20th-Century Spanish Poetry and Literature
ITEM 14: Spanish Poetry of the 20th Century
Poetry up to 50 Years
Rooted Poetry: This style is characterized by a focus on the perfection of verse and the expression of beauty, rather than the current situation (post-Civil War). It features steady metrics and favors the sonnet form.
Notable Poets:
- José García Nieto
- Luis Rosales: In April (religious and loving topics), The House Lit (experiences and memories with surrealist imagery)
- Leopoldo Panero
- Luis Felipe Vivanco
- Ridruejo
Uprooted Poetry: Characterized by its human hues, reflecting the concerns and circumstances of the war. These poets were grouped around the magazine Espadaña.
Notable Poets:
- Victoriano Cremer: Solidarity, deep human concern, critical and committed. Works: Poetry Tota (1966), Poetry (1984)
- Eugenio de Nora
Social Poetry: Echoes complaints of human suffering, social inequality, and injustice.
Notable Poets:
- Gabriel Celaya
- Blas de Otero: High quality and expressive force. Stages: 1st- Existential and uprooted (Human Fiercely Angel, Roll of Consciousness); 2nd- Social (Ask for Peace and the Word); Last- Formal renewal (False and True Stories)
Other Poets
- León Felipe: Regret for the distant homeland, strong and vibrant verse. Works: Spanish Exodus to Tears and Light, Call Me Win the Collector
- Juan Gil-Albert: Deep ethical values and vitality. Works: Hot Horror, Make Love and Poetry
- José Hierro: Two paths: direct and imaginative narrative. Works: Five of 42 if it is Me, Hallucinations Book, Calendar, and Notebook New York
The Poetry of the 50s to 70s
The Generation of 50: Characterized by a concern for more careful language, a return to intimacy and subjectivity, humor, irony, and skepticism.
Notable Authors:
- Ángel González: Combines intimate poetry with irony and disillusionment. Works: Harsh World Without Hope, With Conviction; Treaty Urban Design and Other Lamps Fall…
- Jaime Gil de Biedma: Ironic and sarcastic poetry. Works: People of the Verb
- Francisco Brines: Pure poetry with plain language, classic rhythm, and elaborate construction. Works: A Farewell Test: Complete Poetry
- Claudio Rodríguez: Dense lines and high sensitivity. Works: Don of Drunkenness, Spells, Alliance and Conviction, The Flight of the Celebration and Almost a Legend
- Antonio Gamoneda: Existential suffering, loneliness, and death. Works: Uprising Still, Castilian Blues, Age, Book of Cold, Arden Losses and This Light. Poetry Meeting
The Newest Poetry: Features cultural aspects, including poetry. Withdraws from the social and moves towards formal renewal. Inspired by media, cinema, sports, etc.
Notable Poets:
- Pere Gimferrer: Cultural and surrealist influence. Works: Death in Beverly Hills and Burns the Sea
- Guillermo Carnero: Renewing poetic language. Works: Testing a Theory of Vision
- Antonio Colinas: Culturalism and romanticism. Works: Internal Time
- Luis Alberto de Cuenca: Inspiration from the classic to the scholar and the narrative. Works: Elsinore, The Silver Box and the Forest
- Justo Jorge Padrón: Conveying feelings and sensations. Works: The Dark Rings, The Gifts of the Earth
Women’s Poetry
- Ernestina de Champourcin: Themes of love and remembrance. Works: In Silence, Letters Closed
- Carmen Conde: Ranging from the surreal to the popular. Works: Women Without Eden, Craving of Grace…
- Concha Zardoya: Great depth and humanity. Works: Birds of the New World and Ways Hope
- Gloria Fuertes: Humanity and tenderness, often writing for young audiences. Works: Advise Drinking Thread, Are You on Earth, Poet of the Guard and Stories of Glory
- Clara Janés: Sings of life, dreams, and love. Works: Human Limit, Eros, Rose Live and Fire
ITEM 13: Early 20th-Century Spanish Literature
Noucentisme (Generation of 1914)
Characteristics:
- Great intellectual education
- Rigor and depth of thought
- Elaborate and thoughtful work
- Theme of Spain: Less dramatic than the Generation of ’98 and more universal
- Writing for an educated elite minority
- Cultivation of essays and novels
Authors:
Novels:
- Ramón Pérez de Ayala: AMDG, Leg of the Fox, and Danzaderas Troteras, Berlarmino and Apollonius
- Gabriel Miró: Years and Miles, The Leper, Blue Moon
- Ramón Gómez de la Serna (known for his greguerías)
- Wenceslao Fernández Flórez: The Boske Animated, Volvoreta
- Concha Espina: Altar
Essay:
- José Ortega y Gasset: The Revolt of the Masses, The Viewer, The Dehumanization of Art and Ideas about the Novel
- Eugenio D’Ors: Three Hours in the Prado Museum and short articles on culture and arts
- Manuel Azaña
- Américo Castro
- Salvador de Madariaga
- Claudio Sánchez Albornoz
- Gregorio Marañón
The Avant-Garde
Aesthetic renewal movements between the two World Wars (1918-1939).
