Literary Modernism: Characteristics and Influence
Characteristics of Modernism
In the late nineteenth century, people lost confidence in progress, which did not resolve problems, and in science, which was unable to offer absolute truths. This general crisis was reflected in art and culture. It was in this context that Modernismo emerged. Modernism developed throughout the Hispanic area in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Characteristics of Literary Modernism
Modernist writers had various influences, including two French poetic currents:
- Parnassianism: Sought expression of beauty and formal perfection.
- Symbolism: Sought to suggest, through symbols, the true reality behind things.
Modernists claimed beauty in all its forms: the recreation of beautiful places and objects, and the presentation of intense feelings and emotions were their essential subjects. In opposition to vulgarity, they defended the aristocratic (symbolized in the figure of the swan).
The Denial of Reality
The denial of the reality in which they lived led to flight in space and time: toward the past (the classical world and its myths, the medieval, Renaissance, eighteenth, and also the last Hispanic period) and to distant and exotic lands.
The Quest for Beauty
The quest for beauty led to a renewed Modernist literary language. They incorporated cultism and words chosen for their sound and their ability to suggest sensations (tactile, olfactory, auditory, etc.).
Musicality and Rhythm
They searched for musicality, which contributed to the rhythmic use of various resources, such as anaphora, parallelism, and alliteration.
Stanzas and Meters
They retrieved the classic stanzas, changing the type or number of lines, and with them, cultivated free verse. The preferred meters were hendecasyllable, dodecasyllabic, and Alexandrian.
Rubén Darío: The Originator of Literary Modernism
Rubén Darío is considered the originator of literary modernism, a movement that spread throughout America and Europe, including Spain. Darío’s literature pursued novelty through a formal break with previous Nicaraguan approaches. His aesthetic production reflects Parnassian and Symbolist influences, and his faith in the superiority of poets, whom he considered connected with divine beings and the forces of nature, capable of interpreting the world through the word.
Azul… and Prosas Profanas
Darío’s first book that reflects the new modernist themes is Azul…, published in 1888. The work combines verse and prose, including short stories and poems, which recreates a world of fairies, princesses, mythological creatures, palaces, swans, etc. All this is presented with surprising adjectives and images. Prosas Profanas, another of his books, was published in 1896 and noted for its metrical and verbal innovations. The work incorporates exotic, escapist poems and aristocratic themes like those of Azul…, but also includes social and Spanish issues. Above all, the overarching theme is eroticism.
Cantos de Vida y Esperanza (Songs of Life and Hope)
This work, published in 1905, marked a change in the literary approach of Rubén Darío. In Cantos de Vida y Esperanza, Darío addressed new thematic motifs and employed a more personal, intimate, and reflective style. Stylistically, Darío attenuates the search for external, adorned beauty, but does not dispense with formal innovations. Thematically, this collection of poems focuses on two main lines:
- Philosophical concerns, reflected in issues such as the passage of time, loss of youth, and the meaning of existence.
- The Hispanic world, whose culture he reaffirms. The poet suggests the union of the American people against American imperialism.
Spanish Modernism
Modernism influenced Spanish writers like Antonio and Manuel Machado, Juan Ramón Jiménez, and Valle-Inclán. Spanish modernism was more intimate than that of Darío and had a short duration.
Rubén Darío (1867-1916)
Born in Metapa, a village in Nicaragua (now Ciudad Darío), his real name was Félix Rubén García Sarmiento. He started very young as a poet of romanticism (Epístolas y poemas, 1885) and combined his literary activity with the practice of journalism. He traveled to Chile and Argentina, countries where he encountered European literary trends. He made several trips as a diplomat throughout the Americas and Europe, including two visits to Spain where he met writers like Valle-Inclán and Juan Ramón Jiménez. He died in León, Nicaragua.