Periods of Catalan Literature and Theater
Catalan Baroque Theater
The baroque comedy strengthened l’espectacularitat.
Francesc Fontanella: author of the most innovative Catalan Baroque theater. His most important works are Tragicomèdia d’amor pastoral and Fermesa per força, offset by a prose work that idealized one world of burlesque to another. His work in verse, Lo desengany, shows shepherds solving their loving disappointments by contemplating a farce that represents the mythological marriage of Venus and Vulcan, a clear example of theater within theater.
The Enlightenment and Neoclassicism
The philosophical and scientific movement s’expandeix throughout Europe. It was a rationalist movement, elaborating a totalizing vision of knowledge. The Enlightenment provided a range of values that endure today:
- Concepts of freedom, tolerance, and social progress.
- Application of empirical methods d’investigació and critical sense.
- The theory of separation of powers.
- Social contract theory.
- Extension of education as a necessary step for the advancement of society.
Montesquieu, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Voltaire are the most representative thinkers of the Enlightenment. The consolidation of the Enlightenment is reflected in the artistic movement Neoclassicisme. Aquest recovered the great classical ideal. The disclosure of erudite thought, criticism, and teaching had a strong presence in neoclassical literature. In England, there was an unprecedented success of the novel.
Catalan Prose in the Enlightenment
The illustrated attached great importance to l’educació.
Baldiri Reixac issued Instruccions per a l’ensenyament de minyons, a treaty in the history of pedagogy. It makes innovative proposals on how to teach practical skills within the education of children in a school environment. It is a work of great literary value.
Rafael Amat Baró de Maldà wrote Calaix de sastre, the largest work of any modern l’Edat, comprising sixty volumes. It is a story written from the perspective of a wealthy aristocrat, but some fragments were intended to be read aloud. Calaix de sastre is of great documentary interest.
Neoclassical Theater
Joan Ramis: Author of the tragedy Lucrècia. This work shows containment of emotions, an ethical missatge, and good taste. It tells the story of Lucretia, a Roman lady outraged by the king. To defend her honor, she stabs herself with a dagger. After her husband removes the dagger, he rises against the monarchy, which ends with its downfall. The play deals with honesty and defending the common good. The work, written in Alexandrine verse, follows the rule of three units (time, place, action).
Modern Popular Literature
Oral transmission is anonymous. We can access it thanks to the writers and philologists of the nineteenth century who devoted themselves to writing down romances in Catalan, collecting romances and other songs directly from the voice of the people. Some songs have become legends, like the account of Arnau.
Catalan romance: contains a variety of songs and poems. Love songs are one of the most prominent popular topics; there are also faithful accounts of impossible loves.
Popular Theater
L’Església promoted a religious drama that was represented on the occasion of major religious festivals. These works had a didactic function. This religious drama was soon adopted by the people as the most obvious displays of popular representation, which meant that it lasted throughout modern l’Edat.
Highlights:
- The Song of the Sibyl: a musical monologue where the Sibylla announces Doomsday.
- Misteri d’Elx: a musical drama that represents l’Assumpció (the Assumption) and Death of the Virgin Mary to heaven.
As for profane popular theater, it included l’entremès or comedy sketches, a dramatic piece d’un acte of comic or burlesque character with stereotypical characters. Its purpose was to entertain with colloquial and direct language.