A lo divino

A lo divino is a Spanish phrase meaning "to the divine" or "in a sacred manner". The phrase is frequently used to describe a secular work, rewritten with a religious overtone, or a secular topic recast in religious terms using metaphors and symbolism. These types of adaptations were most popular during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Golden Age of Spanish literature. [cite book
last = Ward
first = Philip
title = The Oxford Companion to Spanish Literature
publisher = Oxford University Press, USA
origyear = 1978
isbn = 9780198661146
pages = 17]

Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo, a Spanish literary scholar felt the adaptations were of little note, calling them a short-lived whim of the pious. It took Dámaso Alonso study of their influence on Garcilaso de la Vega's poetry before they were considered significant to the development of Spanish literature.

A lo divino also refers to a style of music that incorporates religious chants.

Famous authors

*Saint John of the Cross - many of his poems contained a lo divino in the title, indicating that they were taken from a secular work and changed to fit a religious interpretation.
* Sebastian de Cordoba - rewrote some of Garcilaso's secular love poems in this style.

References

Further reading

* cite book
last = Crosbie
first = John A.
title = A Lo Divino Lyric Poetry: An Alternative View
publisher = University of Durham
year = 1989
isbn = 0907310192