Catalan Literature: 16th to 19th Century Developments
Catalan Literature in the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries
Causes of the Decline
- Estrangement from the court that, since the union of Spain and Aragon, was no longer in Catalonia, and the adoption of Spanish by the nobility.
- Dazzled by Castilian literature, especially from the 17th century (Golden Age).
- Consequences of a series of historical events.
- Emergence of the printing press, which favored Spanish as the most widely distributed language.
The literature of the 16th century is marked by two basic facts: the influence of Ausiàs March’s poetry, and the humanism of the Renaissance in literature.
Catalan literature of the 17th century became a copy of the Spanish Baroque literature.
Francesc Vicenç Garcia (1579-1623, Vallfogona de Riucorb), also known as the Rector of Vallfogona, was an important poet in the 17th century due to his poems with scatological themes. His poetry focused on themes of love and religion.
The influence of the Enlightenment and Neoclassicism in the 18th century still offers a higher poverty in the literature because it was forbidden to publish in Catalan.
During the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, there was a remarkable literary quality in the surface of popular Catalan literature, transmitted from generation to generation.
19th Century
Essential Features of Romanticism
- Individualism and empowerment of the subjective self.
- Prevalence of feelings and imagination over reason.
- Vindication of creative freedom, spontaneity, and originality.
- Idealization of reality because of dissatisfaction with this same reality.
- Revaluation of topics inspired by the Middle Ages.
- Interest in popular culture.
- Search and evaluation of beauty.
Catalan literature of the 19th century features three writers in particular: Jacinto Verdaguer (poetry), Narcís Oller (narrative), and Àngel Guimerà (theater).
Jacinto Verdaguer
Jacinto Verdaguer (Folgueroles, 1845 – Vallvidrera, 1902) was a poet, writer, and author, considered the creator of the modern literary language. He was consolidated with the movement of the Renaixença, and he made the Catalan language and literature known internationally, especially with two crucial works:
- L’Atlàntida: Combining Columbus’ discovery of America with the sinking of the mythical continent of Atlantis.
- Canigó: Discusses the origins of the legendary Christian Catalonia. (Canigó is considered the national epic of Catalonia and the best work of Verdaguer).
Theater During the Second Half of the 19th Century
It became one of the keys to consolidating the Renaixença. There were two currents:
- Cultured theater: models based on historical drama and tearful melodrama.
- Popular theater: that ridiculed, through parody, the conventions of romantic and bourgeois theater.
Àngel Guimerà
Àngel Guimerà (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 1845 – Barcelona, 1924). As a poet, he received several awards, but gained international recognition as a playwright.
The dramatic production of Àngel Guimerà can be divided into three stages:
- The first stage: written in decasyllabic verse (Mar i Cel).
- The second stage: Romanticism and Realism, which gave rise to rural drama (Maria Rosa, Terra Baixa, La Filla del Mar).
- The third stage: New stylistic trends (L’Aranya).
Guimerà’s work participates in two models of romantic drama:
- Historical drama: The action is usually placed in the Middle Ages, and the love intrigue is rather complicated (more realistic).
- Rural drama: The action is placed in the contemporary era of the author and also in a nearby setting (too idealistic).
Narrative
The narrative reached its maximum splendor with the figure of Narcís Oller (Valls, 1846 – Barcelona, 1930). He alternated as a court prosecutor with his literary aim, raising Catalan fiction to the international category. He is considered the creator of the modern Catalan novel. (Novels: L’Escanyapobres, La Bogeria, La Febre d’Or, La Papallona, Pilar Prim).