Catalan Literature After the Spanish Civil War: Authors & Themes
Catalan Literature After the Spanish Civil War
The political changes that began in 1939 aimed to replace all minority languages, including Catalan, with Castilian Spanish. The public use and official teaching of Catalan were banned, forcing intellectuals into exile. Some died, but most returned after 1939. Novels in Catalan slowly reappeared, though censorship continued. Works published until the early 1960s often avoided direct depictions of reality, using symbolism and myth. In the Valencian region,
Read MoreGarcilaso de la Vega and Fray Luis de León: Renaissance Poets
Garcilaso de la Vega
Garcilaso de la Vega is the poet who best embodies the new style of poetry in the Renaissance. Born in Toledo in 1501, he was a nobleman skilled in both arms and letters.
He served Emperor Charles I, which led him to travel as a diplomat and participate in various military campaigns. The inspiration for his poetry was not his wife, Elena de Zúñiga, whom he married in 1525, but a Portuguese lady named Isabel Freire. The emperor banished him to an island in the Danube, from where
Read MoreSpanish Literature: 15th & 16th Century Authors & Culture
15th Century Literature
Authors
Authors: Juan Mena, Marqués de Santillana, Jorge Manrique. The poems are collected in cancioneros. Romances develop.
15th Century Culture
The printing press was invented, an important fact for the laity’s access to literature.
Humanism
Resurgence of studies of the history of grammar and literature of Greek and Latin classics.
Jorge Manrique (1440-1479)
Knight who took active part in the civil wars of his time. He wrote love poetry, following the trend of the songbooks, and
Read MoreFray Luis de León: Life, Work, and Christian Humanism
Fray Luis de León (1527-1591)
Life
Born in Belmonte in 1527, Fray Luis de León lived in Madrid from 1533. At 14, he went to Salamanca and entered the Augustinian order, studying at the university. At age 32, he was entrusted with his first chair, and performed later after two. The rivalry between the orders, especially with the Dominicans, whose prominence Fray Luis was challenging, led to an inquisitorial process in 1572. He was accused of defending the Hebrew text of the Old Testament against
Read MoreSpanish Theater: Civil War’s Impact and Postwar Evolution
Drama From the Civil War: A Theatrical Evolution
The evolution of Spanish theater was significantly shaped by the Civil War and its tragic consequences. Various artistic guidelines developed in the area, and the national Republican scene was marked by the exile of figures like Max Aub and Rafael Alberti, as well as the deaths of Federico García Lorca and Ramón del Valle-Inclán.
Postwar Theater: Nationalistic and Bourgeois
The postwar era was dominated by a national theater serving the dictatorship.
Read MoreSpanish Literature of the Early 20th Century
1. Spanish Historical Context
The nineteenth century ended with the Disaster of ’98 (Spain lost its overseas colonies—Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines—through military defeat by the U.S.). This period of tension, marked by poor living conditions and scientific and technological backwardness, prompted intellectuals to modernize Spain. This eagerness for modernization is reflected in the works of many authors. In 1902, Alfonso XIII came to power, supporting the coup of Primo de Rivera, which
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