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Spanish Literature: Existentialism and Social Realism (1940s-1950s)

The Novel of the Immediate Postwar Years (1940s): Existential Realism

Spanish literature of the 1940s is dominated by anxiety and uprooting. It can be divided into three main streams:

• The continuation of nineteenth-century realism and traditional narratives.
• An approach to the Civil War from the perspective of the victors.
• A new perspective marked by a group of novels centered on an anti-heroic character faced with an indifferent society, dealing with issues such as the bitterness of everyday life, loneliness, frustration, and death.

Key Authors and Works of the 1940s

Camilo José Cela

In 1942, Camilo José Cela published The Family of Pascual Duarte. The story focuses on Pascual Duarte,... Continue reading "Spanish Postwar Literature: Existentialism and Social Realism" »

In 1929, Federico García Lorca faced a profound personal and creative crisis. This period was largely a result of the misinterpretation of his acclaimed work, Gypsy Ballads, and the overwhelming success he struggled to manage. Deciding to seek a new perspective, he traveled with Fernando de los Ríos to study at Columbia University in New York. In the bustling metropolis, Lorca immersed himself, encountering new people, customs, and elements that he perceived as profoundly dehumanized.

Spain's Political Climate (1929)

Meanwhile, Spain was under the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera, a regime supported by the king. This era saw various repressions targeting opponents, including intellectuals. Concurrently, the consolidation of the Second Industrial... Continue reading "Poet in New York: Lorca's Transformative Journey" »

The Avant-Garde Movements

The avant-garde: A combination of movements that rejected traditional art forms and championed experimentation, adopting new themes and forms of expression. Key movements include:

• Literary Creationism: Sought to create an original reality within the work itself.
• Surrealism: Aimed to express the emotions and thoughts of the subconscious.

The New Novel of the Early Century

Key authors and works include:

• Marcel Proust (1871-1922): Author of In Search of Lost Time.
• Franz Kafka (1883-1924): Expressed the anguish of the human condition in novels like The Trial and The Metamorphosis.
• James Joyce (1882-1941): Wrote Ulysses, which transposes the plot of Homer's Odyssey to contemporary Dublin.

The Novecentismo

In the second decade of... Continue reading "Spanish Literature: Avant-Garde to Post-Franco Era" »

Themes in Bécquer's Legends

In most of the legends written by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, the main character violates a taboo and is punished for it. This action is usually caused by love, as the protagonist is seduced by a young woman who brings ruin. She is sometimes presented as a cruel or capricious woman. This evil woman is often condemned for her pride, or her treachery is exposed. However, women are not always the sole cause of the protagonist's downfall, as she doesn't attract all male figures in the legends.

Instead, it is often a spectrum invented by Bécquer himself, embodying the ideal woman, beauty, and love—as impossible to achieve as the essence of poetry itself. In other legends, the author examines the relationship between the... Continue reading "Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer: Legends, Themes, and Enduring Poetic Legacy" »

Poetry of the 40s

This era saw a return to traditional metrics, moving away from the Spanish reality. Notable works include those of Garcilaso and Leopoldo Panero, with the latter's "Poetry Uprooted." Other key figures include Damaso Alonso and Fiery Angel Otero, who viewed poetry as a creation. Pablo Garcia Baena also contributed to this period.

Poetry of the 50s

This period was characterized by social themes. Blas de Otero's work emphasized simplicity and a denouncement of the lack of liberty. Other writers include Gonzalez, whose work explored solidarity and freedom, and Gabriel Celaya, who addressed injustice.

Poetry of the 60s

Jaime Gil de Viedma blended conversational language and humor, critiquing the situation in Spain. José Agustín Goytisolo... Continue reading "Spanish Poetry and Theater: Eras, Styles, and Authors" »

Pedro Salinas

Poetry is a way to get to the essence of things and life experiences.

Topics

• Love: finding the central facts of existence.
• Desire for understanding and knowledge.

Style

• Contrast.
• Importance of the rhythm of dialogue and action.
• Short verse.

Stages

1. Influence of pure poetry, Creationism, and Futurism.
2. Covers the trilogy of love: La voz a ti debida, Razón de amor, and Largo lamento, which form a song of love.
3. Developed in exile.

Works

• Presagios
• Seguro azar
• La voz a ti debida
• Razón de amor
• Largo lamento

Jorge Guillén

His work is a rigorous poetic selection process which suppresses the accessory to communicate the essential idea or feeling. He grouped his poetry until 1968 under the title Aire nuestro, including Cántico, Clamor, and Homenaje.

Topics

• Joyous

Psychological and Social Causes in Poetry

These include emotional factors, expressive, social, and cultural constraints, and political and ideological reasons.

Social Euphemisms

Euphemisms are words or expressions that supersede taboos. Imbalances by equalities, Blind, blindness... Restriction of general meanings; they acquire specialized meanings. Mouse, menu, or network (computer). Extension of social, cultural, or certain professional terms that go into general use: Ghetto (quarter of a minority), Virus (computing).

Language Grounds

Change is influenced by the context in which the word is used: cut (coffee cut), compact (compact disc).

Types of Poems

The triplets, lira, encadenados, la la, the eighth Real, soneto, estancia, and the Sapphic Stanza.... Continue reading "Psychological, Social, and Linguistic Factors in Poetry" »

Courtly Poetry and Songs

Composed to be read, recited, or sung at court, courtly poetry was a common feature of the 15th century. Its characteristics include:

• Great variety of verses and themes:
  • Troubadour songs (love theme)
  • Political-philosophical or religious moral sayings
  • Scattered, brief, ingenious thoughts
  • Glosses
  • Dialogued poems (philosophical, scientific, and moral theology)
• Language play: Contrived words and their meanings.
• Metric: Castilian versos de arte mayor.
• Notable song collections: Cancionero de Baena, Cancionero de Estúñiga, Cancionero General, Cancionero de Palacio.

Critical and Satirical Poetry

This genre includes the Castilian version of the Dance of Death (early 15th century), where Death calls various characters (including the Pope... Continue reading "Masterpieces of 15th Century Spanish Literature" »

Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes, stands as the most important work of Spanish literature. It is characterized as a realistic novel and a foundational work of prose fiction.

Publication and Narrative Structure

It was published in the early seventeenth century in two parts. The book tells the story of an old gentleman who loses his mind by reading many books of chivalry.

• Part One: Describes Don Quixote setting out in search of adventure, driven by a noble desire for justice.
• Part Two: Highlights adventures marked by the confusion of fact and fiction in Don Quixote's mind.

Key Themes

• Chivalric Parody: The author clearly intends to ridicule books of chivalry.
• Realism vs. Idealism: The novel discusses the struggle between idealism and realism.