Avant-Garde Movements:
- Surrealism: Emerged in 1924 with André Breton’s manifesto. Art aimed to free repressed impulses and bring out the unconscious and the irrational. Defended automatic writing to transcribe feelings without rational control.
- Futurism: (Marinetti) Called for breaking with the aesthetics and themes of the past and celebrating art, mechanical civilization, and sport.
- Dada: (Tristan Tzara) Gave way to surrealism, defending fantasy, irrationality, and the rejection of logic.
- Creationism: (Vicente Huidobro) The poet does not seek to imitate reality but create it in the poem.
- Ultraism: Influenced by Futurism and Dada. Utilized creationism and sometimes visual poetry with specially crafted verses.
The Generation of 27
Characteristics:
- Influence of the avant-garde: Developed language, influence of pure poetry, moving away from sentimentality, desire for beauty and poetic play, cultural metaphors, and irrational images.
- Weight of tradition: Popular and classical Castilian metrics, elements of Romanticism.
- Many poets cultivated surrealism, albeit without automatic writing.
Authors:
- Luis Cernuda: Loving sadness, nonconformity, colloquial language. Works: Reality and Desire (includes Eclogue, Elegy and Ode, The Forbidden Pleasures, Where Dwell Oblivion and Desolation of Chimera)
- Pedro Salinas: Experience of love, elaborate and reflective poetry. Works: Random Sure, The Voice You Due, Because of Love, All Lighter
- Jorge Guillén: Representative of pure poetry, intellectual, very elaborate. Works: Aire Nuestro (includes Cántico, Clamor and Homenaje)
- Vicente Aleixandre: Broad verse, intense and deep. Works: The Destruction or Love, The Shadow of Paradise, History of Heart, The Consummation Poems, and Dialogues of Knowledge
- Gerardo Diego: Varied poetry, sometimes avant-garde, sometimes traditional. Works: Manual Foam (avant-garde), Ballads of the Bride, Human Verses, Lark Really (traditional)
- Dámaso Alonso: Low output but significant in 20th-century Spanish lyric. Works: Pure Poems, Poemillas of the City, Children of Man and God Iray
- Rafael Alberti: Varied themes and tones. Works: Sailor on Shore, and Lime, On the Angels, The Street Poet
- Miguel Hernández: Intense, self-taught poet. Works: Lightning That Does Not Stop, Wind of the People and Love Songs and Ballads of Absences
- Federico García Lorca: Poetry: Combining the popular with the cultured. Works: Poem of the Cante Jondo, Gypsy Ballads, Poet in New York, Lament for the Death of Ignacio Sánchez Mejías, Divan del Tamarit and Sonnets of Dark Love. Theatre: Farces (The Shoemaker’s Prodigious Wife), historical drama (Mariana Pineda), and rural tragedies (Blood Wedding, Yerma and The House of Bernarda Alba)
ITEM 12: Late 19th and Early 20th-Century Spanish Literature
Modernism
Modernism affected the plastic arts (painting, sculpture) and literature, particularly poetry and theater, but also narrative. The influence came from Latin America (José Martí, José Manuel Gutiérrez, Rubén Darío).
Spanish Modernist Authors:
- Salvador Rueda
- Francisco Villaespesa
- Eduardo Marquina
- Manuel Machado
- Juan Ramón Jiménez
Features: (Influences from Romanticism, French Symbolism, and Parnassianism)
Lexicon: Renewal of vocabulary, numerous cultivated words and neologisms, words with evocative sounds, abundant adjectives.
Literary Resources: Repetition, antithesis, alliteration, symbols, synesthesia, abundance of images.
Metrics: Recovery of verses (dodecasyllabic, Alexandrian), use of free verse, variation or invention of stanzas, use of internal rhyme and proparoxytone words, compositions with rhythm and musicality.
Topics: Fantasy and imagination as escapes from reality, legendary and exotic references, the inner world, pessimism.
Authors:
Rubén Darío (1867-1916): Started Modernism with his collection Azul (1888), influenced by French poetry. Profane Prose (1896) showcased exoticism, sensuality, elegant expression, and colorful language. Songs of Life and Hope (1905) is his masterpiece, with more intimate and spiritual depth.
