Spanish Modernism: Literary Analysis
Spanish Modernism: A Literary Exploration
Key Figures of Spanish Modernism
Juan Ramón Jiménez
Pure poetry is characterized by essence, abstraction, and the elimination of all anecdotal elements. For Juan Ramón, poetry is beauty, knowledge, and a desire for eternity.
- Beauty: The search for and expression of beauty define him as a conscious minority poet.
- Knowledge: His poetry involves an intense desire to delve into the true being of things, their inner essence.
- Longing for Eternity: The poem, timeless and enduringly beautiful, survives death. The poet becomes eternal through writing, living on in memory.
Stages of his work
- Sensitive Stage: Works like Platero and I showcase themes of beauty, love, and nature, reflecting Modernism with a personal touch.
- Intellectual Stage: Poetry becomes more conceptual and complex. Symbolist poems where the poet renames things to discover their original purity.
- Sufficient Stage: An obsession with poetic life, eternity, and the desire for transcendence.
Ramón del Valle-Inclán
Known for his contributions to the novel and theater. Sonatas are considered a high point of Modernist prose. His theater constantly strives to renew the Spanish scene.
Cycles in his work
- Myth Cycle: Works like the Divine Words trilogy.
- Farce Cycle: Plays like The Marquesa Rosalinda, with streamlined and ridiculous elements.
- Grotesque Cycle: Demystification of reality, highlighted by Bohemian Lights, a tragic journey of poet Max Estrella through a dehumanized world.
Pío Baroja
A key novelist of the Generation of 98. His novels are character-driven, often depicting failure. His style is precise, simple, and somber, with impressionistic descriptions and dialogue.
Stages in his work
- Before 1912: Prolific period, including works like The Tree of Knowledge.
- After 1912: Diverse styles and themes, including Memoirs of a Man of Action.
Recurring themes
- Basque Country: The House of Aizgorri
- Fantasy Life: Paradox, King
- The Struggle for Life: The Search, Weed, Red Dawn
Characteristics of Modernism
- Rejection of everyday reality, escaping through evocations of the past or exotic locations.
- Aristocratic attitude and precious style, pursuing formal perfection.
- Pursuit of beauty through vivid imagery, appealing to all senses.
- Exploration of classic and medieval verse forms.
- Use of mythology and sensationalism.
- Lexical renewal with Hellenisms, cultisms, and Gallicisms.
- Desire for innovation, inspired by European literature.
- Adaptation of metrics to Spanish America.
- Cult of formal perfection, with calm and balanced poetry.
Themes of Modernism
- Desire to recreate harmony in a disharmonious world.
- Search for roots amidst a sense of rootlessness.
- Boredom of life, melancholy, and anguish.
- Search for solitude and rejection of society.
- Escapism in time and space.
- Love and eroticism, including impossible love.
- Cosmopolitanism and devotion to Paris.
- American themes, including indigenous issues.
- Hispanic themes and historical background.