Literary Movements from 18th to 19th Century
Sturm und Drang
Sturm und Drang (Storm and Anxiety), a German movement primarily in literature, music, and visual arts (1767-1785, Modern Age), was a reaction against the excessively rationalistic literary tradition. It opposed the German Enlightenment and preceded Romanticism. Sturm und Drang rejected Neoclassical rules (18th century), establishing sentiment, not reason, as the source of art. It emphasized that sentiment has no divine origin but comes from the spiritual nature of humankind.
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Read MoreBaroque Disillusionment and Aesthetics
The Theme of Dodsworth
Baroque disillusionment is a radical devaluation of the world and human life. The great issues that manifest in it are:
- The world is worthless. It is no longer a cosmos but a chaos, like a maze in which man is lost, surrounded by evils.
- Life is contradiction and struggle. Man fights himself, seized by contradictions and struggles with other men.
- Life is short, fleeting. Life is as short as that of a rose. Everything changes and everything is gone, hence the obsession with time,
17th-Century Spanish Literature: Cervantes, Lope de Vega, and More
17th-Century Spanish Literature
A Change in Social Function
During the 17th century, Spanish literature underwent a significant shift in its social function, becoming an art form aimed at a broader audience.
- Its primary goal was no longer to moralize or teach but to entertain and please the public.
- A vibrant literary world emerged, marked by rivalry between authors and lively polemics.
Stylistic Transformations
Sobriety and balance gave way to stylistic exuberance and complexity.
- Writers sought innovation,
Spanish Baroque Theater: Formation, Structure, and Social Function
Formation of Spanish Baroque Comedy
In the realm of Spanish Baroque theater, the term plays referred to performances in public spaces, encompassing comedies, tragi-comedies, and dramas, excluding pure tragedies. The play, in this context, adheres to a formula established by Lope de Vega in the late 16th century.
Lope de Vega’s significant contribution was the integration of various elements into his plays, including:
- Introduction of lyrical elements
- Complex and intertwined plots
- Interpolation of comic
Baroque Literature and Theater: A Golden Age of Spanish Arts
The Baroque Period
The Baroque period, immediately following the historical and cultural rebirth, reached its highest representation in Spanish literature and splendor, crowning the Golden Age launched by a revival.
Historical and Social Context
The Baroque in Spain covered the period of the so-called Habsburg children: Philip III, Philip IV, and Charles II. This era was characterized by a historical crisis:
- Financial crisis: Spain wasted opportunities by not adequately investing the wealth from the
Romantic Poetry and Prose
Romantic Poetry
Narrative Poetry
Narrative poetry developed a kind of narrative linked to the medieval epic, romances, and legends of oral transmission. Frequent elements are ghostly and gloomy. The stories are located in places steeped in artistic tradition.
Lyric Poetry
There were two periods during the nineteenth century: In the first half of this century, José de Espronceda cultivated a lyric characterized by rhetorical emphasis and patriotic and social themes. The development of lyric poetry continued
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