Festival, image and poetic vision in Felipe III's Spains
Abstract In this dissertation, I examine the artistic development and political aspects of works that have received little scholarly attention: epic poems commemorating some of the most important festival events of Felipe III of Spain's reign (1598-1621). I argue these works are worthy of greater critical consideration than they have so far received, both for their artistic quality and for their substantive reflection of the culture and politics of their era. My interpretative strategy begins with a look at the performative tradition of Spanish political festivals and their iconography from the medieval period. Then, taking an interdisciplinary approach encompassing literature, history and visual culture, I trace the development of the specific imagery of three magnificent occasions and compare it to poetic representations of those events. I pay special attention to the way various poets, including Lope de Vega and Francisco López de Zárate, reflect and incorporate chivalric, classical, sacred and other forms of discourse into their own poetic vision. The visions expressed in these poems, contrary to general opinion, are less calculated to serve as royal propaganda than to further other purposes. Artistic ambition is especially evident in Zárate's use of innovative baroque language to transform the raw imagery of striking courtly spectacles into something otherworldly. The poets' political aims range from authorial self-promotion to expressing the interests of various politically influential figures other than the king. What may be most interesting about these pieces in this respect, however, is that the poets also sound notes which are not always in perfect harmony with the tunes being called in the capital, thereby reflecting fissures in the political order of the day.
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- In Collections
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Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Copyright Status
- In Copyright
- Material Type
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Theses
- Authors
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Davis, Mark Evan
- Thesis Advisors
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Marino, Nancy F.
- Committee Members
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Grubbs, Anthony J.
Quispe-Agnoli, Rocio
Denzel, Valentina
- Date
- 2015
- Subjects
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Philip III, King of Spain, 1578-1621
Epic poetry, Spanish
Festivals
Politics and government
Public opinion
Spanish poetry
History
Scheduled tribes in India--Politics and government
Spain
- Program of Study
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Hispanic Cultural Studies - Doctor of Philosophy
- Degree Level
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Doctoral
- Language
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English
- Pages
- viii, 316 pages
- ISBN
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9781321681826
1321681828
- Permalink
- https://doi.org/doi:10.25335/fbcp-mh50