La Celestina PDF - Spanish Literature

# La Celestina La Celestina constitutes one of the highest points of Spanish literature. It is a unique work, written in the transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. ## 7.1. Authorship and composition In one of the preliminary texts (the prologue of the author "to a friend") Rojas...

# La Celestina La Celestina constitutes one of the highest points of Spanish literature. It is a unique work, written in the transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. ## 7.1. Authorship and composition In one of the preliminary texts (the prologue of the author "to a friend") Rojas affirms that he found the first act of an anonymous work that, because of its formal qualities and its exemplary character, he decided to continue. Although it could be a literary resource (the "manuscript found" technique), there are several strong arguments in favor of double authorship, mainly the linguistic differences between the parts of the work. La Celestina was written, therefore, by two authors: Rodrigo de Cota or Juan de Mena (mentioned in the prologue) might have written Act I, while Fernando de Rojas wrote the rest. The first version, titled *Comedia,* consisting of 16 acts, appeared around 1499. The second, titled *Tragicomedia,* included 21 acts and was published around 1502. The changes between the two versions are significant: - **Lengthening of the love story.** In the first version, the lovers have only one encounter, ending with the death of both; in the second, there are several dates over a month long, thus the punishment is delayed and the exemplification is attenuated. - **Introduction of a new plot.** The second version includes the revenge of Celestina's pupils after her death, with the help of the braggart Centurio. ## 7.2. Genre of La Celestina The entirely-dialogue-based structure of the work (without narrator), the division into acts and scenes, and the use of dramatic techniques (monologue, aside …) have led some scholars to consider *La Celestina* a work of theater. However, its excessive length suggests that it was not written to be performed, but to be read aloud. The fact that the work is not suitable for performance, as well as the richness and complexity of the plot and characters, allows it to be connected to the novel. From this perspective, *La Celestina* could be an example of a *novella dialogada,* which shares elements with sentimental fiction. Unlike sentimental fiction, the novel depicts a domestic world, free from idealization, and thus closer to modern novels. *La Celestina* fits in, in fact, the tradition of the *comedia humanística,* a genre cultivated in academic environments of the 15th century. These are works intended to be read dramatically, inspired by the comedies of Plautus and Terence, and usually written in Latin. *La Celestina* could be understood, therefore, as a *comedia humanística* in the vernacular language.