Literary Movements: Modernism and the Generation of ’98

Posted on Jan 6, 2025 in English Studies

Modernism and the Generation of ’98

Maverick currents arise with the need to renew literature. There is a concern for the aesthetics of the work, channeling rebellion against society into the beauty of their works.

Generation of ’98

Spanish prose writers usually write about human subjects (death, etc.) or are critical of the Spain of their time. They despise the materialism and the situation that leads to capitalism.

Modernism: Late 19th Century – Early 20th Century

Modernism has its origins in Latin America, with Rubén Darío (Nicaragua) as a driving force.

Authors

  • Poetry: Antonio Machado and Juan Ramón Jiménez
  • Theatre: Villaespesa and Marquina
  • Generation of ’98: Antonio Machado and Valle Inclán

Influences

Modernism takes influence from two French literary movements:

  • Parnassianism
    • Driven by Gautier
    • Supports the ideal of “art for art’s sake” (There is a science that has to explain reality and give lessons. Simply create beauty with words)
    • Makes a formal cult of perfection: perfect poems for the form
    • Produces pleasure to read
    • Transmits serenity
    • Topics: classic anthology (Roman, Greek), mythology, the oriental world, ancient civilizations
  • Symbolism
    • Driven by Baudelaire
    • Key representatives: Rimbaud, Mallarmé, and Verlaine
    • Not content with formal perfection, trying to go further: The truth we see holds deeper meanings, and the poet is privileged to be able to go to these meanings (e.g., sunset = decline, path = life)
    • Use of synesthesia
    • Suggests using words without making everything explicit

Topics

  • Outside world: Since they do not like what surrounds them, they will avoid it in the East or in time (a more ancient one) and will also use mythological themes. The modernist is cosmopolitan, in a hurry to jump borders, and especially likes Paris and cultured indigenous issues, American, and trying to see the Hispanic roots.
  • Intimacy of the poet: Two sides:
    • Poems filled with vitality and eroticism
    • Poems that breathe melancholy, delicate love

Style

Pursue the beauty of the work. Directed to the senses. Suggest feelings with words such as musical instruments, colors, etc.

Stylistic Devices

  • Alliteration: Repetition of sounds in a few words
  • Synesthesia: Combine terms from different sensory fields (e.g., bright yellow)
  • Symbols: By means of a physical reality, refers to an abstract
  • Proparoxytones

Lexis and Vocabulary

  • Cultism: Terms taken from Latin and Greek before suffering phonetic evolution (e.g., atrium-ear)
  • Exotic words

Metrics

  • New combinations of stanzas
  • New sounds on the rhymes
  • New rhythms depending on where the stressed syllables are
  • Predilection for the Alexandrine verse of 14 syllables
  • Romance and seguidillas become fashionable

Rubén Darío

Try as lively, frivolity, the exotic worlds, the indigenous, Hispanic, etc.

Works

  • Azul, Prosas Profanas (Poetry): mythology, sensuality, frivolity, Hispanic issues
  • Cantos de Vida y Esperanza: showing some concern, poetry where you can see Hispanic optimism in the face of the threat of the crisis of ’98
  • Confidence in the unification of the Hispanic peoples