Euphuism

   , GONGORISM

   Euphuism is an artificial literary style, popular in the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. It derived its name from the name of the hero of two prose romances by John Lyly (1554-1606), Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit (1579) and his Euphues and His England (1580). There is little plot in either romance; the interest lies chiefly in long philosophic discussions and in the elaborate and affected style that gave rise to the term euphuism. This ornate prose style is characterized by alliteration, lengthy similes, extended comparisons, complicated figures, unduly and neat antitheses, and skillfully balanced sentences. The intent of this elaborate elegance was to woo feminine readers by seeming to edify them, while avoiding scholarly solemnity. The abundant use of literary devices, which produced an overall effect of overrefined artificiality, helped free English prose from the heavy latinized style and added fancy and imagination to prose writing. The titles of Lyly's books were appropriately named, for Euphues comes from a Greek word meaning "good nature." Although criticized by some contemporary writers, and ridiculed by Shakespeare, this bombastic style created a fashion that lasted for half a century. It was frequently imitated by contemporaries, including Queen Elizabeth I, Robert Greene, and Thomas Lodge.

   The inflated style of John Lyly was a sister style to that of the Spanish poet Luis de Gongora y Argote (1561-1627), one of the great Spanish lyricists. Though Gongora used his florid, cluttered literary style to good advantage, the clumsy attempts by lesser poets to imitate it have given English the word Gongorism, words so presented as to create an unreal world.

   Gongora was a priest as well as a poet and dramatist. None of his poems were published while he was alive. His name became a synonym for a style purposely obscure and meaningless, ornate and intricate.