20th-Century Spanish Poetry and Noucentisme

Posted on Sep 20, 2024 in Latin

20th-Century Spanish Poetry

Poetry Between Modernism and the Generation of ’27

Among the poetry of Modernism, the Generation of ’98, and the Generation of ’27 are several noteworthy, though secondary, figures. These include José Moreno Villa and, above all, León Felipe, with his colloquial and emotionally charged poetry.

However, the poetry of these years is dominated by the work of Juan Ramón Jiménez (1881-1958, Nobel Prize in 1956). It is challenging to categorize him within a specific movement, but from 1915 onward, he moved beyond Modernist influences and embraced the concept of intellectual art characteristic of Noucentisme.

Defining the distinct stages of Juan Ramón Jiménez’s poetry is complex due to his extensive body of work, frequent revisions, and reorganizations. Nevertheless, three major periods are generally recognized:

  1. Sensitive Period (Modernist poetry) until approximately 1915.
  2. Intellectual Period (naked poetry) until 1936, when he left Spain.
  3. Final Period (true poetry): corresponds to his exile in America until his death in 1958.

Sensitive Period

Within this initial period, three stages can be identified:

  1. Juvenile Poetry: Heavily influenced by the then-dominant Modernism, with its characteristic features (sensory language, abundant adjectives, long lines, etc.). Books from this period (Souls of Violet and Nymphs, both from 1900) were not well-received by critics, and Juan Ramón later rejected them.
  2. Simple, Contained Poetry: Characterized by restrained language (sober adjectives, predominance of octosyllabic verse, assonance and rhyme), it exhibits a moderate Modernism with a prevalence of intimate themes and a melancholic tone. This phase spans from 1903 to 1907, with books like Arias Tristes and Jardines Lejanos.
  3. Return to Modernist Techniques: Marked by the use of color, sonorous adjectives, metaphors, Alexandrine verses, etc., but now Juan Ramón Jiménez employs these techniques in a more personal way. His poetry retains an intimate tone, focusing on the nostalgic contemplation of nature and sentimental confession. During this stage, which lasted from 1908 to 1915, he wrote works such as Elejías, La Soledad Sonora, and Espiritualidad. Platero and I (1914), a book of poetic prose for children, also belongs to this period.

Intellectual Period

In 1916, Juan Ramón Jiménez distanced himself from Modernism with the work he wrote during his honeymoon in New York: Diary of a Newlywed Poet (later retitled Journal of Poet and Sea). In this book, modernist language, vivid adjectives, and rhythmic effects disappear. Instead, short, bare verses without rhyme emerge, where the abstract and essential clearly prevail over the anecdotal and descriptive.

Other works from this period include Eternidades (1918), Piedra y Cielo (1919), and Estación Total (1936). As the titles suggest, Juan Ramón’s poetry aimed to penetrate the deeper reality of things beyond their sensory appearance and to achieve eternity by overcoming temporality.

Final Period

Juan Ramón Jiménez’s production during this period is compiled in the posthumously published volume Animal de Fondo. It includes two key books:

  • En el Otro Costado (1936-1942): Notable for the long and complex prose poem Espacio, which is structured through free association and a disordered flow of memories, impressions, and reflections.
  • Dios Deseado y Deseante (1948-1952): A collection of poems with a mystical tone, where the vision of God does not conform to traditional Christian conceptions but is identified with Nature, Beauty, and even the poet’s own creative consciousness.

Noucentisme

General Features

By 1914, changes were observed in Spanish cultural life. Developments occurred in the fields of criticism and essays, with figures like José Ortega y Gasset and Eugenio D’Ors playing significant roles. The novel also saw interesting advancements, including works by authors such as Gabriel Miró and Ramón Pérez de Ayala. New trends emerged in poetry as well, which were particularly significant given the shift in Juan Ramón Jiménez’s poetic evolution.

These writers did not constitute a homogeneous literary group but were part of a new intellectual environment known as Noucentisme (or the Generation of ’14). Its main characteristics are:

  • Emergence of a New Intellectual: In contrast to the bohemian and self-taught attitude of Modernism and the Generation of ’98, Noucentisme embraced a solid intellectual foundation, often acquired in foreign universities. They sought a serene and objective examination of problems. The irrationalism and anguish of the Generation of ’98 were replaced by clarity and rationality.
  • Reaction Against 19th-Century Values: They viewed Modernism and the Generation of ’98 as extensions of the 19th century. Anti-romantic pronouncements and admiration for classicism were common.
  • European Orientation: The Noucentistes were concerned with universal values and did not wish to be confined to national concerns. They disregarded certain traditional values and were more interested in the city than the countryside.
  • The Problem of Spain: Despite their European outlook, the issue of Spain remained present in their works, but it was approached in a more rigorous and less personal manner than by the Generation of ’98. They sought practical ways to influence society and advocated for the need to implement changes from positions of power. They emphasized the importance of educated minorities, an elite to lead society.

The Essay

The essay was a crucial genre during this period. Several authors excelled in it: Eugenio D’Ors, Gregorio Marañón, Manuel Azaña, Américo Castro, etc. However, the most influential was José Ortega y Gasset.

Ortega was a prolific philosopher, journalist, and editor of newspapers and magazines. He also became involved in politics during the Spanish Civil War. At the war’s outset, he went into exile but returned to Spain in 1945.

Ortega explored a wide range of topics in his numerous essays, collected in works such as The Spectator, Meditations on Quixote, The Revolt of the Masses, etc. Two of his works had a particular impact on the art and literature of his time: Ideas about the Novel and, especially, The Dehumanization of Art. In the latter, he analyzes the art of his time, highlighting the following characteristics:

  1. Pure Art: Art should be evaluated not for its human content but for its formal qualities.
  2. Dehumanization: Art tends to distance itself from reality and suppress human emotions.
  3. Intellectual Art: It is not based on feelings. Aesthetic pleasure should be an intellectual pleasure. Consequently, it is a difficult art to understand, a minority art, unpopular, dividing the public into two categories: those who understand and those who do not.
  4. Anti-Romantic Poetry: The poet does not aspire to be a spiritual guide for others but simply a poet, a verbal operator. Ortega defines the poetry of his time as the “higher algebra of metaphors.”
  5. Art as a Game: Art becomes a game that does not take things too seriously. It is a trivial art, characterized by irony.