Lisardo enamorado

A revision of Escarmientos de amor moralizados (Seville, Manuel Sande, 1628), Lisardo enamorado was published just a year later by Juan Crisóstomo Garriz in Valencia. This new version involved substantial modifications, both to the overarching structure—with significant changes, especially in the final chapters—and to the narrative itself. Alonso de Castillo Solórzano demonstrates a deliberate strategy of ideological and linguistic refinement. He introduces new vocabulary (or substitutes existing words), striving for precision, polishes the syntax, and incorporates specific spatial and temporal details to enhance the plausibility of the events. At the same time, he reduces (or removes) the mythological references from Escarmientos, signalling a departure from the novela culta, and trims the moralistic commentaries that marked the original version. The story follows Lisardo, a knight from Madrid who flees the court after injuring a man he perceives as his rival for Gerarda’s love. Along his journey, Lisardo encounters various characters, each sharing their own tales, transforming the work—one of Castillo’s rare experiments with “long- form narrative,” alongside Los amantes andaluces (1633)—into a tapestry of interconnected stories. The intricate initial plot expands and intertwines with secondary narratives, ultimately leading to a happy resolution. An inventive storyteller, Castillo skilfully incorporates a variety of narrative forms—alongside poetic and theatrical elements—that he had mastered since the 1620s. He seamlessly blends influences from sentimental, Byzantine, morisca, and pastoral traditions, creating a work rich in literary innovation.