Góngora, Luis de, << GAWNG goh rah, loo EES day >> (1561-1627), was the greatest poet of the Spanish Baroque period. He led a poetic movement known as gongorismo, or culteranismo. He believed the creation of beauty is an end in itself, and that art need not be concerned with ethical and spiritual values. But modern criticism shows that much of his poetry dealt with social issues. Góngora used an ornate style, featuring elaborate figures of speech, involved sentence structures, obscure terms, and references to classical mythology. His ballads and epigrams (sayings) show wit and satiric talent. But he is best known for two poems that idealize rural life: the unfinished Solitudes (about 1613) and The Fable of Polifemo and Galatea (1613).
Born on July 11, 1561, in Cordoba, Góngora became a priest in 1611 and honorary chaplain to King Philip III of Spain in 1612. However, Góngora devoted himself almost entirely to literature and the courtly life. He died on May 24, 1627.
