Generations of ’98, ’27 & Novecentismo: Spanish Literature
Generations of ’98, ’27 & Novecentismo
Generation of ’98
Features
- Birth within a 15-year span
- Self-taught
- Madrid venue
- Influenced by the Disaster of 1898
- Influence of Lorca and Unamuno
- Demanding, care-style
Key Characteristics
Emphasis on meaning over form. Essayists popularized their ideology. Novel reform structured around a character, focusing on their mentality; abundant dialogue. Poetry: contrasts with Modernist ideals of beauty, focusing on the human condition. Key figures: Unamuno and Antonio Machado. Shared interests: Spanish landscape, creating a new style contrasting Realism, meditative approach.
Key Figures
Azorín
Rebellious critic, initially anarchist. Later became conservative. Novels: Works trilogy (The Will, Antonio Azorín, The Confessions of a Small Philosopher). Theater: Attempted to reform Spanish theater, aligning it with European trends. Narrative Style: Minimal plot, descriptive environments, focus on character feelings, accumulation of small details.
Pío Baroja
Basque doctor. Founded the magazine “Youth”. Independent Novels: Road Works Perfectly, Caesar or Nothing. Trilogy: The Struggle for Life (includes The Tree of Knowledge). Narrative Style: Simple structure, single plot, brevity, sharpness, accuracy, and clarity. Personality: Solitary, did not sympathize with socialism, more attracted to anarchism.
Miguel de Unamuno
Symbol of opposition to the regime. Work revolves around the search for human truth. Essays: Focused on traditionalism and national character. Narrative Work: Revolves around love and pedagogy. Introduced the “nivola” concept, exemplified in Niebla.
Antonio Machado
Studied under Francisco Giner de los Ríos. Champion of the Republic. Poetic Work: 1st Stage: Modernist (Solitudes); 2nd Stage: Landscapes of Castile (Campos de Castilla); 3rd Stage: Final poetry (New Songs). Prose: Philosophical, The Core.
Novecentismo and Vanguards
Novecentismo
Features
- University-educated
- Foreign language knowledge
- Linguistic richness
- Modern musicality and depth of ’98
Key Figures
Ortega y Gasset: Guided the generation. Primarily an essayist. Works: The Revolt of the Masses, The Dehumanization of Art. Promoted art for the minority. Founded the League for Political Education.
Vanguards
Movements
- Futurism: Marinetti, admiration for progress, groundbreaking positions.
- Cubism: Typographical arrangement with expressive value.
- Dadaism: Tristan Tzara, destruction of traditional aesthetics.
- Surrealism: André Breton, automatic writing.
Juan Ramón Jiménez
Married Zenobia Camprubí. Exiled for republican ideals. Nobel Prize winner. Poetic Stages: 1st: Rubén Darío influence; 2nd: Pure poetry (Diary of a Recently Married Poet, later Journal of Poet and Sea); 3rd: Naked poetry (Eternities). Prose: Platero y yo.
Generation of ’27
Features
- Gathered for Góngora’s tercentenary
- Progressive, liberal, college-educated friends
- Focus on city, nature, and love
- Commitment to their time and art
- Little religious concern
- Use of sonnet, romance, and carol forms
Overview
Most glorious period of Spanish culture. Included Lorca, Dámaso Alonso, Gerardo Diego, and others. Influenced by Juan Ramón Jiménez. Highlighted realism and romantic feeling. Civil War impacted the generation, leading to Lorca’s assassination and exile for others.
Key Figures
Federico García Lorca
Theatrical success with Mariana Pineda. Famous for Gypsy Songs and Romances. Directed La Barraca theater group. Poetry: Synthesis of popular and cultured themes. Stages: 1st: Popular and traditional influence (Gypsy Ballads); 2nd: Poet in New York.
Miguel Hernández
Self-taught. Joined Republican side in Civil War, imprisoned and died. Poetry: Human sincerity, technical perfection, rich metaphors, love as main theme. Stages: 1st: Avant-garde; 2nd: Lyrical (The Lightning that Doesn’t Stop); 3rd: Social conscience (Wind of the People).
Pre-war Theatre
Overview
High comedy and bourgeois drama resisted experimental theater. Early renewal with Jacinto Benavente’s The Vested Interests. Other genres: comedies of manners (linked to zarzuela), minority theater (Valle-Inclán’s Bohemian Lights).
Key Figures
Jacinto Benavente
Nobel Prize winner. Plays developed bourgeois manners with psychological internal action. Works: The Vested Interests, The Unloved.
Federico García Lorca
Themes: love, frustration, death. Use of metaphor. Poetic drama with didactic conception. Works: The House of Bernarda Alba, farces, impossible comedies (Thus Five Years Pass), tragedies, and dramas.