Modernism (1885-1916): Literary Movement, Key Authors, and Context
Modernism (1885-1916): A Literary Movement
Introduction
Description and dialogue are discursive forms within narrative texts, especially novels. Functions include: interrupting the narrative; modifying the narrative pace; providing information on elements such as space, events, objects, and environment; and marking the narrative structure. Dialogue advances the plot, gradually replacing the narrator’s voice with that of the characters.
Acronyms and Modernism
Acronyms are words formed from the initial letters of several words (e.g., UN for United Nations). They can be placed at the beginning or end of a word (e.g., Banesto).
Modernism, a cultural and literary movement (1885-1916) in Spain and Latin America, reacted against the moral and aesthetic values of the time. It rejected a reality based on reason and experience, and the bourgeois lifestyle. It overcame the prosaism and lack of imagination in previous literature, aiming for beauty.
Historical Context
The Spanish-American War (loss of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines) and a backward agrarian economy with low industrialization and widespread poverty fueled social unrest, strikes, and worker-boss conflicts.
Modernist Literary Trends
Modernist literature had two main trends:
- Sensory Literature: Abundant use of sensations (light, color, sound), mythological themes, aristocratic inspiration, exotic places, and escapist poetry.
- Introspective Literature: Exploration of the writer’s inner world, feelings, and dreams; expression of melancholy and sadness; intimate aspects.
Language is key, using learned words, neologisms, and literary figures to create beauty.
Modernist poetry employed various metrical forms, including eneasyllable, dodecasyllable, and Alexandrine verses.
Rubén Darío (1867-1916)
The most representative modernist writer, Darío, born in Nicaragua, traveled extensively throughout the Americas and Europe (Paris, Spain). Influenced by Symbolism and Parnassianism, his work has two stages:
- Early Poetry: Recreated exotic and legendary worlds and environments (Azul (1888) and Prosas profanas (1896)).
- Later Poetry: Reflective, intimate, and melancholic poetry (Cantos de vida y esperanza (1905)).
His themes shifted from legendary and fantastic worlds to the poet’s intimacy, love, dreams, longings, and concerns about the future. His style is artistic in both phonetic and semantic values, using free verse, varied stanzas, and rhythms.
Modernism in Spain
Spanish writers assimilated modernist innovations spread by Darío. Intimist trends emerged with simpler language. Key figures include:
- Manuel Machado: Combined modernist language with Andalusian poetry forms.
- Juan Ramón Jiménez: Considered by many as the most important 20th-century Spanish lyric poet. Born in Huelva, he traveled to Madrid, met writers like Darío and Valle-Inclán, and later to America, marrying Zenobia Camprubí. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1956. His work has two periods:
- First Period: Adapted modernist forms, with elements of nature symbolizing feelings, delicate musicality, and traditional verse forms (rhyme, assonance, couplets, romances).
- Second Period: Purest form, stripped of artifice, creating a world of beauty and inner feeling, using free verse.
Leopoldo Alas”Clarí” (1852-1901)
Clarín, born in Zamora, studied law and participated in liberal politics. He wrote novels and short stories, known for his criticism of warlordism, social hypocrisy, clerical ambition, and political corruption. He practiced naturalism, creating strong characters and using free indirect style. His work, considered the best of the 19th century, explores themes of love and dissatisfaction.