Aribau’s ‘Oda a la Pàtria’ and the Catalan Literary Renaixença
Aribau’s Landmark Poem: ‘Oda a la Pàtria’
Bonaventura Carles Aribau wrote his poem “Oda a la Pàtria” (Ode to the Homeland) while working in Madrid for the Catalan banker Gaspar de Remisa. He aimed to express their shared homesickness for Catalonia, viewed as distant from Madrid, almost like an “exile.” This poem is considered Aribau’s most significant work, as the rest of his literary output is seen as minor and circumstantial.
Publication and Importance
The poem was published in the journal El Vapor in 1833. This event holds great importance for Catalan letters for two main reasons:
- It is considered the first major Romantic poem written in Catalan.
- It marked the starting point of the Renaixença movement, the revival of Catalan language and culture.
Influence and Themes
The poem achieved enormous impact and influenced later Romantic poetry due to several factors:
- Literary Model: It demonstrated that sophisticated literature could be written in Catalan.
- Romantic Tone: It established a nostalgic and exalted tone, typical of Catalan Romantic poetry, focusing on key themes:
- Longing for the homeland and language as symbols of national identity.
- Justification for using Catalan, drawing arguments from its past splendor and its connection to childhood, dreams, and sincerity.
- Language Standard: It proposed a model for literary Catalan, influential until the end of the 19th century, based on the richness of medieval Catalan and the perceived purity of rural dialects.
Thematic Structure (by Octave)
- Octaves 1-2: Longing for the homeland.
- Octaves 3-5: Exaltation of the Catalan language.
- Octave 6: Tribute to the patron, Gaspar de Remisa.
Metric Structure
The poem consists of 6 royal octaves. Key metric features include:
- Lines: 8 Alexandrine lines (12 syllables) per octave.
- Caesura: A break after the 6th syllable (6+6 hemistichs).
- Rhyme: Consonant rhyme, alternating masculine and feminine endings.
- Scheme: A cross structure (rima creuada) with the pattern ABBAACCA DEEDDFFD GHHGGIIG JKKJ JLLJ MBBMMNNM OPPOOQQO, where the same rhyme appears in the 1st, 4th, 5th, and 8th lines of each octave.
Romantic Elements and Conclusion
In conclusion, the poem incorporates many typical Romantic elements: the abandonment of classical forms, the identification of landscape with personal feelings, the focus on the lost homeland, and nostalgia. Significantly, Aribau’s concept of ‘homeland’ in the poem refers specifically to Catalonia, not Spain.
The Revival of Catalan Narrative Prose
The early recovery of the Catalan language in narrative was slow and challenging, particularly for the novel form. One reason was the lack of a recent tradition; the great medieval novels like Curial e Güelfa had been largely lost or neglected during the Modern Age. Although the Renaixença looked to the past, writers initially focused on reflecting a more immediate Catalan society.
Early Novels (in Spanish)
From the 1830s, Catalan writers began producing novels, though initially written in Spanish. These were often historical novels addressing general Spanish history themes, adapting models from prominent foreign authors.
The Rise of Serialized Novels and the First Catalan Novel
In the 1840s, the serialized novel (folletín) appeared. This format sought excitement and success from a popular audience, as novels were published in installments. A major milestone occurred in 1862 when Antoni de Bofarull published L’orfeneta de Menargues (The Little Orphan Girl of Menargues), considered the first contemporary novel written in Catalan.
Costumisme: Reflecting Reality
Costumisme (focus on customs and manners) emerged mainly from the 1860s, often through the press, utilizing satire and humor – practically the only avenues available for publishing in Catalan at the time.
Costumista prose, despite being a product of Romanticism, forged a different path from the Romantic novel. It embraced immediate reality as its literary material. Values like imagination, emotivity, and drama were replaced by:
- Observational skills
- Detailed description
- Humor and irony
Costumista writers were aware they lived during a time when traditional ways of life were disappearing due to industrialization. They aimed to capture these customs in their works, often with a sense of nostalgia, as if to save them from oblivion. The most representative genre was the article or the quadre de costums (picture of customs).