Spanish Theater Pre-1936: From Benavente to Lorca

Posted on Sep 30, 2024 in Latin

Spanish Theater Pre-1936

1. The Theater Triumphs

Several genres thrived during this period:

  1. The Bourgeois Comedy

    Jacinto Benavente was the primary representative of this genre. His bold start with “The Alien Nest” addressed the oppressive situation of married women in bourgeois society. While initially controversial, he later gained acceptance with works like “Saturday Night” and “Autumn Roses”. His plays generally align with drawing-room comedy, with the exception of the farce “The Vested Interests”, which draws inspiration from the Commedia dell’Arte. He also explored rural drama, with “Unloved” being his most successful work in this style. Benavente was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1922.

  2. Verse Drama with Contributions of Modernism

    The remnants of post-romantic verse drama from the previous century continued, incorporating elements of Art Nouveau. This style often extolled traditional ideals of nobility and historical events. Notable authors include:

    • Francisco Villaespesa, with dramas like “The Citadel of Pearls”, “Doña María de Padilla”, and “The Lioness of Castile”.
    • Eduardo Marquina, known for historical dramas such as “The Daughters of the Cid”, “In Flanders The Sun Has Set”, and “Teresa of Jesus”.
    • The Machado brothers, who drew inspiration from historical figures in “Juan de Manara” and explored more modern themes in “The Lola is Going to Ports”.

  3. Comic Theater with a Predominance of Manners

    Two genres achieved significant success: the comedy of manners and farce. The género chico, featuring short, light-hearted plays like “La Verbena de la Paloma” or “Rebellious”, also gained popularity.

    • The Alvarez Quintero brothers brought a topical Andalusia to the stage, focusing on sentimental themes in works like “El Patio”, “The Gay Genius”, and “Cain”.
    • Carlos Arniches initially presented sketches of Madrid life in plays like “The Saint of the Isidra”, “The Girl’s Cat”, and “Don Quintin, the Amargao”. He also explored grotesque tragedy, blending humor and pathos, most notably in “Mademoiselle de Trévelez”.
    • Pedro Muñoz Seca achieved widespread success with the slapstick comedy genre, exemplified by his play “Don Mendo’s Revenge”.

  4. Innovative Theater with Valle-Inclán and Lorca

    This type of theater often faced challenges in gaining acceptance. Notable figures include:

    • Miguel de Unamuno, who wrote philosophical dramas like “Phaedra” and “Other”.
    • Azorín, who explored unreal and symbolic themes in his plays.
    • Jacinto Grau, whose unique, dense, and elaborate theater found more success in Paris, London, and Berlin than in Spain. His works include “The Count Alarcos”, “Don Juan de Cariyana”, “The Trickster is Not Mocked”, and his masterpiece “The Lord of Pygmalion”.
    • Ramón Gómez de la Serna, whose plays, such as “Utopia” and “Labyrinth”, largely remained unperformed.

2. The Generation of ’27 in Theater

Three key factors shaped the theatrical grammar of this generation:

  • A move away from poetic drama.
  • The incorporation of avant-garde artistic forms.
  • A focus on bringing theater to the people (particularly evident in Lorca’s work).

Key Playwrights of the Generation of ’27

  • Pedro Salinas: Known for longer plays like “Judith and the Tyrant” and “Dictator”, as well as twelve short plays, including the renowned “The Head of the Medusa”.
  • Rafael Alberti: Before the Spanish Civil War, he premiered two contrasting works: the surrealist “The Man Deserted” and the politically engaged “Fermín Galán”. After the war, he continued to explore political theater, albeit with less freedom, as seen in “Night of War in the Prado Museum”. In exile, he wrote “The Eyesore” and “Graceful”, which are notable for their poetic qualities.
  • Miguel Hernandez: He wrote a mystery play, “Who Has Seen and Who Sees You”, and a social drama, “The Farmer of More Air”.
  • Alejandro Casona: A playwright known for his pure and lyrical style. He gained recognition with the Lope de Vega Prize for his play “La Sirena Varada”. His success continued with works like “Again the Devil 2”, “The Boat Without a Fisherman”, “Trees Die Standing”, and especially “The Lady of the Dawn”. Casona excelled in his ability to construct balanced narratives that blended reality and fantasy.
  • Max Aub: He wrote comedies that often proved unsuitable for mainstream Spanish theaters. His central theme revolved around humanity’s inability to understand. His extensive body of work includes the long play “Narcissus” and shorter pieces like “A Bottle”, “Exiles”, and “Dying to Close Their Eyes”.

