Spanish Neoclassical Literature: Reason, Rules & Key Authors
Neoclassicism: Reason and Rules in Literature
Neoclassicism considered Greek and Latin writers as role models. It represented a return to Greco-Roman classics, which is the origin of the term ‘neo-classicism’. Neoclassicism gave preference to reason over feelings and imposed rules to which literary works must conform. As a result, lyrical production was largely abandoned. It rejected the imaginative and fantastic, as writing was intended not to educate, but to entertain. Neoclassical literature has
Read MoreQuevedo’s El Buscón: Picaresque Masterpiece
Quevedo’s El Buscón
El Buscón: The life of a con man named Don Pablos was first printed in 1626. It was a great success. Quevedo tested his pen as a writer within the genre of the picaresque novel, but rather than simply following generic models, he wrote a very original text.
Influences and Structure
El Lazarillo provides the overall structure of the work. It coincides with both novels (Lazarillo and Guzmán de Alfarache) in its epistolary form and features the protagonist’s zeal for social mobility,
Read MoreRomanticism and Modernism in Literature
Romanticism
After the Napoleonic War (War of Independence), many romantics had to go into exile. But with the death of Fernando VII, Romanticism was officially proclaimed in Spain, influencing Romantic writers. Spanish Romanticism drew from English sources (more auditory and externalizing) and German sources (more intimate and spiritualized).
General Issues
- The Romantic spirit suffers from the limitations imposed by the outside world on its desires, living in a constant feeling of incompleteness and
Spanish Literary Forms: Novel, Ballads, Coplas
The Novel: Emergence of a Genre
Prosecuting the facts critically, delving into causes, and addressing the psychological level of character finally animates the story with dialogues and epistles. A new literary genre, the novel, emerges in the 14th century, linked to the degeneration of the epic and the decline of feudal society due to the rise of the bourgeoisie.
Early Forms: Adventure and Chivalry
The first manifestations include:
- The Adventure Story: This involves the feeling of love and action found
Renaissance Novels: Byzantine, Pastoral, and More
Byzantine Novel
The discovery of Ethiopian texts and early translations provided a model for a new subgenre of Greek adventure novels during the Renaissance: the Byzantine romance or adventure.
History
The Byzantine novel typically features a young, beautiful, and chaste couple in love who are separated and ultimately reunited. The narrative is structured around a journey, which represents the protagonists’ confrontation with themselves and the world. They overcome challenges with divine grace.
During
Read MoreSpanish Novelists: Unamuno, Baroja, Azorín & Generation of 98
Spanish Novelists of the Generation of 98
Miguel de Unamuno (1864-1936)
A man uprooted, possessing a very strong personality with intense intellectual activity. His work addressed existential and spiritual problems and the issue of Spain.
Key Themes and Style
- The Problem of Spain: Reflected in his essays (e.g., Sobre el casticismo, 1895).
- The “Tragic Sense of Life”: Explored the anguish of human existence. Life for his characters is a constant struggle; they are agonizing personages.
- Novelistic Renewal: