Gongorism

/ˈɡɔŋɡərɪzəm/ noun

Definition

An extremely ornate and complex style of writing or speech that prioritizes beautiful language and wordplay over clarity, derived from the Spanish poet Góngora.

Etymology

From Luis de Góngora's name plus the suffix -ism denoting a style, movement, or practice. This literary movement flourished in Spanish Golden Age literature during the 17th century, emphasizing neologisms, metaphors, and syntactic complexity.

Kelly Says

Gongorism was so extreme that other Spanish writers created an opposing movement called 'conceptismo' to fight back against the complexity—imagine a style becoming so popular that enemies unite against it!

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