Spanish Literature: Generations of ’98 and ’14
The Generation of ’98
Poetry of the Generation of ’98: Antonio Machado
Antonio Machado was born in Seville, but soon moved to Madrid, where both he and his brother Manuel came into contact with literature.
Features:
- Romantic Influence: Recurring, especially in the works of Bécquer and Rosalía de Castro.
- Critical Perspective on the Problem of Spain: He felt committed to the intent to create another Spain.
- Use of Symbols: He used symbols in his works as a personal reflection, as well as on life.
Topics:
- The Passage of Time: An essential subject in poetry.
- Castile: He felt love and pain for Castile.
- New Spain: Interest in the landscape blended with personal reflections.
- Interest in the Landscape: Merged with personal reflections due to Romantic influence.
- Love: He tried to approach this feeling from different viewpoints.
- Dreams: He conceived the oneiric as the only possible way of knowledge.
- Stories of the Homeless: He opposed the great ideals of anonymous lives.
- Religious Skepticism: He searched fruitlessly for God.
Style:
Variety of stanzas; refined and poetic language; defining adjectives.
Work:
It can be classified into three stages:
- First stage: Symbolist intimacy.
- Second stage: Castilian regenerationism.
- Third stage: Philosophical and folk poetry.
Some of his most important works are Soledades, Campos de Castilla, and Nuevas canciones.
Narrative of the Generation of ’98
Novel:
Some of the changes introduced:
- Narration
- Unique characters, life experience
- Dialogue
Themes and Style:
- Concern for Spain: They reflected concern for the situation.
- Intrahistory: Looking for the storytelling of the people.
- Enduring Values: Explored through rebellion.
- Subjective Reality: The concept of objective reality is lost.
- Landscape: Acquires the importance of almost another character.
Essay:
All members of the Generation of ’98 dedicated part of their work to the essay, one of the most appreciated genres. The subject matter had a common denominator: the situation in Spain.
José Martínez Ruiz, “Azorín”:
Born in Alicante and died in Madrid, he is related to other authors of the time.
Features:
- Light Weft: Simple narrative; different scenes.
- Autobiographical: The novels often introduce a character featured in his early works called Antonio Azorín.
- Opposition to Religion: In this area, he opposed all aspects of the clergy.
- Passage of Time and Transience of Life: Obsession with death and destiny.
Themes and Style:
The most frequent themes in his work are the landscape of Castile and the past of Spain. Azorín maintained a personal style, as well as an outlook on life.
Works:
- La Voluntad: An impressionist novel with autobiographical allusions.
- Antonio Azorín
- Doña Inés: Introduces detailed landscape descriptions.
He also wrote essays: essays on philosophy and literary criticism.
Generation of 1914 or Noucentisme
Its principal objective was the aesthetic renewal of literature and art, moving towards a more modern style of the 20th century.
Features:
- Social and Political Reforms: Supporting concrete steps to transform society.
- Feelings of Spain as Part of Europe: They defended that Europe could exert influence on a country still stuck in the past.
- Search for Beauty and Pure Art: Through thought and not life experience.
- Contributions from Other Movements: Adopted the achievements of previous literary trends.
- Reliable Language: Neat and full of expressive resources.
Novel:
Ramón Pérez de Ayala: We can distinguish several stages:
- Autobiographical Novels: These works have a character in common named Alberto Díaz de Guzmán.
- Critical Novels: His best-known works are Prometeo, Luz de Domingo, and La caída de los limones.
- Intellectual Novels: His works from the 1920s are the most intellectual and cover topics such as love and honor. The most important are Belarmino y Apolonio.
Gabriel Miró: The author devotes himself to a type of lyrical and formalistic novel that combines the following characteristics:
- Predominance of sensations.
- Great care of the language.
- Exhaustive description of characters.
In his works, we can differentiate between novels and short stories.