20th Century World: Wars, Spain, Literature & Modernism
The 20th Century World
Wars
- Russo-Japanese War (1905)
- World War I (1914-1918)
- World War II (1940-1945)
- Cold War (1947-1991)
Spain in the 20th Century
A period of crisis, economy, and society. Spain was a rural country that favored the development of socialism and anarchism. In politics, it suffered the latest loss of colonies. Spain endured the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera, the proclamation of the Second Republic, and the outbreak of civil war, after which the dictatorship of Franco was established until his death in 1975.
European Literature in the 20th Century
Parnassianism
Sought to escape the surrounding world. Formal aspects took precedence, and writers sought to escape reality. Example: French poet Charles Baudelaire, Flowers of Evil.
Decadence
Explored new ways to exploit formal beauty, with an excessive preoccupation with form. Example: French poet Paul Verlaine, Poems Saturn.
Symbolism
Aimed to reach the depths of existence and imagination. Example: French poet Arthur Rimbaud, Illuminations. (Primarily French authors).
Modernism
An art movement that evolved from aesthetics to social and existential concerns.
Origins
- Parnassianism: Concern for form.
- Symbolism: Used symbols to evoke reality through language.
Features
- Places: Exotic, unreal worlds to escape reality, utilizing fabulous animals.
- Metric: French metrical forms, some ancient verses, versos alejandrinos. There are changes, accepting new forms. The stanzas no longer have a fixed structure because the metric is liberalized. Example: Serventesios quartet of alejandrinos verses, sometimes mixed quartet and serventesio, and also mixes art major and minor. When the lines are 14 syllables and caesura are divided into 2 hemistiches.
- Style: Mixes the senses and creates beautiful synesthesia. Utilizes phonic resources such as alliteration, internal rhymes, or parallels.
Spanish Representatives
Poetry
- Manuel Machado (Modernist)
- Antonio Machado (Generation of ’98, loneliness)
- Juan Ramon Jimenez (Lilies, Purple Souls, Sad Arias)
Novel
- Valle-Inclan (Sonatas, The Memoirs of the Marquis de Bradomin)
Theater
- Marquina
- Valle-Inclan (Divine Words)
Ruben Dario
Blue, Profane Prose, and Songs of Life and Hope.
Blue
Marks the beginning of Modernist work, showing the influence of Parnassianism.
Profane Prose
Features Modernist metric combinations, alliteration, and synesthesia.
Songs of Life and Hope
Presents a personal tone in his compositions, showing concern for people, their problems, and the future.
Characteristics of the Generation of ’98
- Antirhetoric: Sobriety and elegance are perceived in the care of his writing style.
- Subjectivism: The authors reflect their own feelings.
- Traditionalism: The interest in Spain leads them to use traditional words and classical sources.
- Genre: Turn to test the cultural reflections and lyrical vision.
Topics
- Spain: Concerned about the backwardness of the country and a great interest in landscape, history, and culture.
- History: They want to discover the Spanish values and the root of evils.
Representatives of ’98
- Miguel de Unamuno: Peace in War (intrahistory: the story of people that is not known) is modeled realistically, but Nivola, philosophy connects to literature. Highlights include the nivolas Aunt Tula, Abel Sanchez, Fog or San Manuel Bueno, Martyr.
- Pio Baroja: Part of realism but introduces renovator elements: participation in action and introduces dialogue with comments and descriptions to avoid the monotony of the narrative. Works: The Way of Perfection, Searching, Adventurous or Zacaín the Tree of Science.
- Jose Martinez Ruiz, Azorin: His novels are a portrait of the Spanish land and its inhabitants. The Will and The Confessions of a Young Philosopher.
- Ramon Maria del Valle-Inclan: The early novels of this author, Sonatas, are marked in modernism, evolving into grotesque historical novel, which mixes real and fictional characters in works such as the Carlist War trilogy, but his greatest contribution was the scarecrow introduced in the novel Tirano Banderas.
- Antonio Machado: His works evolve from romantic intimacy, loneliness, the philosophical, new songs, through modernism and objectivism, Campos de Castilla.