3. Valle-Inclán

Life and Career:

Valle-Inclán’s life was marked by unconventional choices and a strong anti-bourgeois stance. He initially pursued law but abandoned it for a bohemian life in Madrid. He worked as a war correspondent, held a brief professorship, and eventually became the director of the Spanish Academy in Rome. His literary career was prolific and diverse, spanning novels, short stories, plays, and poetry. He evolved from an elegant modernist style to a grotesque distortion of reality, often infused with social criticism.

Literary Periods:

  • Early Works and the Sonatas: His early works, including “Women”, showcased French and Italian influences. His breakthrough came with the “Sonatas”, a series of four novels (“Autumn Sonata”, “Summer Sonata”, “Spring Sonata”, and “Winter Sonata”) presented as the memoirs of the Marquis de Bradomín.
  • Between the Sonatas and the Esperpentos: He began the cycle of “barbarian” plays with “Eagle Blazon”, “Romance de Lobos”, and “Face of Silver”, set in a rural Galician environment populated by eccentric and violent characters. He also wrote a trilogy of novels about the Carlist War (“The Crusaders of the Cause”, “The Glow of the Fire”, and “Gyrs Old”) and explored poetry with modernist influences in “Aromas of Legend” and suburban themes in “Kif Pipe”.
  • The Time of the Esperpentos: In 1920, he published four plays: “Farce of the Italian Love of the King”, “Farce and Rodeo is Licensed by the Queen”, “Divinas Palabras”, and “Luces de Bohemia”. “Luces de Bohemia” was the first play he labeled as an esperpento, a term he coined to describe a grotesque and absurd aesthetic that blended tragedy and burlesque. He continued to develop this style in “The Horns of Don Friolera”, “Galas Deceased”, and “The Captain’s Daughter”, later collected as “Mardi Gras”. These plays featured marginalized characters and a distorted language that reflected a cynical view of reality.
  • Later Novels and the Esperpentic Style: His later novels, such as “Tirano Banderas” (considered one of the most important Spanish novels of the 20th century) and “The Iberian Circle” (comprising “The Court of Miracles”, “Let My Master”, and “Baza of Swords”), continued to explore the esperpentic style with a critical and grotesque lens.

Valle-Inclán’s Theatrical Legacy:

Valle-Inclán’s esperpentos were initially considered unstageable due to their unconventional nature. However, modern theatrical approaches have demonstrated their dramatic potential. His innovative vision pushed the boundaries of theatrical conventions and continues to influence contemporary theater.

4. Federico García Lorca

The Theater of Lorca:

Lorca’s plays delve into the conflict between reality and desire, exploring tragic fates, passions doomed to loneliness or death, and love marked by infertility. Women often play central roles in his works. His characters grapple with metaphysical struggles against time and death, as well as social prejudices. Lorca also drew inspiration from classical myths.

Lorca’s Theatrical Ideas:

Lorca expressed disdain for traditional verse drama and historical genres, favoring popular forms like vaudeville and puppet theater. His theater possesses a human dimension, blending aesthetics, poetry, and reality. He drew inspiration from diverse sources, including Spanish classics (Lope de Rueda, Lope de Vega, Calderón), puppetry, Greek tragedies, and Shakespearean dramas. This eclectic approach resulted in a wide range of theatrical styles, from farce and puppet shows to symbolist drama, tragedy, and even surrealist plays. He utilized both verse and prose, with his early plays primarily in verse and his later works, like “The House of Bernarda Alba”, predominantly in prose. His language is characterized by vivid imagery, symbolism, metaphors, and comparisons.

Evolution of Lorca’s Theater:

  • Early Experiments (1920s): He began with the symbolist play “The Curse of the Butterfly” and then composed several short puppet plays, including “The BlackJack Puppets”. His first success came with “Maria Pineda”, followed by “The Shoemaker’s Prodigious Wife” and “The Love of Don Perlimplín and Belisa in the Garden”.
  • Avant-Garde Experiments (Early 1930s): A personal crisis and growing skepticism led Lorca to explore new creative avenues. This period saw the emergence of his “impossible comedies” or “mysteries”, such as “The Public” and “Thus Five Years Pass”, which reflected his inner conflicts and obsessions.
  • Fullness of Later Years: Lorca sought to combine aesthetic rigor with popular appeal during this period, coinciding with his involvement in “La Barraca”, a traveling theater group. He wrote two tragedies (“Blood Wedding”, “Yerma”), two dramas (“Doña Rosita the Spinster”, “The House of Bernarda Alba”), and an unfinished comedy. Women often occupy central positions in these plays, representing marginalized figures alongside children, gypsies, and black people.

Lorca’s theatrical legacy lies in his ability to blend poetic language, powerful imagery, and social commentary to create deeply moving and enduring works that continue to resonate with audiences today.