Generation of ’98: Literature, Themes, and Key Authors
Generation of ’98
Test
Members of the Generation of ’98 demonstrated a shared concern for the present and future of Spain. Their initial critical and radical regenerationism gradually became more moderate. They sought to exalt the native landscape, particularly that of Castile.
Angel Ganivet
Considered a precursor to the group, Ganivet, in his Spanish Idearium, argued that Spain had consistently wasted its energies on endeavors beyond its borders. He believed that regeneration required focusing these forces inward. He attributed Spain’s cultural backwardness to apathy, individualism, and an undisciplined spirit.
Ramiro de Maeztu
Maeztu’s views evolved from the socialism of his youth to conservatism in his later years. In Toward Another Spain, he asserted that sloth and laziness were the root causes of the national disaster. He portrayed Don Quixote, Don Juan, and Celestina as symbols of national decline due to their selfishness. In Defense of Hispanidad, he embraced traditional principles, identifying being Hispanic with Catholicism.
José Martínez Ruiz ‘Azorín’
Azorín’s work comprises articles on the Spanish landscape, literary criticism, and political reflection. In works like The Villages, The Route of Don Quixote, and Castile, he attempted to capture the essence of the landscape and the nuances of everyday life. His political and literary articles reflected a shift from his initial anarchism (Anarchist Literature) to a more measured tone in his maturity (Classic and Modern, The Margin of the Classics).
Pío Baroja
Baroja’s essays and memoirs, such as The New Harlequin’s Table and Youth and Egotism, outlined his political and social views. He described himself as a radical liberal, individualist, and anarchist. He rejected political dogma and expressed skepticism towards the democratic system, believing that reason resided not with the majority but with the most intelligent. In Lonely Hours and Notes of a Trainee Psychologist, he discussed his aesthetic, rejecting empty rhetoric and advocating for spontaneity and creative freedom over rigid precepts.
Unamuno
Miguel de Unamuno, arguably the generation’s most prominent essayist, explored two recurring themes: the problem of Spain and existential angst.
The first theme is evident in essays like On Spanish Purism, where he criticizes crippling purism and advocates for Europeanization. However, these ideas were soon challenged. In Life of Don Quixote and Sancho, he used Cervantes’ work to defend a quixotic approach to life and championed the need for a more Spanish Europe. On the Land of Portugal and Spanish Visions and Wanderings highlight the essence of Spain through its landscape.
Unamuno’s existential and religious conflicts are explored in The Tragic Sense of Life, which examines the struggle between reason and faith, and The Agony of Christianity, which argues that true religion lies in doubt, with “agony” understood in its etymological sense of struggle.
Poetry
Poetry of this era encompassed both aesthetic concerns and social and existential themes. Unamuno rejected the preciousness of modernism. His poetry is characterized by the strength of his ideas and the depth of his feelings. He explored existential themes such as God, time, death, pain, nostalgia for Spain from exile, and the Castilian landscape. Notable works include: Poems, Rosario’s Lyric Sonnet, The Christ of Velázquez, Ballads, and Song of Exile.
Antonio Machado (1875-1939)
Born in Seville, Machado studied in Madrid at the Free Institution of Education. He met Rubén Darío in Paris and worked as a French professor in Soria, where he married Leonor, sixteen years his junior, in 1909. Three years later, Leonor died, and Machado moved to Andalusia. During the Spanish Civil War, he sided with the Republican Alliance and went into exile in 1939, dying in Collioure, France.
His first book of poems, Solitudes (1903), can be categorized as modernist. Some of its features include:
- Themes such as the anguish of time’s passage, death, sleep, and memory.
- Symbols like the road (representing life and the passage of time), dreams (expressing the depths of consciousness), and running water (illustrated by the spring, symbolizing the monotony of life, ephemerality, and death).
- Dialogue between the poet and himself, the landscape, and others (splitting of his personality).
- Modernist poetic language and metrics (heroic verse, heptasyllabic verse, and silva arromanzada).
Solitudes, Galleries, and Other Poems (1907) builds upon the previous book but incorporates innovations. In “Solitudes,” formal aspects of modernism are removed. The poems in “Galleries” are known for their symbolism, exploring the poet’s inner self and feelings. “Other Poems” begins to look at the external world, featuring descriptive poems like “On the Banks of the Duero,” marking a new stage in his poetry.
