Abstract

This dissertation examines lexical and semantic connections between the Corpus Hermeticum and the works of three Spanish poets of the sixteenth century: Francisco de Aldana, fray Luis de Leon and San Juan de la Cruz. ;The philosophical texts that date from the early Common era and are know, collectively, as the Corpus Hermeticum, were first translated from Greek into Latin in fifteenth century Italy by Marsilio Ficino. The prestige accorded their named author, Hermes Trismegisto, was unrivaled, founded not only in the message of the works themselves, but also in references to his authority made by such trusted sources as Cicero, Lactantius and Saint Augustine. To the humanists of the Renaissance, Hermes Trismegisto represented the essence of their own intellectual focus, a seamless weaving of philosophical and religious thought, a model for their prisca theologia. ;Francisco de Aldana, fray Luis de Leon and San Juan de la Cruz are key figures in sixteenth century Spanish letters. Very different in style and expression, they share, nonetheless, an exhuberance that permeates their poetic works, an inspired sense of communication with not only their immediate world, but also the encompassing cosmos. The soldier-poet Aldana, the mystical Doctor San Juan de la Cruz, and the complex, erudite figure of fray Luis de Leon all share, in their poetry, a zest for the unbounded possibilities of words in verse. In their individual artistry, each stands alone, partaking in the eclectic mix of the era, while filtering the same through their own creative voice. Together, they offer a fascinating representation of the best of sixteenth century Spanish poetry. ;The Corpus Hermeticum and other hermetic texts have been studied in connection with esoteric and occult traditions in general, with sixteenth century Italian authors and philosophers, with Rhineland mystics, with English-language authors including Blake, Coleridge, Whitman, and Yeats, as well as with Spanish-language authors including Borges and Neruda. They have not previously been studied as a contributing factor to the poetic production of sixteenth century Spain. Following the Introduction are twenty-one thematic chapters that explore the resonance of the hermetic texts in the sixteenth century poetic works