Polifemo y Galatea (composed in the years 1611–13) and in the Soledades (the first part completed in 1613; the second later), where the poet displays his brilliant preciosity, full of light and shadow and rich in images and allusions. Many recognize in G. the precursor of certain modern poetic forms (Parnassianism, Symbolism, etc.).