Generation of ’98: Authors, Characteristics, and Literary Impact
Generation of ’98: Collapse and Regeneration
Generation of ’98: In 1898, Spain lost its last overseas possessions in the defeat against the United States. The symptoms of “general infection” were economic backwardness, educational backwardness, and political depletion. The regeneracionista spirit in the changing century sought to modernize the country, but faced conservative resistance, conflict, and the rise of nationalisms. The disaster inspired a tragic sense of a nation “without direction.”
Key Characteristics of the Generation of ’98
The spirit of discouragement inspired intellectuals to express anguish and evoke the most representative values of Spain. Key features include:
- Birth dates not far apart
- Relationship between the members
- The occurrence of the Disaster of ’98
- Concern for the problems in Spain
- Recurring themes
- Common literary concerns
- Style based on natural language and sober, modern essays
Antonio Machado (1875-1939)
Born in Seville, Antonio Machado was a member of the Royal Spanish Academy. His characteristics include romantic influence, a critical perspective on the problems of Spain, and the use of symbols. His themes are the test of time, Castile, New Spain, interest in the landscape, love, dreams, people without history, and religious skepticism. The features of his style are variety of verses, poetic language, and debugging the “defining adjective.” His work is divided into three stages: 1st (1899-1907), 2nd (1907-1917), and 3rd (1917-1926). His most important works are Solitudes, Campos de Castilla, and New Songs.
Narrative of the Generation of ’98
The novel introduced changes such as narrative innovation, unique characters, life experiences, and dialogue. Issues include concern for Spain, inner selves, authentic values, subjective reality, and the landscape. His style is very uniform but with an anti-rhetorical aesthetic. It is one of the most appreciated genres, and themes were the situation of Spain and Castile, love, and the meaning of life.
Pío Baroja (1872-1956)
Key characteristics include religious skepticism, mistrust of humans, the influence of European philosophical currents, and thematic protagonists. The themes of his works come from his life experiences. His works are divided into two stages: the first stage with The Way of Perfection and The Tree of Science, and the second stage with Memoirs of a Man of Action. His most important work is Looking.
Miguel de Unamuno (1864-1936)
His characters were the focus, with little interest in the spatial and temporal context, and the importance of dialogues. His major works are Fog and San Manuel Bueno, Martyr.
Ramón del Valle-Inclán (1866-1936)
His stages are the stage of the sonatas, the stage between the sonatas and the scarecrows, and the esperpentica stage. His themes are love, death, and religious renewal. His genre style is narrative and uses language carefully and musically. His most important works are Sonatas and The Carlist War.
Azorín (1873-1967)
Plot characteristics include light, autobiographical character, opposition to religion, and the passage of time and the transience of life. The topics are landscape and past Spain. He uses a personal style inherent to his way of being with novelistic precision and clarity. His most important works are The Will and Doña Inés. His essays and their works are A Small Philosopher’s Test and Tests of Literary Criticism.
Commercial Theater
There are three current bourgeois comedy, drama in verse, and poetic comic theater. Jacinto Benavente, Nobel Prize for Literature in 1922, stands out. His works criticize the vices and customs of high society. His most important works are Vested Interests, The Unloved, and The Nest Outside.
Renovator Theater
Valle-Inclán stands out, distinguishing the poetic drama, drama and mythical rural environment, and the nonsensical farces. Two of these last works are Luces de Bohemia and Mardi Gras.