Spanish Literature of the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries
Spanish Society of the Late Nineteenth Century
In 1898, Spain’s last colonies—Cuba, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico—gained independence. This military defeat, known as the Disaster of 1898, provoked a deep crisis of the collective consciousness and a generalized feeling of decline. Young intellectuals of the middle classes denounced social injustice, Spain’s backwardness, and the selfishness of the dominant oligarchy (upper class). These intellectuals critiqued the bourgeoisie, whose values were expressed in the worship of wealth and material well-being. Instead, they explored religious and artistic concerns.
Modernism
Modernism was born in Latin America. Writers like Rubén Darío created a new poetic language that reacted against the perceived vulgarity of the modern world. This movement lasted until about 1915.
Literary Features
- Aestheticism: The principle of “art for art’s sake” suggests that art should not merely copy reality (as claimed by realism), but should convey beauty. Literature, therefore, should not be a vehicle for political or social ideas, but simply evoke beautiful, thought-provoking, and enjoyable feelings.
- Sensationalism: Art, especially poetry, employs literary figures related to sensory experiences (colors, smells, tastes, touch).
- Exoticism: In their attempt to move away from a bourgeois society, these poets sought inspiration in distant and exotic places (China and Japan) or countries considered cultured and refined (like France).
- Cultism: In their attempt to escape the vulgarity of everyday language, they revived archaic and obscure terms.
The Generation of ’98
The Generation of 1898 consists of five writers: Miguel de Unamuno, Pío Baroja, Antonio Machado, Ramón del Valle-Inclán, and José Martínez Ruiz “Azorín”. This movement shares with Modernism a rebellious attitude against the perceived mediocrity of early 20th-century society.
Features
- Obsession with Spain: Their works express the pain and love they felt for their country, hence their interest in the landscape and everyday life in small towns.
- Castile as a Symbol: Castile becomes a symbol of Spain, representing both its early 20th-century decadence and its past greatness and power. The Castilian landscape (gray, uninhabited, barren) also parallels their own moods.
- Deep Pessimism: The poverty and illiteracy in Spain in 1900, combined with their reflective nature, led to works with a sad and bitter tone, expressing anxiety about time and death.
- Anti-Cultism: These writers sought to awaken the country’s conscience through simple and profound words, thus deviating from Modernism’s use of obscure language.
Antonio Machado (Generation of ’98)
Antonio Machado was known for his goodness. During trips to Paris, he encountered new poetic trends, especially Modernism. Upon returning to Madrid, he published Soledades (1903), reflecting these influences. However, Modernism served as a cloak for the essence of his poetry: a continuous reflection on life, death, and time.
Soledades, Galerías, y Otros Poemas
This thematically varied book explores emotions: memories, melancholy, childhood as a paradise lost, and loneliness. The landscapes often represent the poet’s inner, nostalgic feelings. Machado uses symbols like the path (life), dusk (old age and loneliness), dreams (the subconscious), and the spring (the passage of time).
Campos de Castilla (1912)
This book compiles poems on varied topics: the Castilian landscape, Spain’s cultural and social decadence, his grief over his wife Leonor’s death, and social injustice. It combines the poet’s appreciation for the landscape’s beauty with a critique of the people’s indifference, linking him to the Generation of ’98.
Pío Baroja (1872-1956)
Structure of Baroja’s Novels
Baroja aimed to make novels mirror life’s diversity. He rejected perfectly structured 19th-century narratives, favoring open structures focused on action—action meant to save man from indifference, but ultimately failing.
Characters
His characters are loners, misfits, and mavericks struggling to change society. They are men of action, but action doesn’t alleviate their inner anguish, leading to hopelessness. Baroja uses them as mouthpieces for his ideas, with autobiographical elements of disillusionment and existential emptiness.
Literary Language
Baroja’s style is simple, using short sentences and basic vocabulary to reflect common speech. Descriptions and dialogues are abundant, aiming for realistic portrayal of life.
Novels: The Tree of Knowledge
This autobiographical novel features Andrés Hurtado, a critical medical student who becomes disillusioned with his studies and the university. His hopes are thwarted, leading to depression. Love offers brief respite, but the death of his child and wife during childbirth deepens his despair, culminating in suicide.
Avant-Garde and the Generation of ’27
Avant-Garde (1915-1930)
The first third of the 20th century saw a creative explosion in art and culture, with movements like Cubism, Futurism, Surrealism, and Expressionism. These avant-garde movements were characterized by experimentation and a break from previous artistic norms. They embraced modernity (industrialization, technology, scientific advances, greater freedoms) and rejected anything perceived as outdated.
In Spain, the avant-garde, known as Novecentismo or the Generation of 1914, was less disruptive but produced intellectuals like Juan Ramón Jiménez and Ramón Gómez de la Serna.
Literary Features of Avant-Garde Movements
- Anti-romanticism: Rejection of sentimentalism and passion, favoring intuitive metaphors.
- Defense of “pure art”: Art exists for its own sake, not as a vehicle for ideology.
- Art for a minority: Due to their intellectual origins, these works were aimed at a select audience.
Principal Avant-Garde Movements
- Expressionism: Rejects representing external reality, focusing on inner reality, exaggerating psychological and physical traits, and presenting a tragic view of life.
- Futurism: Replaces traditional artistic subjects with modern themes like automobiles and light bulbs.
- Cubism: Fragments and creatively reworks reality, incorporating letters, numbers, and visual elements.
- Surrealism: Explores the subconscious mind through disjointed and imaginative imagery.
Juan Ramón Jiménez (Avant-Garde)
Juan Ramón Jiménez, a 1956 Nobel laureate, dedicated his life to poetry. His extensive work is divided into three periods: Sensitive Time (1900-1914), marked by Modernism and themes of love and death; Intellectual Era (1917-1936), characterized by pure poetry and symbolic expression; and True Time (1936-1954), exploring eternity and beauty as the essence of the world.
Generation of ’27
The Generation of ’27 represents a golden age in Spanish literature. This group of poets, united by shared literary tastes, celebrated the 300th anniversary of Góngora’s death in 1927. Members include Pedro Salinas, Jorge Guillén, Dámaso Alonso, Vicente Aleixandre, Rafael Alberti, Luis Cernuda, Gerardo Diego, and Federico García Lorca.
Features of the Generation of ’27
- Most were born between 1891 and 1905 and held liberal, progressive views. Many went into exile after the Civil War.
- Their intellectual interests, cultural breadth, and financial stability allowed them to travel, publish, and engage with European literary innovations.
- Neopopularismo: While modernizing Spanish literature, they embraced traditional culture, incorporating elements like romances.
Federico García Lorca (Generation of ’27)
Lorca’s work, characterized by spontaneity and meticulous language, often explores the theme of fate thwarting human desires. His poetic journey is divided into two stages: the first (1921-1928) shows traditional lyric influences, exemplified by Romancero Gitano; the second (1928-1935), marked by surrealist elements, includes Poeta en Nueva York.
Romancero Gitano
This collection of 18 romances uses Andalusia as a backdrop. The Gypsy people symbolize rebellion against bourgeois society. The book blends tradition and avant-garde, using the traditional octosyllabic meter with modern poetic language.
Poeta en Nueva York
Written during a personal crisis amidst the financial disaster in New York, this collection reflects the chaos Lorca perceived. Themes of Black people, loneliness, homosexuality, and death are prominent. The Black poet in New York, like the Gypsy in Romancero Gitano, symbolizes rebellion against bourgeois society.