The Sonnets of Garcilaso de la Vega

Vega, Garcilaso de la (1501–1536), translated by Kline, A. S. (contact-email)

Garcilaso (García Laso) de la Vega, (c.1501 – 1536), a Spanish soldier-poet in the manner of Philip Sydney, was born to a noble family in Toledo. Joining Charles V’s Imperial Guard in 1520, Garcilaso, in 1525, married Elena de Zúñiga, a lady-in-waiting to Charles’ sister, Leonor. Involved in the emperor’s campaigns in Italy, Germany, France, and Tunisia, he was later wounded in battle at Le Muy in Provençe, and died at Nice.

Garcilaso well-educated and knowledgeable in the Classics and the Romance languages, was highly influential in introducing Italian poetry, and Neo-Platonic concepts, to Spain; his verse, published posthumously by Juan Boscán in 1543, being admired, for example, by both Góngora and Quevedo.

In the twentieth century, García Lorca found a kindred spirit in his poetry, particularly the forty sonnets, and Lorca’s own Sonetos del amor oscuro (Sonnets of Hidden Love) possess a similar emotional strength and directness. Garcilaso’s other verse includes elegies, letters, eclogues and odes, stylistically influential as regards Spanish poetry but more conventional in content.

Author Details

Garcilaso de la Vega, a prominent Spanish poet and soldier of the Golden Age, was born in Toledo between 1491 and 1503. He was the third son of the lord of Arcos, and Sancha de Guzmán. Educated at the royal court, he was notably influenced by the Valencian poet Ausiàs March.

Commencing in 1520, de la Vega served King Charles I, acquiring proficiency in Greek, Latin, Italian, French, fencing, and music. In 1522, he was part of Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo’s entourage and possibly participated in a relief expedition to Rhodes, although this is debated. He campaigned alongside Fernando Álvarez de Toledo in 1523, which marked the start of his association with the House of Alba. That same year, he was knighted, and became a member of the Order of Santiago and the House of Burgundy.

He was injured at Olías del Rey during the War of the Communities of Castile and fought against the French at Fuenterrabía in 1524. In 1525, he married Elena de Zúñiga, the sister of Charles I’s wife, and they settled in Toledo. He had a son with Guiomar Carrillo before this marriage and later five further children with Elena.

De la Vega was resident in Naples from 1522-1523, one of several periods spent in Italy. He incorporated Italian literary influences into his poetry, which exhibits Petrarchan traits. He returned to Italy in 1529, participating in the campaign against Florence and attending Charles V’s investiture as Holy Roman Emperor in Rome. His experiences in Italy, particularly his rediscovery of classical authors including Virgil, Ovid, and Horace, along with contemporary figures including Petrarch, and Jacopo Sannazaro, significantly developed his poetry, introducing elements of the idyllic Arcadian world.

Garcilaso returned to Spain in 1530 and later travelled to France on a mission for Charles I. He died on 14 October 1536 in Nice after being injured in combat. His remains were initially buried in Nice but then later transferred to Toledo.

De la Vega’s body of work, comprising various sonnets, songs, odes and epigrams, represented an aesthetic revolution in Spanish lyric poetry.

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Kline, A. S.

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