20th Century Spanish Literature
Spanish Literature from the Civil War to Today
Poetry from the Civil War to Today
The 1940s
The poets who remained in Spain aligned with the ideology of the victors of the war (rooted poetry), or remained silent in an inner exile (poetry dearraigada). The poetry scene of the period shows several trends: Journals Garcilaso and Escorial, and poets creating a poetry magazine Espadaña with imitation and a more direct and less rhetoric style.
Social Poetry of the 1950s
Social poetry surged as a means to help change society. Common themes were the complaint of dehumanization, the testimony of the poverty of human beings, and the desire for peace. It is characterized by the simplicity of language. Major poets were Blas de Otero and Gabriel Celaya.
Poetry of the Experience of the 1960s
Authors such as Angel González and José Agustín Goytisolo had early works marked by the influence of social poets, but their concept of poetry was that it is a means of knowledge of reality. This group of writers and poets are known from experience. The themes of their poems are friendship, love, and work. Language processing is looking for a personal style, using humor and irony.
Novel from the Civil War to Today
The Story of the Post-War
The Civil War marked a radical change in literature and cultural life. This conditioned novel building for a long period. Attempts to reflect the hard life of the postwar clashed with the censorship imposed by the Franco dictatorship, and as in poetry, several authors continued their work in exile.
The 1940s
During the early postwar years, there was stagnation in the narrative genre. Triumphant novels (stories of the war from the perspective of the winners) or novels of avoidance (emotional issues) were published. There are two novels with a critical vision of reality: The Family of Pascual Duarte by Camilo José Cela, which begins with the stark realism called tremendismo, delving into the harsher aspects of reality (poverty, violence); and Nada by Carmen Laforet. Authors such as Miguel Delibes published their first novels.
Social Novel of the 1950s
In 1951, Cela published The Hive, which is considered a forerunner of the social novel. For the first time since the Civil War, the narrative reflects society in all its physical and moral aspects. Topics cover all social sectors in the country. In form, the novel chose objectivism, which features are:
- The narrator disappears from the story.
- The characters are psychologically tested.
- The protagonist is not an individual character.
- Dialogue dominates the narrative.
- The events usually last a short time and pass in one place.
- The style tends to be simple and easily understandable.
Renewal of Narrative in the 1960s
The shift in the novel of the 60s is explained by two reasons: the fatigue of the social novel and the transformation of society. With economic development, Spain opened up to foreign influences, which led to a renewal in the ways of storytelling. In the novels of Mario Vargas Llosa and Juan Martín Santos, techniques are introduced: the change of narrative perspectives, the use of interior monologue, parody of narrative genres, and character conflict.
Drama from the Civil War to Today
Theater of the 1940s
The impact of the Civil War on theater was more important than on poetry and narrative. The consequences were many: the death or exile of authors, designers, and actors, and a change in audience tastes. The Spanish stage was poor during the war. The only theatrical trend that continued to be performed was bourgeois comedy. Another line was comic theater (Enrique Jardiel Poncela, Miguel Mihura).
Theater of Protest of the 1950s
In 1949, there was an important premiere of Historia de una escalera by Antonio Buero Vallejo. The work presented characters with existential distress. In the mid-50s, an engaged theater began to emerge, whose themes reflected social injustices and inequalities. Realism prevailed. Many of the works remained unpublished because of censorship, leading to the emergence of a “shadow theater.”
Theater Renovation of the 1960s
New authors sought a renewal of language, but they faced more obstacles than in the early 50s because their innovations were not understood by the public and critics. A representative is Fernando Arrabal. Relevant is the movement for renewal, with works from independent theater groups such as Els Joglars. Features include collective work creation, less importance of the text, and the use of body language.
Adverbs
Adverbs complement the verb as an adjunct but can also complement adjectives or other adverbs.
Types of Adverbs
- Situation: They have deictic significance in space and time. Examples:
- Place: here, there, near, far, around, over, under, up, down, front, back.
- Time: yesterday, today, tomorrow, before, after, early, late, always, never, now.
- Modals:
- Affirmation: yes, indeed, truly, also, effectively.
- Negation: no, never, ever.
- Doubt: perhaps, maybe, probably.
- Other: fortunately, unfortunately, incredibly.
- Notional: Qualify or quantify.
- Manner: well, quickly, good, bad, regularly, slowly, and those ending in -ly.
- Quantity: alone, only, almost, approximately, so, too, completely, totally, sparingly, in part. Also, all quantitative determinants: much, little, more, less.
- Adverbial Phrases: Sets of two or more words that work as an adverb. Examples: perhaps, in secret, suddenly, on his knees, in truth, in fact, in a jiffy, frequently, from time to time.