Modernism in Spain: A Literary Revolution
Modernism in Spain
Historical Context
Spain declared war on the USA in 1898, losing Cuba, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico. This disaster led to a generational crisis and the dictatorship of General Primo de Rivera (1923). The Second Republic was proclaimed in 1931. Economic crisis and unemployment led to the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).
Spain experienced late population growth in Europe, a new middle class, and industrial development. The labor movement developed, linked to anarchism and socialism.
Literary Influences
Two poetic movements from France influenced Spanish Modernism:
- Parnassianism: A reaction against Romanticism’s subjectivity and emotionality. Key authors included Théophile Gautier, Leconte de Lisle, and Théodore de Banville. They advocated “art for art’s sake,” objective poetry, clear imagery, and careful construction. Thematically, Parnassianism evoked old cultures and erotic environments.
- Symbolism: Beginning in the 1870s, Symbolism sought a new poetic language. It aimed to replace reality with subjective experience, offering a different perspective. Key authors included Baudelaire, Verlaine, Mallarmé, and Rimbaud.
Modernism in Latin America
Modernism emerged as a subversive force in Latin America, resisting bourgeois commercialism. It represented a shift in literary taste, rebelling against materialism, imperialism, and the utilitarian. The bohemian lifestyle of artists mirrored fin de siècle Paris. Modernists drew inspiration from French Symbolism and Parnassianism.
Characteristics of Modernism
- Experimentation: Modernists emphasized experimentation with language and literary forms.
- Evasion, Exoticism, and Cosmopolitanism: Modernism embraced escapism, seeking a universal perspective. Poets looked to the past (medieval, Renaissance, 18th century) and to distant lands. Exoticism represented aesthetic desires and ideals unattainable in reality. Cosmopolitanism reflected the need for escape while reaffirming Hispanic identity.
- Renewal of Poetic Language and Versification: Modernists enriched language with foreign words, Americanisms, archaisms, and neologisms. They used conversational style and sought impressionistic effects through synesthesia, chromatic nuances, and musicality.
- Metric Innovation: Modernists recovered old forms like the classic hexameter and experimented with new meters, free verse, and prose poetry.
Modernism in Spain
Rubén Darío’s second visit to Madrid in 1899 triggered Modernism in Spain. It had a limited duration, evolving into Decadentism. Key figures who began in Modernism include Antonio Machado and Juan Ramón Jiménez. Machado was influenced by Rubén Darío and Ramón María del Valle-Inclán.
Rubén Darío
Born Félix Rubén García Sarmiento in Metapa, Nicaragua, Rubén Darío combined literary activity with journalism. He traveled to Chile, Argentina, and Spain, where he met writers like Valle-Inclán and Juan Ramón Jiménez. He died in León.
Darío’s literature pursued novelty through an aesthetic break with previous approaches.
- Azul… (1888): This work, combining verse and prose, reflects Modernist themes and developments.
- Cantos de vida y esperanza: This work employs a more personal, intimate, and philosophical tone, reflecting on the passage of time, loss of youth, and the meaning of existence. It also reaffirms Hispanic culture and suggests unity against American imperialism.