El rechazo del Neoplatonismo en Ausiàs March

Abstract

In the first half of the 16th century the works of Ausiàs March (1397–1459) were published for the first time with a Spanish translation. March, who wrote in Catalan, was becoming a major influence in the development of a Spanish national poetic language in Castilian. However this influence was soon overshadowed by Petrarch, both in style and content, in such a way that the Spanish poetic language was ultimately based above all on an Italian model instead of a Hispanic model.

I intend to explain how the main aspect of content in March's poetry that was not accepted in the Castilian poetic language was his rejection of Neoplatonism. March conveyed a Platonic message but the mode in which he interpreted Plato differed from Neoplatonic ideas. Mainly March rejected the idea that man can access the World of Ideas through the Sensory World by means of will or love, whereas writers like Petrarch or Castiglione believed in this possibility. In fact Ausiàs March's poetry represented an innovation as far as the manner in which Plato's ideas had been interpreted. Neoplatonism and Petrarchism tended to follow more closely the Neoplatonic tradition that Plotinus (204?–275) had initiated. Both March and Petrarch were influenced by Provençal poetry in a different way. The fact that Petrarch was preferred over March constitutes an important chapter in the history of the Catalan language.