Spanish Literature 1940-1970: Poetry, Narrative, and Theater
Spanish Literature (1940-1970)
Poetry (1940-1970)
The Lyric (1940-1970)
Deeply influenced by Spain’s historical context, this period saw the rise of prominent poets like Miguel Hernández. Considered one of the best poets of the 20th century, Hernández’s work includes Experts on Moons, The Ray that Continues (sonnets on tragic love), Wind of the People and The Man Lurking (social and civic poetry), and Songs and Ballads of Absence (loss and grief).
The Forties
- Garcilaso (1943-1946): Imitating Garcilaso de la Vega’s style, this magazine sought well-made, rooted poetry with an optimistic worldview. Key figures include José García Nieto, Leopoldo Panero, Luis Felipe Vivanco, Luis Rosales, and Dionisio Ridruejo. Themes include love, landscapes, and religious sentiment.
- Espadaña (1944-1951): A response to Garcilaso, this magazine featured uprooted poetry focused on the human condition in a classic, simple style. Key figures include Victoriano Crémer, Ángela Figuera, Leopoldo de Luis, Gabriel Celaya, and Blas de Otero. Existential themes of distress, time, and death are explored.
- Cántico (1947-1949 & 1954-1957): Focused on pure poetry, this magazine, named after Jorge Guillén’s work, was influenced by Luis Cernuda’s intimacy and refinement. Pablo García Baena, its main representative, explored themes of love and a struggle between pagan sensibility and religious spirit.
- Postismo: This movement embraced irrationality and humor, challenging conventional aesthetics.
Social Poetry
A shift from the individual to the collective emerged. In 1955, Gabriel Celaya published Cantos Iberos and Blas de Otero published I Pray for Peace and the Word. José Hierro also began writing during this time. Rejecting aestheticism, poets embraced social commitment and clear expression.
The Generation of the Fifties
Poets like Ángel González, José Ángel Valente, Francisco Brines, and Jaime Gil renewed the poetic landscape. Focusing on human concerns and intimacy, their poetry was individualistic and skeptical, reacting against social poetry.
Narrative (1940-1970)
The 1940s were marked by disorientation, with pre-war works suppressed and exiled authors unknown. Despite this, the narrative genre was reborn with authors like Miguel Delibes, Camilo José Cela, and Carmen Laforet. The “tremendismo” style, focusing on brutal and wretched aspects of life, emerged with Cela’s The Family of Pascual Duarte and was imitated by Delibes and Ana María Matute. Cela’s The Hive marked the start of objective realism, presenting Spanish reality through a detached, cinematic lens. This trend included authors like Ignacio Aldecoa, Jesús Fernández Santos, and Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio. Others, like Juan García Hortelano and Manuel Caballero Bonald, employed critical realism. 1962, with the publication of Time of Silence and The City and the Dogs, marked a shift from social realism. This change was driven by a reader fatigue with social narratives, a renewed focus on critical perspectives, and the influence of exiled writers. This new stage involved changes in narrative elements: action, characters, dialogue, structure, point of view, and descriptions.
Theater (1940-1970)
Theater faced a general crisis due to censorship, a shortage of authors, and audience resistance to innovation.
Triumphant Theater
Continuing pre-Civil War themes, playwrights like Juan Ignacio Luca de Tena, Claudio de la Torre, and Joaquín Calvo Sotelo focused on high comedy and historical drama with witty dialogue, without significant innovation.
Humor Theater
Enrique Jardiel Poncela and Miguel Mihura were prominent figures. Jardiel Poncela created absurd situations, while Mihura’s Three Top Hats, with its critical undertones, faced censorship until 1952.
Committed Theater
Antonio Buero Vallejo’s The Story of a Staircase sparked debate. Buero Vallejo advocated for “possibilism,” a critical but cautious approach, focusing on ethical and tragic themes. Alfonso Sastre, on the other hand, championed “impossibilism,” urging authors to express themselves freely, exploring the human condition.
Realistic Generation
Playwrights like Lauro Olmo and José Martín Recuerda addressed social injustice with violent and direct language.
Theater in the Last Decades
Fernando Arrabal’s Picnic on the Battlefield, Francisco Nieva’s Snow Falls in a Rage, and Miguel Romero Esteo’s literary theater pushed boundaries and experimented with form and content.