Gongora was born into a noble family in Córdoba. His father was a judge and his mother was from a noble family. As a young man, he studied at the University of Salamanca, where he began writing poetry. In 1575 he obtained a minor teaching position and became a beneficiary priest under the auspices of the Cathedral of Cordoba. Since 1589, he began to travel throughout Spain and created a large number of long poems, short poems, love poems, musicals and other works.
He had a feud with the famous poet Quevedo at the court because he believed that Quevedo's satirical poems plagiarized his poems. In 1609, he returned to Corvado to study aesthetics and Baroqueism, and tried to incorporate his own style into his literary creation. "Ode to the Duke of Lerma" was composed between 1610 and 1611. In 1613, he created his most magnificent work - "Solitude" (not completely completed). The birth of this poem triggered a debate between the exaggeration school represented by Gongola and the aphorism school represented by Quevedo and Lope de Vega. The aphorism school suffered a certain blow in a sense. , Quevedo was imprisoned for writing poems that satirized the court, and some supporters of the Aphorism School were also sent to join the army, but Gongola's reputation became even greater. In 1617, Philip III appointed him court chaplain, and until 1626 he and his family lived in the imperial city while he served at court. In 1627, Gongora, whose memory was failing, returned to his hometown of Cordoba. In the same year, he died of a stroke, penniless.
The famous Spanish painter Velázquez depicts Gongora as a wise man with a broad forehead, while his rival Quevedo is known for being cheerful, talkative, and widely social. In an age of satirical masters, Gongora did not exaggerate like Quevedo, nor did he engage in aggressive smearing like Juan de Tarsis y Berarda. Gongola is good at using gorgeous rhetoric, exaggeration or obscure words to express his thoughts. Most of his words are quite gorgeous and the artistic conception is hazy.