Juan Ramón Jiménez: Dedicated entirely to poetry, influenced by sensitivity (depression), and sought beauty. Stages:
- Sensitive Stage (1898-1915): Varied influences, including Bécquer’s Romanticism and Modernism (Arias Tristes, Solitudes, Sla Sonorous, Distant Gardens, Platero and I). Colorful and musical poetry.
- Intellectual Stage (1916-1936): Pursued pure, intellectual poetry (Diary of a Newlywed Poet, Stone and Sky, Poetry).
- Last Stage: Longing for beauty and perfection, poetry with a certain mysticism. Identified beauty and eternity with God (Space, Time and God). Also wrote Animal de Fondo.
The Generation of ’98
Refers to the year of the Spanish-American War and the loss of the last colonies, reflecting a new mentality in the country. Influenced by Miguel de Unamuno, Azorín, Pío Baroja, Antonio Machado, and Valle-Inclán. Cultivated all genres and sought intellectual renewal. Their works show stylistic constants (simplicity, sobriety, careful language, traditional flavor) and thematic concerns (Spain, landscape, emotion, religion).
Antonio Machado:
- Solitudes, Galleries and Other Poems: Melancholy tone, use of symbols (galleries, water, dreams), feelings and memories, universal themes (time, death, God, love), concern for rhythm, musicality, and chromaticism.
- Campos de Castilla: More restrained language, descriptions of the Castilian landscape, critical reflection on Spain, memories of his deceased wife Leonor.
- New Songs.
Miguel de Unamuno (1864-1936): Professor and rector of the University of Salamanca.
Works:
- Poetry: Rosario de Sonetos Líricos, The Christ of Velázquez, From Fuerteventura to Paris, Songbook.
- Novel: Mist, Aunt Tula, Abel Sanchez, Saint Manuel Bueno, Martyr.
- Essay: Life of Don Quixote and Sancho, The Agony of Christianity.
- Theatre: Phaedra, The Other, Brother Juan.
José Martínez Ruiz, Azorín (1873-1967): Studied law but dedicated his life to journalism and literature. Belonged to the Royal Spanish Academy.
Realism and Naturalism
Realism
Poetry:
- Ramón de Campoamor: Highlighted ideas and pain in his works.
- Gaspar Núñez de Arce: Two types of poems: grand, civic, and social; and sentimental. Works: A Romance, Cries of Battle.
Theatre: Well-constructed works based on contemporary cases, moralistic, sober and careful language and prose.
Authors: Ventura de la Vega, Adelardo López de Ayala, Manuel Tamayo y Baus, and José Echegaray.
Novel: Objective representation of reality, importance of character description, variety of environments, critical and sober style, different linguistic registers.
Naturalism
Materialistic and deterministic vision, characters’ behavior explained by sordid and degraded environments, support for scientific and sociological theories, use of documentation and observation.
Authors: Emilia Pardo Bazán, Benito Pérez Galdós, Leopoldo Alas “Clarín”, and Vicente Blasco Ibáñez.
Realistic Authors
Benito Pérez Galdós:
- Episodios Nacionales: Historical panorama of Spain in the 19th century.
- Works of the 1st series: Thesis novels (character representing an idea or dogma), conflict between traditional and liberal ideas. Works: Doña Perfecta, Marianela.
- Contemporary Spanish Novels: Naturalist aspects, characters closer to reality, importance of depicting different social environments. Works: The Disinherited, Fortunata and Jacinta.
Leopoldo Alas “Clarín”: Master of language, abundant humor and tenderness, characters from different social classes.
- La Regenta: Structure: Part 1 presents characters and setting over 3 days; Part 2 develops the plot over 3 years. Characters: Ana Ozores, Fermín de Pas, Víctor Quintana, and Álvaro Mesía.
- Other Works: Stories: ¡Adiós, Cordera!, La Pipa. Novel: Su Único Hijo.
Pedro Antonio de Alarcón: Relatively well-constructed narratives with great force. Works: El Sombrero de Tres Picos.
Juan Valera: Intellectual, focused on narrative as a way to embellish reality. Works: Pepita Jiménez.
José María de Pereda: Traditional ideas and great expressive force. Works: Sotileza and Peñas Arriba.
Emilia Pardo Bazán: Stories and novels, strong descriptive style. Works: Los Pazos de Ulloa.
Vicente Blasco Ibáñez: Prolific novelist, successful abroad. Works: La Barraca, Cañas y Barro.