Azorín, Benavente, and Inclán: Key Works and Literary Styles
Azorín: Breaking with Tradition
Azorín (José Martínez Ruiz) from Monóvar, Alicante, initially studied law at the University of Valencia but transitioned to journalism. He lived in Paris during the Civil War and died in Madrid. Azorín’s works broke with the 19th-century conception of the novel, emphasizing stopped motion and time. His narrative style involved a thorough analysis of perception, highlighting factors that freeze time and capture the feeling of the moment. His early works reflect
Read MoreRamón del Valle-Inclán and Federico García Lorca: Spanish Theater
Ramón del Valle-Inclán and Federico García Lorca: Titans of the Spanish Stage
Ramón del Valle-Inclán’s Revolutionary Theater
Ramón del Valle-Inclán’s work represents one of the peaks of European Theater in the 20th century. His originality in dramatic statements and innovative use of language are remarkable. His plays take us from decadent and anti-realist beginnings to the discovery of absurdity, achieving a formal and thematic renewal.
*Stage Transition:*
The transition between these two aesthetics
Read MoreGarcilaso, Mysticism, Lazarillo, Cervantes: Spanish Literature
Garcilaso: Issues and Developments
The primary themes in Garcilaso de la Vega’s work are love, melancholy, and sadness. His poetry often connects with nature, presenting the locus amoenus (pleasant place) as a reflection of the poetic speaker’s inner world, a refuge for their pain. Other poems address themes of friendship, fate, fortune, and the need to master one’s passions. His early poems show a Petrarchan influence, incorporating elements of *cancionero* poetry while developing his unique lyrical
Read MorePostwar Spanish Novel: Evolution and Key Authors
Postwar Spanish Novel
The postwar novel in Spain underwent significant transformations, reflecting the country’s social and political changes. Initially, the novel was characterized by idealism.
Idealistic Novel
During the early years of the Franco regime, propagandistic novels glorified the war, the regime, and its ideological values. Examples include works by authors like Arnau and José Antonio Jimeno. There was also another form of idealistic conception, *Arrata*, which tried to move past the war
Read MoreBaroque Literature and Art: Pessimism and Opulence
Baroque Literature
Characteristics: Pessimism, worry about moral standards, the transience of life, the universal presence of death, and disappointment. Frequent contrasts of nature manifest the flawed reality. Baroque writers seek to create surprising and highly appreciated effects, and value originality. They use a complex style where rhetorical resources abound. The literary language gives rise to two streams:
- Culteranismo: Searches for formal beauty using cultisms and the creation of artifice.
Generation of ’27: Spanish Poetic Renaissance
Generation of ’27: A Spanish Poetic Renewal
The Generation of ’27 was a group of authors, primarily poets, who renewed Spanish lyric poetry in the 1920s and 1930s. They fused traditional and classic poetic forms with the most innovative and cutting-edge trends.
Members
The group included: Pedro Salinas, Jorge Guillén, Gerardo Diego, Rafael Alberti, Federico García Lorca, Luis Cernuda, Vicente Aleixandre, Dámaso Alonso, Emilio Prados, and Manuel Altolaguirre.
Common Ground
The members were aware of
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