Literary Movements and Works: A Historical Overview
Literary Movements and Works
Medieval Literature
Early and High Middle Ages
Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire (476), the Early Middle Ages (5th-8th centuries) began. Germanic peoples assimilated Latin culture, preserved by the Christian Church. From the 8th century, Arabs invaded Spain and Sicily. Charlemagne’s reign marked the High Middle Ages (9th-11th centuries) and the Carolingian Renaissance. Monastic schools, located in monasteries, were centers of education and literary culture.
Middle Ages (12th-13th Centuries)
This period saw the rise of urban culture and cathedral schools. A modern literary movement emerged, emulating classical models like Virgil and Ovid. Works were written in Latin and translated into Romance languages. Universities were established, and the introduction of Greek philosophy revolutionized Western thought. Feudalism, based on land exploitation through personal contracts between lords and vassals, was the dominant socio-economic system.
Middle Ages (14th-15th Centuries)
The system of land holdings struggled to meet the needs of a growing population. A long economic depression, exacerbated by drought and epidemics, led to a general political crisis. Money emerged as a new source of wealth, and the bourgeoisie, based on monetary power, rose. This period of instability, the “feudal-bourgeois order,” saw a flourishing of Romance language literature.
Medieval European Literature
With no printing press, literature was oral or manuscript-based. Illiteracy was widespread, and most literature was composed to be heard.
The Minstrel’s Role
In the High Middle Ages until the end of the 12th century, the minstrel was a central figure. With trained memory and gestures, minstrels recited lyric and epic poems, acting as intermediaries between collective memory and community.
Medieval Epic Poetry
This poetry centers on a hero who embodies community values. The hero, without supernatural powers, demonstrates human potential through action. The narrative is objective and realistic, set in everyday environments. The structure is linear, focused on the hero’s deeds. Oral in genesis, it uses simple language and refers to a heroic age, exalting the values of a people or social group.
Renaissance (14th-16th Centuries)
This period of artistic and intellectual renewal impacted politics, science, and religion. It aimed to recover Greco-Roman culture. Citizens gained independence from feudal lords, leading to independent political action. The decline of feudalism and the rise of capitalism enriched crafts and business, allowing the emergence of the bourgeoisie. Individualism flourished, and new monarchies emerged with powerful sovereigns. Religious thought was renewed. Classical antiquity influenced Renaissance art, with emphasis on human figures and expressions. Patrons, wealthy individuals who supported artists, played a crucial role.
Baroque
Characterized by the struggle of opposites, it reflects the existential questions of the 17th century. Contrasts like life-death, humanity-divinity, dream-reality, illusion-disillusionment, and light-shadow are prominent. It emphasizes artifice and stylization, using metaphor, hyperbaton, color, and mythological figures. It portrays both beauty and the grotesque, reflecting a realistic view of life.
Postmodernism (Early 1950s Onwards)
Postmodernism rejects universal laws and human superiority. Historical facts challenge the notion of progress, and technology reveals humanity’s destructive potential. It reflects a post-industrial society, marked by mass culture, mediated reality, fragmented time and space, the abandonment of linear progress, ambiguity, consumerism, and a new value system prioritizing economic ideals.
The Postmodern Subject
Marked by an apocalyptic feeling, the postmodern subject experiences a modified sense of time and memory, living in an eternal present. Lacking originality, they reproduce the past. Art becomes artifice, mixing opposites and embracing ambiguity. The viewer creates their own meaning.
Artistic Expressions of Postmodernism
- Antinovel: Breaks traditional methods, minimizes character psychology, and emphasizes reader participation.
- Concrete Poetry: Abandons syntax for visual effects.
- Theater of the Absurd: Presents illogical situations, isolated characters, and incoherent speech.
- Theater of Complicity: Employs improvisation and mime, drawing on medieval theater and commedia dell’arte.
Specific Works
Sonnets
A poetic form with 14 verses (two quatrains and two tercets), using heroic verse and consonant rhyme. Petrarchan sonnets often feature a tormented lover as the protagonist.
Picaresque Story (1554)
Originating in Spain, it features a mischievous central character of low social class. The story is episodic, reflecting the protagonist’s experiences. It satirizes higher social classes and depicts the lower aspects of society. Autobiographical in form, it’s written in first person using popular language.
Don Quixote (1605-1615)
By Miguel de Cervantes, this novel parodies chivalric romances while offering a picture of 17th-century society. It explores the contrast between idealism and realism. The second part features increased narrative maturity and characters aware of their own story.
Song of the Cid
A medieval epic poem divided into three parts: exile, wedding, and the affront to the Cid’s daughters. It highlights the Cid’s loyalty, victories, and quest for justice.
Song of Roland
A medieval epic poem recounting the tragic story of Charlemagne’s army returning from Spain. Roland, Charlemagne’s nephew, dies in battle against the Saracens at Roncesvalles.
Lazarillo de Tormes
This picaresque story follows Lazarillo from his birth in Salamanca through his service to various masters, including a blind man, a cleric, and a squire. He learns cunning and survival but ultimately achieves a place in society without honor.