20th Century Spanish Literature: Avant-Garde & Lorca
20th Century Spanish Literature
Early Avant-Garde
In the early 20th century, a reaction against bourgeois values and traditional aesthetics emerged. Key features of this movement include:
- Formation of literary groups and publications.
- Opposition to previous cultural and artistic traditions.
- Rejection of realism and narrative imitation.
- Rejection of sentimentality in favor of vitalism and playfulness.
- Poetic experimentation: metaphor, imagery, free verse, unique typography, and neologisms.
The movement embraced the modern world, celebrating cities, machines, movies, and new forms of entertainment.
Ramón Gómez de la Serna
Gómez de la Serna’s aesthetic is reflected in his greguerías, defined as humorous metaphors. These concise observations offer surprising perspectives on everyday objects and life through comparisons, metaphors, wordplay, and paronomasia.
Ultraism
Characterized by metaphor, juxtaposed images, fragmentary perceptions, neologisms, and the removal of punctuation. A key figure is Jorge Luis Borges.
Creationism
Founded by Vicente Huidobro, creationism rejects realism and narrative, focusing on illogical juxtapositions of images and associations. Gerardo Diego is a prominent figure.
Surrealism
Key figures include André Breton, Federico García Lorca, Luis Buñuel, and Salvador Dalí.
Major Works of Early 20th Century
- Pío Baroja: Camino de la perfección, The Tree of Knowledge, Memoirs of a Man of Action, The Labyrinth of the Mermaids, Late Trees
- Miguel de Unamuno: Niebla, Abel Sanchez, Aunt Tula, San Manuel Bueno, Martyr
- Azorín: La Voluntad, Antonio Azorín, Doña Inés, Confessions of a Little Philosopher
- Gabriel Miró: The Berries of the Cemetery, Nuestro Padre San Daniel, The Leper Bishop
Ramón del Valle-Inclán
Valle-Inclán began with modernism, later innovating with the grotesque. His key works include:
- Sonatas: Four novels, presented as memoirs, allegorically representing human life through the Marquis de Bradomín.
- Carlist War Trilogy: Crusaders in the Case, The Glow of the Fire, and Bigwigs of Old offer a vision of a divided Spain.
- Tirano Banderas: A 1926 historical novel depicting the fall of dictator Santos Banderas, showcasing the grotesque.
- The Iberian Arena: A series intended to span from the reign of Isabella II to the Cuban War, with completed novels The Court of Miracles and Live My Own, portraying Spain as a bullring of violence.
Federico García Lorca
Themes
- Love: Heterosexual and homosexual love, eroticism, and loss.
- Frustration: Lost childhood, impossible love, childlessness.
- Death: Linked to love, frustration, and suffering.
- Marginalization: Victims of power and social norms (gypsies, blacks).
Symbols
- Moon: Death, sterility, life, love, fertility.
- Water: Eroticism, life, death.
- Blood: Life and suffering.
- Horse: Eroticism, virility, instinct.
- Metals: Destruction and death.
- Bull: Tragedy, blood, death.
- Colors (Black & Green): Ominous values.
Gypsy Ballads
Lyric-narrative ballads set in a stylized Andalusia, featuring gypsies persecuted by the Civil Guard, exploring themes of violence and death.
Poet in New York
Inspired by Lorca’s time in New York during a personal crisis, this surrealist-influenced work portrays the city’s materialism, lack of solidarity, and degradation.
Style and Metrics
Lorca’s work features personification, metaphor, and sensory imagery. He uses traditional and folk poetry forms, along with free verse, often employing 8, 11, and 14 syllable lines.