Romanticism, Realism, Naturalism, and Modernism: Literary Movements
Romanticism
A movement born in Germany and England in the 19th century.
Themes & Features:
- Expression of feelings and passions (unattainable love)
- Admiration for nature
- Desire for freedom in life and art
- Pessimism and anxiety about death and the mystery of existence
- Flight from reality in time and space
There were two tendencies:
- Romantic liberal and progressive: fought for freedom and democracy.
- Romantic traditionalist and conservative: defended the monarchy, tradition, and religion.
Authors:
- Goethe (great works: Faust and Werther)
- Poet: Espronceda (defends freedom and was banished in London and Paris)
Style:
Exaggerated expression of feeling, with many exclamations. In the metric used Polarimetry.
- José Zorrilla: falls within the romantic drama.
- Mixes tragedy and comedy, with tragic and comic parts.
- The actions do not happen in one place, but in several.
- Set in medieval characters, castles.
- Predominantly impossible themes of love, honor, and fate (death).
- His great work: Don Juan Tenorio.
Late Romanticism
Eliminates the exaggeration and is based on naturalness and equilibrium of images, thoughts, and emotions.
- Bécquer: natural style in its expression, sincerity of feeling.
Realism
Principles:
- Mimesis: imitation of reality.
- Verisimilitude: tell stories that could have actually happened.
Political Framework:
Between absolutists and liberals fight ombudsmen. Appearance of anarchist and socialist movements that defended the working classes.
Social Framework:
Development of the Industrial Revolution and industries; appearance of the proletariat that is people of which is hand cmpo d + pair work industries; Rise of the bourgeoisie.
Themes:
- Political struggle between the ideologies of absolutism and liberalism.
- Conflicts caused by the need for cash.
- The religious question, as reflected in personal and social influence.
Techniques:
The realistic novel, the main feature is the likelihood and the natural of humans, passions. The use of the omniscient narrator who reflects half the use of freestyle monologue.
Authors:
- Juan Valera (his 1st novel about falling in love for a widow “Pepi Jiménez”)
- José María Pereda (reflects the customs of the people of his land, Cantabria)
Naturalism
A Realist movement considered as an end. It emerged in nineteenth-century France.
Themes:
Human beings are determined by their genetic inheritance and social environment, depend on the instincts that determine the behavior of people, naturalistic novels focuses on describing the degrading circumstances of life.
Objective:
Denouncing social injustice, show the need for social protection.
Techniques:
Lexical language with a scientific, vocabularies different jargons that we compare with the animal world.
Authors:
- Emilia Pardo Bazán (combines naturalism with Christian Spanish tradition “The question”)
- Vicente Blasco Ibáñez (Describes naturalism of Valencia of his time “Reeds and Mud”)
Modernism
Rejection of the vision of reality based on reason and experience, which values utilitarianism. Your main objective is the achievement of beauty through a profound renewal of language.
Trends:
- Sensual literature: predominantly the expression of feelings, mythological themes, and exotic places.
- Introspective literature: expresses the intimate aspects: moods and feelings.
Language:
Worship with neologisms. Using alliterations, epithets will contribute to the creation of beauty through the word.
Metrics:
Combines all kinds of compositions.
Authors:
- Rubén Darío: 2 stages:
- 1) Lush and precious poetry in creating a legendary world.
- 2) Reflective poetry that highlights the intimate melancholy.
Style:
Artist of the word.
Metrics:
Combining different stanzas.