Baroque

The term Baroque is still a very disputed category of stylistic history. Baroque taste originated in sixteenth-century Italy, spreading from there especially in the Catholic regions of Europe. It appeared in Hungary in the early seventeenth century. In mentality, the Baroque is closely connected to the ideology of the Counter Reformation; in its models, to the Renaissance and Mannerism. Its main principle is still the emulation of antiquity, in a form adapted to the changed taste and purposes of the period. The word itself was originally used in a pejorative sense, meaning irregular, incomprehensible, which is not nearly as descriptive of the denoted period of time as the terms Renaissance or Mannerism are of theirs. In every genre of the fine and decorative arts, the Baroque preferred large, overall units and, especially, unified appearances: its architecture is characterised by large, monumental complexes and an all-pervasive splendour that also makes use of other forms of art, while the sculpture and painting of the period reflect dynamism and emotional fervour. In Royal Hungary, the Baroque appeared in the 1630s, but did not become typical in the course of the seventeenth century. In Transylvania the Late Renaissance style still dominated in this period.

The poetics of the Baroque considered the unity of teaching and pleasing important, and referred to the writings of Aristotle and Horace in this respect. Since Baroque works were often used for ideological purposes, they often contain elements of propaganda, which in the case of literature means that the formal elements receive more emphasis. In the choice of genres, the Baroque especially favoured monumentality, a reason why the antique epos was renewed at the time. Because of the intention to please, more emphasis was laid on elements that create surprise or awe, and the plots were designed to include many turns and surprising changes. Other important elements of the Baroque literary style were the startling metaphors and the long, complicated sentences.

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