Garcilaso de la Vega - Toledo, Spain
N 39° 51.518 W 004° 01.606
30S E 412173 N 4412571
This statue of Garcilaso de la Vega is located in the Plaza de San Román in Toledo, Spain.
Waymark Code: WMGGA9
Location: Castilla-La Mancha, Spain
Date Posted: 03/02/2013
Views: 6
ABOUT THE STATUE:
The statue of Garcilaso de la Vega is made of bronze and stands upon a marble column. The statue depicts Garcilaso de la Vega standing with his left left and foot slightly ahead of his right. He is wearing pantaloons and a tunic with a ruff around his neck. In his left hand he is holding the tail of his cape which is slung over his left shoulder. In his right hand he holds a pen with a feather quill. A sword hangs from his left hip. A couple of books, one open, sit on top of what appears to be a blanket or pillow on the ground near his left foot.
The following text engraved on the base of the statue:
A
Garcilaso de la Vega
la
Cuidad
de
Toledo
1995
ABOUT THE MAN:
"Garcilaso de la Vega (c. 1501 – October 14, 1536) was a Spanish soldier and poet. Although not the first or the only one to do so, he was the most influential poet to introduce Italian Renaissance verse forms, poetic techniques and themes to Spain.
Garcilaso de la Vega is best known for his tragic love poetry that contrasts the playful poetry of his predecessors. He seemed to progress through three distinct episodes of his life which are reflected in his works. During his Spanish period, he wrote the majority of his eight-syllable poems; during his Italian or Petrarchan period, he wrote mostly sonnets and songs; and during his Neapolitan or classicist period, he wrote his other more classical poems, including his elegies, letters, eclogues and odes. Influenced by many Italian Renaissance poets, Garcilaso adapted the eleven-syllable line to the Spanish language in his sonetos (sonnets), mostly written in the 1520s, during his Petrarchan period. Increasing the number of syllables in the verse from eight to eleven allowed for greater flexibility. In addition to the sonetos, Garcilaso helped to introduce several other types of stanzas to the Spanish language. These include the estancia, formed by eleven- and seven-syllable lines; the "lira", formed by three seven-syllable and two eleven-syllable lines; and endecasílabos sueltos, formed by unrhymed eleven-syllable lines.
Throughout his life, Garcilaso de la Vega wrote various poems in each of these types. His works include: forty Sonetos (Sonnets), 22 Canciones (Songs), eight Coplas (Couplets), three Églogas (Eclogues), two Elegías (Elegies), and the Epístola a Bóscan (Letter to Bóscan). Allusions to classical myths and Greco-Latin figures, great musicality, alliteration, rhythm and an absence of religion characterize his poetry. It can be said that Spanish poetry was never the same after Garcilaso de la Vega. His works have influenced the majority of subsequent Spanish poets, including other major authors of the period like Jorge de Montemayor, Fray Luis de León, San Juan de la Cruz, Miguel de Cervantes, Lope de Vega, Luis de Góngora and Francisco Quevedo."
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