Francesc Fontanella (; 1622 – 1680/1685) was a

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

. Fontanella was born in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. He studied law and was granted a degree in Civil and Canon law in 1641. Until 1652 he lived a courtesan life in

and began writing love poetry and wrote his two dramatic works: ''Tragicomèdia d'Amor, Firmesa i Porfia'' (1642) and ''Lo desengany'' (1651). Both pieces are allegorical with some pastoral elements. His poetry was more mature: he changed the pseudonym Gilet for the more pastoral Fontano and achieved great poetic heights in the sonnets dedicated to the death of his first wife. "A la mort de Nise" is worth mentioning. In 1652, around the time of the defeat of the Catalan Revolt, he fled to Perpignan where he began a completely different life: the death of his second wife led to his entry in the

Dominican order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

and he was ordained as a priest. His poetry thus changed from amorous themes to religious ones and from euphoria to pessimism, a contrast completely personal yet simultaneously typical of the

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

. He died in

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

. He is considered to be one of the most important figures in the Catalan

along with

Francesc Vicenç Garcia Francesc Vicent Garcia () i Ferrandis was an early modern Catalan poet known by the pseudonym of the ''Vallfogona Rector''. He was born in Zaragoza in 1579Although his father was born in Tortosa, in Catalonia. and died in Vallfogona de Riucorb (C ...

and

Josep Romaguera Josep Romaguera (; 1642–1723) is the author of the only emblem book ever published in the Catalan language, the Atheneo de Grandesa. His work consists of prose, poetry and sermons. His writing is typical of Baroque style. Romaguera was born ...

Notable works

* 1642: ''Tragicomèdia pastoral d'Amor, Firmesa i Porfia'' * 1651: ''Lo desengany''

References

* Miró, Maria Marcè. ''Francesc Fontanella: Antologia poètica.'' Barcelona: Curial, 1998. ---- *''This article incorporates material from the Catalan version of the article.''

External links

Webpage devoted to Francesc Fontanella (lletrA (UOC), Catalan Literature Online)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fontanella, Francesc Poets from Catalonia Catalan-language writers Year of death unknown 1622 births Catalan dramatists and playwrights Catalan-language poets