The poetry of Fray Luis de Leon

INTRODUCTION

Fray Luis de Leon, the Spanish poet and theologian was born in Belmonte, Aragon in 1528 and died in Madrid, circa 1591.He was brought up with a heightened sense of honour and virtue, no doubt instilled in him by his strict bourgeoisie upbringing. At the age of fourteen he left his home to pursue his study of law at the University of Salamanca, six months after his arrival he entered the Augustinian convent in that same city. It would appear that from an early age Fray Luis was seeking both that peace and wisdom which could be attained through a deep sense of spirituality, that would in later life be a strong theme throughout his poetic work.


In 1560, after attaining both his Theology and University degrees, he was appointed to the chair of Theology in Salamanca. But as in the case of the poetry of Fray Luis, which we will be examining in the course of this essay, his personal life was as perforated with moments of tranquillity as it was with moments of torture. On ...