Modernism: A Literary Revolution

Posted on Oct 13, 2024 in Latin

Concept

Modernism, encompassing various European and American trends emerging in the late 19th century, shares common characteristics:

  • Nonconformity
  • Desire for renewal
  • Opposition to realism and naturalism

Three main interpretations of Modernism exist:

  1. A literary movement between 1885 and 1915, defined by aestheticism and escapism.
  2. A literary era and attitude encompassing diverse manifestations, sometimes marked by aestheticism and escapism (Ricardo Gullón).
  3. A movement breaking with established aesthetics around 1880, extending to World War I (Fernando Lázaro Carreter).

Origins of Modernism

Modernism’s roots are multifaceted:

Historical and Social Roots

Modernism’s nonconformity stemmed from writers’ discontent with the materialistic and utilitarian spirit of late 19th-century European society. They reacted against societal rules and formalities, seeking freedom and individuality. Two main attitudes emerged:

  1. Political rebellion.
  2. Isolation from society.

Literary Roots

Modernism in Latin America arose in newly independent nations, rejecting Spanish literary tradition and embracing other influences, notably French.

French Influence

Two late 19th-century French movements influenced Modernism:

  1. Parnassianism emphasized formal perfection and escapism.
  2. Symbolism sought to transcend sensory reality, exploring deeper meanings and transmitting them to the reader.
Spanish Influence
  1. Bécquer and the Spanish Symbolists
  2. Mester de Clerecía, which popularized the Alexandrine verse.

Modernism is a syncretic art blending three streams: foreign (Parnassianism and Symbolism), American (indigenous literature and traditions), and Hispanic (Bécquer and Mester de Clerecía).

Thematic Modernism

Modernist themes fall into two main categories:

  1. The Literature of the Senses, influenced by Parnassianism’s pursuit of formal perfection and beauty.
  2. The Literature of Intimacy, influenced by Symbolism, expressing the author’s inner feelings, often critical or anxious.

Several recurring themes bridge these categories:

  1. Spiritual Crisis: Feelings of loneliness, melancholy, and sadness led to the exaltation of the irrational and unreal, incorporating passion, fantasy, and mystery. Symbols like “evening,” “fall,” and “park” express these feelings.
  2. Escape: Writers sought refuge from disliked realities through dreams, idealized past worlds, or exotic locales (especially the East).
  3. Cosmopolitanism: The need for escape fostered a devotion to big cities (like Paris) and bohemian life.
  4. Love: Ranging from idealized and unattainable to a vitalistic pursuit of pleasure.
  5. Search for Roots: Hispanic American modernists explored their pre-Columbian past and myths, asserting themselves against Spanish tradition and later, U.S. influence.

Style

Modernist aesthetics aimed to distinguish itself from bourgeois mediocrity through the cultivation of beauty. This aestheticism is characterized by:

  1. Words reflecting multiple sensory values.
  2. Extensive use of tonal resources for musicality.
  3. Enriched lexicon with cultivated words and neologisms.
  4. Abundant, sometimes ornamental, adjectives.
  5. Synesthesia.
  6. Original and dazzling metaphors and imagery.
  7. Use of dodecasyllabic and Alexandrine verses.