Campos de Castilla (1912-1917) is Machado’s work most aligned with the concerns of the Generation of ’98. It features poems about the Castilian and Andalusian landscapes, many related to Soria, where he lived and worked. Patriotic poems reflect on Spain’s past, present, and future (To a Young Spain). Landscape is a central theme, depicted with realism and subjectivity, projecting Machado’s feelings onto the scenery. The enigmas of man, faith, God, death, and the afterlife are also explored.
Campos de Castilla also includes “Praises” (homage to influential authors), “Proverbs and Songs” (philosophical reflections), and the extensive ballad “The Land of Alvargonzález” (on the theme of envy). Later works include New Songs, Songs to Guiomar, Poetry of War (featuring the poignant elegy for Lorca, The Crime Was in Granada), and Juan de Mairena (discussions and dialogues on various topics).
Theatre
During the early 20th century, Spanish theatre saw the rise of:
- Verse drama: Linked to modernism, it took two forms: rural drama and historical drama. This type of theatre ignored the socio-political reality of the country, focusing on past national ideals. Representatives include Eduardo Marquina (The Daughters of El Cid, In Flanders Has Been the Sun), Francisco Villaespesa (Doña María de Padilla), and the Machado brothers (Juan de Mañara, La Lola is Going to the Ports).
- Theatre of humor: Farces by Carlos Arniches (Flower District) and the Álvarez Quintero brothers (The Darling Genius, The Happy Genius) continued to be popular. They idealized Madrid and Andalusian society, respectively, with characters reflecting regional strengths and weaknesses. Arniches later explored a blend of tragedy and comedy (Miss Trevelez, The Caciques), a path followed by Jardiel Poncela with intellectual humor (Heloise is Under an Almond Tree, Four Hearts with Brake and Reverse Gear) and Miguel Mihura, a precursor to the Theatre of the Absurd (Three Hats).
- “High comedy”: Jacinto Benavente’s early work (Outside the Nest, The Wrongly Loved Woman) aimed to break with the melodramatic tradition of the 19th century. He became a prominent figure in “high comedy,” aiming to entertain and gently satirize the bourgeoisie (Famous People, Roses Fall, Butterfly Flying Over the Sea). His masterpiece, The Vested Interests, incorporates characters from the Italian commedia dell’arte (Colombina, Harlequin, Punchinello), contrasting true love with economic interests.
Modernist innovators among the Generation of ’98 authors include:
- Miguel de Unamuno: His dramas, like his novels and poems, symbolically address existential conflict. They feature minimal scenic ornamentation and precise dimensions to deepen characterization. Language is direct and unadorned. Works include: Phaedra, The Other Brother John, Shadows of Sleep.
- José Martínez Ruiz, Azorín: His plays reflect his preoccupation with the passage of time and emphasize language. Notable works include: The Invisible, Angelita.
- Jacinto Grau: He sought to revitalize contemporary theatre, which he criticized for being commercial (Lord of Pygmalion). He later employed expressionist and symbolic techniques (The Woman Knight, The Beautiful Lady, The Devil’s House).
- Ramón María del Valle-Inclán: A major innovator of Spanish theatre, he rejected bourgeois realism. Francisco Ruiz Ramón divides his work into mythical, farcical, and grotesque cycles.
- Mythical cycle: Includes Barbarian Comedies, The Haunted, and Divine Words. The Barbarian Comedies (Eagle’s Flag, Romance of the Wolves, Silver Face) are set in an archaic and superstitious Galicia, featuring morally ambiguous and sacrilegious characters.
- Farcical cycle: Includes Farsa infantil de la cabeza del dragón, La Marquesa Rosalinda, Italian Farce in Love with the King, and Farce and License of the Castiza Queen. This stage demystifies traditional society with increasingly grotesque language.
- Esperpento cycle: This aesthetic emphasizes the grotesque, drawing on the Spanish tradition of Quevedo and Goya. Through absurdity, Valle-Inclán critiques Spain and its institutions. He distorts reality and characters, treating them like puppets through animalization and reification. He mixes refined language with vulgar expressions and jargon. Irony and satire are prominent. This cycle includes Bohemian Lights, which theorizes about the esperpento genre and critiques contemporary Spain. It is followed by Martes de Carnaval (The Horns of Don Friolera, Deceased Galas, and The Captain’s Daughter).
Conclusion
The Generation of ’98 embraced aspects of modernism, such as the renewal of language and impressionistic descriptions. They reacted against the “vulgar style” of realism and incorporated elements of naturalism (Baroja), German thought (Unamuno), and romanticism (Azorín).