Decadentism, Symbolism, Parnassianism & Pre-Raphaelitism
Decadentism, Symbolism, Parnassianism, and Pre-Raphaelitism
Decadentism
Decadentism is a complex movement. A body of literature emerged in the final part of the 19th century that joins some features of the Parnassians, Symbolists, and the *poètes maudits* (‘damned poets’). It stems from a very pessimistic vision of existence, which is considered problematic and degraded, sometimes seeking aesthetic and vital refinement. That is why the figure of the dandy is closely linked to the poet. The dandy’s life program is based on narcissism. The dandy avoids vulgarity and remains imperturbable towards adversity.
Authors: Charles Baudelaire, Jean Arthur Rimbaud, and Oscar Wilde. Decadentism influenced the design of modern poetry in Spanish, although it cannot be said that there have been Spanish Decadentist writers, even entirely decadent works exist – such as the *Sonatas* of Valle-Inclán.
Symbolism
A fundamental concept in Symbolism is *correspondence* (a term from the movement’s precursor, Charles Baudelaire), the secret affinity between the sensible world and the spiritual world. They used certain mechanisms for aesthetic purposes. Synesthesia (blending elements perceived by various senses in a single expression) was key. In Spain, Symbolism had G. A. Bécquer as a precedent, and its influence on Modernism in Hispanic poets would be marked, as in A. Machado and J. R. Jiménez.
Parnassianism
Parnassianism stresses formal perfection. The word that names the movement, of Greek origin, refers to Mount Parnassus, where the inspiring muses lived. Its basic theme is based on the art world, with a clear preference for Greco-Roman antiquity and the Far East, as forms of evasion (in space or time) from the surrounding reality. The search for beauty and perfection, and their exoticism, are maximized. It follows from all this the famous motto of the movement: *art for art’s sake* (art as a form of searching and not seen as content, an art in itself, without commitment to reality). Parnassianism’s gestation would influence Hispanic Modernism.
Pre-Raphaelitism
The features of Pre-Raphaelitism are:
- Common elements with Romanticism (claiming creative freedom, interest in the biblical and medieval past, etc.).
- Radical rejection of academic art.
- Enhancement of detail, color, and light.
- Importance of nature in the search for “sincere ideas” of transcendent realities.
- Recovery of old artistic manifestations of medieval art linked to Greece and Rome.
- The search for formal perfection.
- Presence of eroticism and hedonistic atmospheres.
Pre-Raphaelitism is considered a precedent of Hispanic Modernism.
Origins of Contemporary Theater
Theater of the 18th century came after a major renovation of the Golden Age comedy. The new theater defended the restoration of the classical genres (tragedy, comedy), respect for Aristotelian rules, and formal uniformity (works in prose and verse). The aim was to propose a more efficient dramatic transmission of teachings to the general public, who should not be distracted by secondary ornaments or the excesses that the Baroque epigones had reached. Much of what was impure was costly. Until the end of the century, the best works in this line were not seen, from the hand of Leandro Fernández de Moratín, with *El sí de las niñas*. He is the forerunner in Spain of the so-called High Comedy or Bourgeois Comedy, including works featuring bourgeois characters, of good social standing and economic affluence. The works moderately posed a critique of some aspect of the society of the moment.
Romantic Theater openly reacted against this concept of drama and claimed a total release from the classic rules: mixing poetry and prose, tragedy and comedy, etc. It suffered from the movement’s own excesses. José Zorrilla stands out with *Don Juan Tenorio*, and the Duke of Rivas with *Don Álvaro, or the Force of Destiny*.
In the late 19th century, high bourgeois comedy, which dominated the scene, was imposed. Its greatest exponent was José Echegaray (winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature). As an alternative to bourgeois theater, a realistic line emerged (Joaquín Dicenta would be its greatest exponent; Galdós also created some dramatic pieces). Two marked trends were configured that would mark the development of 20th-century Spanish theater: the *commercial theater* (triumphant) and the *innovative theater*.