Understanding the Generation of ’98 and ’27 in Spanish Literature
Generation of ’98
A group of writers who emerged due to two circumstances: the current political, economic, and moral state of Spain, and the depletion of narrative forms of the realistic movement. They preferred prose, particularly the novel and the essay, as the prevailing genres that expressed their concerns about the makeshift political and social life.
Key Themes:
– The concern for Spain, focusing on the Spanish soul in three ways:
– The landscape, which reflected the austerity of its inhabitants.
– History, where past life is rescued from the perspective of the common man, referred to by Unamuno as ‘intrahistory.’
– The existential concern: the meaning of life, religion, and doubts are issues that often appear in their works.
Miguel de Unamuno: His novels, such as Nivola, explore the spiritual and psychological complexities of their protagonists, with notable works including Fog and San Manuel Bueno, Martyr.
Pio Baroja: He divides his novels into two groups:
– Novels of thought, where philosophical ideas are outlined (e.g., The Tree of Science).
– Action novels, which satisfy the taste for adventurous characters (e.g., Zalacain the Adventurer and Shanti Andia). His prose is notable for its fast pace, avoiding rhetoric and cultured language.
Ramon Maria del Valle-Inclan: He is considered the most nondescript and original writer of the period, known for his work as both a novelist and playwright.
Generation of ’27
This generation represents the avant-garde movements or isms that emerged in Europe between the two world wars. These movements aimed to break with ancient culture and propose a new, modern, and original art and literature. Key movements include:
– Cubism
– Futurism
– Dadaism
– Expressionism
– Surrealism
The Avant-Garde in Spain
The main diffuser of these movements was Ramon Gomez de la Serna. In Spain, there are two movements:
– Creation, where absolute freedom of artistic creation is the fundamental element of Ultraism, which also incorporates futuristic themes in poems dedicated to the technical advances of modern life.
Analysis of Juxtaposed and Coordinated Sentences
To analyze a complex sentence, follow these steps:
– Locate the various verbal forms of the sentence.
– Search for subjects and predicates.
– Analyze the elements of each clause.
– Observe the syntactic relationship between the sentences, determining if they are independent or dependent.
– In independent clauses, verify the presence or absence of conjunctions.
– In compound sentences by coordination, verify the nature of the coordinating conjunction.
The Substantive Subject
Subordinate substantive propositions behave in a complex sentence as a noun and perform the functions of a noun.
Nexos that Introduce Subordinate Clauses
Subordinate substantive clauses can be introduced by:
– Conjunctions such as ‘and’ or ‘if’.
– An interrogative pronoun (what, who, which) or an interrogative adverb (how, when, where).
– They may also occur without a substantive nexus with the subordinate infinitive verb that is accompanied by supplements.
Functions of Subordinate Clauses
Subordinate substantive propositions can perform the same functions as a noun: subject, attribute, direct object, complement of a system, completion of a name, full complement of an adjective, and adverb.