Modernism and the Tumultuous 20th Century
The 20th Century: War, Culture, and Modernism
World War I: A Destructive Catalyst
The early 20th century marked a period of profound change, driven significantly by World War I. This historical event, particularly destructive, focused industrial efforts on weapon production. WWI served as the initial shock that ushered in the 20th century. Its brutality was immense, involving numerous countries and leading to the massive destruction of young lives. For instance, The Battle of the Somme (1916) saw
Read MoreLiterary Modernism: Defining a Revolutionary Movement
Literary modernism, or modernist Literature, was a literary movement which has its origins in the late 19th and Early 20th centuries, mainly in Europe and North America. It is characterized By a self-conscious break with traditional ways of writing, in both poetry and Prose fiction. Modernists experimented with literary form and expression, and The literary movement was driven by a conscious desire to overturn traditional Modes of representation and express the new sensibilities of their time.
Modernism
Read MoreSpanish Literature Post-Civil War: Trends and Authors
Society and Culture in Post-War Spain
Franco’s regime had significant consequences that conditioned cultural activity in Spain. The early postwar years were marked by a break with previous trends, exile, and rigid censorship.
Since the late 1950s and 1960s, important changes occurred. Internal migration from rural areas to cities, mass emigration of Spaniards, and increased tourism fostered economic development and modernization. These shifts gave rise to critical cultural activities.
Since the seventies,
Read MoreMid-20th Century Literary Styles and Art Movements
Novelistic Trends in the 1940s
In the 1940s, novelists sought new forms of expression, leading to the emergence of diverse literary trends:
The Triumphant Novel
The Triumphant Novel defended the new political circumstances in the country. It upheld traditional values (God, Country, Family) and justified the Civil War and its consequences, often blaming the losing side. An example is Agustín de Foxá’s Madrid, de Corte a Checa.
The Psychological Novel
The Psychological Novel focused on the analysis of
Spanish Post-War Novel: Literary Trends of the 1940s and 1950s
Spanish Post-War Novel: The 1940s
After the Spanish Civil War, many writers went into exile, while others died or remained in Spain. This period resulted in the impoverishment of the Spanish literary world. Authors who had to leave Spain at the end of the Civil War continued to write in other countries. They moved away from intellectualized narratives, returning to human and ethical issues. In their works, they spoke of the experience of war and the longing for the lost homeland.
Some notable novelists
Read MoreUnderstanding Whitman’s ‘Song of Myself’ and Williams’ ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’
Song of Myself
Whitman’s grand poem is, in its way, an American epic. Beginning in medias res—in the middle of the poet’s life—it loosely follows a quest pattern. “Missing me one place, search another,” he tells his reader, “I stop somewhere waiting for you.” In its catalogues of American life and its constant search for the boundaries of the self, “Song of Myself” has much in common with classical epic.
While “Song of Myself” is crammed with significant detail, there are three key episodes that