Catalan Literature: Renaissance to 20th Century
The Renaissance
The Renaissance encouraged humanism, the current scholarly and philosophical movement of the Renaissance. The Renaissance, in a broad sense, takes on the role of the liberator of mankind. The problem seems to start in the Trastamara dynasty in 1412. There was a loss of linguistic consciousness, although Catalan continued to be the official language until the beginning of the 18th century. In addition, the dynastic unity between Castile and Aragon through the marriage of the Catholic Monarchs led to a Castilian-centric policy. There is a decline, a time of collapse in the quality of literary production in the Catalan language; there is a lack of modern Catalan literature. People started to speak of Llemosina language rather than Catalan, referring to the Middle Ages. Thus, a popular and traditional literature emerged. Serious problems between grassroots oral and written worship began with the strength of Castilian literature during the Golden Age.
Baroque
The Baroque period entered a pessimistic era; aesthetics reflected a crisis of values that was seen worldwide in spiritual, political, and social spheres in the 18th century. Disappointment was great, and the need to escape from reality was urgent. Baroque art is a response to these environmental needs. Catalonia was not in an easy time, with two wars, the War of the Spanish Succession and the Reapers’ War, leaving the country in a situation of inferiority within the Spanish monarchy.
Features
Regarding literary form and aesthetics, the mechanism of contrast, antithesis, and paradox stands out. Artists are able to illuminate the beauty of a woman, taking us spiritually into contemplation, and also into pure materiality, into the ugliest, most vulgar, or most miserable aspects of human nature.
The subject of death is frequent in Baroque works, from a terrifying vision of the picturesque and from a more transcendental and spiritualist perspective.
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism, born in France in the 17th century, involves a return to classical standards. Literature sought to regain its exemplary, instructive function, with the three units of tragedy (action, place, time).
Joan Ramis
Joan Ramis was a writer and scholar from Menorca who stood out in the field of Neoclassical tragedy.
Joan Salvat-Papasseit
Joan Salvat-Papasseit (1894-1924) was born into a humble, proletarian family. His father died soon after in a work accident, and his training was left in the hands of an institution for orphans. He had to learn a trade and find work. His poems are among the most intense that speak of love and the real-life work of the humble, and he proudly proclaimed it. Papasseit witnessed social injustice, a reality that cannot be hidden. Some of his articles led to his imprisonment.
Josep Carner
Josep Carner (1884-1970) made a very important contribution to the Noucentisme movement from 1906 until 1920. His contribution to poetry for the possible realization of an ideal nation is essential; he worked hard for the dignity of the Catalan language. Josep Carner’s artistic conception involved creating a noble, refined language, increasingly ironic, that sought precision and accuracy.
“Delicious Fruits” and “The Quiet Heart”
In his book “The Quiet Heart” there is an important change in Carnerian poetry. The poet has matured; he has seen that the neat and tidy world of the perfect nation is difficult to achieve in a society full of tension. Because of the Civil War, he was forced into exile and died outside of his beloved nation.