Spanish Literature in the 18th Century
The 18th century witnessed the progressive decline of the Baroque style and the emergence of new aesthetic trends. This period exhibits a diverse range of styles with distinct characteristics.
Aesthetic Styles and Characteristics
Several key styles shaped the literature of this era:
- Posbarroco: This style prevailed during the first half of the 18th century, maintaining thematic and formal links with the previous century’s Baroque. A shift towards a more optimistic worldview is evident, replacing the pessimism of the Baroque era. An example of this style is Diego Torres Villarroel’s picaresque novel, Life, which tells the story of a bourgeois social climber who succeeds through merit, presenting an anti-picaresque narrative.
- Rococo: This playful and superficial style emphasized good taste, flirtation, grace, and wit. It represented the intimate side of the Enlightenment and Neoclassicism.
- Neoclassicism: As the official style of enlightened despotism, Neoclassicism is considered the most representative style of the 18th century. Its defining features include didacticism, utilitarianism, and the pursuit of a reflective art grounded in reason. It favored austerity and the adoption of predefined standards over imagination and originality. This style’s influence was particularly notable in theater, with Leandro Fernández de Moratín, son of Nicolás Fernández de Moratín, as a prominent example.
- Preromanticism: This style introduced elements that transcended reason, foreshadowing the arrival of Romanticism. It featured a focus on melancholy, nocturnal landscapes, the veneration of nature’s forces, and funeral themes. Some works also displayed social and political criticism.
Prose and the Essay
The essay emerged as the most significant prose genre of the 18th century in Spain. It championed a new style of prose characterized by clarity, directness, naturalness, and precision, avoiding embellishments and ambiguities. Essayists sought to promote reflection through their writing.
The 18th-century essay promoted the use of Spanish as the language of science and philosophy, challenging the dominance of Latin, which remained the official language of universities until 1813. Benito Jerónimo Feijoo, considered the father of the Spanish essay, found a suitable platform for dissemination in the periodical press. Notable publications include the Journal of Literary Spain, The Thinker, and The Censor.
Another prominent prose writer was Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos. His political writings, including the Report on Agrarian Law, are recognized for their literary quality.
However, the most important prose writer of the era was José Cadalso. He cultivated various genres but achieved his highest expressive levels in prose. In 1772, he published Violet’s Learned Men, a satire on false intellectuals. In 1793, he published Moroccan Letters, a collection of his thoughts on Spanish society and culture. Moroccan Letters employs a light fictional framework, consisting of letters written by three characters. Cadalso, the son of a wealthy merchant, studied with the Jesuits in Cadiz and traveled to Europe to complete his education. He served in the military, attaining the rank of colonel before his death in the siege of Gibraltar. He was friends with leading intellectuals of his time.
Cadalso is considered one of the pioneers of the Romantic spirit in Spain, particularly for his melancholic work Nights.
Theater
Theaters continued to stage plays with little innovation in the early 18th century. Changes began to emerge in the first half of the century but were not widely embraced, except by an enlightened minority. From 1750 onwards, some tragedies were written, adhering to the rules of the three unities.
Drama in this century was embroiled in several controversies. The first debate centered on the theater’s role and purpose. The perceived blunders on stage led some enlightened figures to advocate for the removal of performances. Their efforts aimed to establish a new theater that followed the rule of three unities. The new plays should strive for verisimilitude, presenting universal characters and conflicts that could offer valuable lessons.
However, this type of theater did not gain popular favor. Notable playwrights of the time include Tomás de Iriarte (The Pampered Miss and the Spoiled Master), Jovellanos (The Honest Offender), and Leandro Fernández de Moratín (The Other Girls).
Jovellanos’s work is associated with a new type of theater known as sentimental comedies, which blended elements of comedy and tragedy, often featuring unhappy endings. These plays are considered the immediate predecessors of Romantic dramas.
Leandro Fernández de Moratín is recognized as the creator of neoclassical comedy and a skilled developer of characters. His notable works include The Old Man and the Girl (1786), The Baron (1787), and The Other Girls (1801). One of the most important aspects of Moratín’s comedy is his portrayal of young love. He believed that the strict upbringing of young women forced them to repress their true thoughts and feelings.
The Selfishness of Girls is considered one of the most representative works of 18th-century Spanish literature, both in its structure and content. The play’s themes relate to the political context of the time, particularly the practice of arranged marriages and the right to marry for love.