Poética y polémica en la poesía de Bartolomé Leonardo de ArgensolaPoetic and Polemic in Bartolomé Leonardo de Argensola’s Poetry

Abstract Bartolomé Leonardo de Argensola never took part in the polemic typical of his own time, but this attitude did not prevent him from expressing his disapproval of Góngora. Thus far critics have always thought that Bartolomé had not commented on the greatest literary scandal of that time: the Soledades. However, a more careful analysis of his texts highlights how Argensola fiercely criticized Gongora’s poem, even stating—although in Horatian mode—that poetry had become a monster, referring precisely to the verses in which Góngora offers one of the best proves of his genius: the dedication to the Duke of Béjar.