De la oscuridad confusa

Abstract

In this article, I study the use of Norway as a poetic symbol in Spanish Golden Age poetry. First, exploring the earliest mentions and descriptions of the North in Spanish, I present the origin of Norway’s perception as a marvellous and extraordinary geography. Then, I try to trace and explain how the original symbolic motif (related to the topical characteristics: cold, darkness, falcons), was displaced to more complex poetic uses. In special in the works of Luis de Góngora and Francisco de Quevedo.