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Baroque Metrics and Poetic Style

The predominant verse is the endecasílabo (eleven-syllable line). Both assonance and consonance rhyme are used. Common stanzas include the quartet, the tercet, the quatrain, and the cultured décima.

The primary cultured poetic form is the sonnet, of Italian origin, introduced into Spain by Juan Boscán. Since then, the sonnet has been cultivated by all the great writers of Spanish literature.

The popular metric form is the romance, a strophic poem with octosyllabic verses and assonance rhyme, originating in Spanish literature during the Middle Ages as a development from the chanson de geste (16 syllables = 8+8).

Regarding style, difficulty is perhaps the concept that best defines the aesthetic ideal of Baroque... Continue reading "Spanish Baroque Literature: Poetic Styles and Key Authors" »

Prereality in Spanish Literature

Prereality began in 1849 with the publication of La Gaviota by Fernán Caballero (1796-1877), pseudonym of Cecilia Böhl de Faber.

Prereality novels have a costumbrista tone and a moralizing purpose, as shown in La Gaviota, which recounts the eventful love life of a young woman. She symbolizes the protagonist's transformation within the society of the time and vindicates traditional values. Prereality authors did not delve deeply into psychological analysis or social criticism; instead, they preferred colorful and picturesque detail and the defense of traditional values.

The chief representative of the Prereality current is Pedro Antonio de Alarcón (1833-1891), author of short stories and novels. In his most famous... Continue reading "Spanish Literature: Prereality and Realism" »

Modernism in Poetry: A Literary Movement

Modernism was a poetic movement that emerged in the Castilian tongue during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Key Themes of Modernism

• The legacy of Romanticism (existential malaise, tendency to escape reality).
• Modernism's own themes: love and eroticism, cosmopolitanism, refined, aristocratic, and exquisite aesthetics.
• The Latin American world.

Modernist Metrics

Modernism brought a metric revolution, with a tendency to lengthen the poetic line. The Alexandrine verse (14 syllables) became the most common, accepting the concept of tonic and unstressed syllables combined to create rhythm and musicality.

Among Peninsular modernists, the taste for popular verses remained, including:

• Verse
• Streak
• Soleá
• Romance

Duration

Spanish Literature in the Early 20th Century

Key Authors and Movements

José Martínez Ruiz (Azorín)

Works: Towns, Route of Don Quixote, Castilla, Clásicos. Apart from these, he shows his personal style, characterized by simplicity and precision, along with the employment of short sentences and a wealth of lexicon. His three fundamental issues are time and meditations on the transience of things, the landscape of Spain (described with great lyricism and emotion), and literature.

Pío Baroja

A constant critic of cruelty, stupidity, and the evil of society. His memoirs include: Youth, Ego Trip, and Since the Last Round of the Road.

Antonio Machado

Excels as an essayist with his work Juan de Mairena, where he outlines his religious, philosophical,... Continue reading "Spanish Literature in the Early 20th Century: Key Authors and Movements" »

Spanish Literature Overview

Poetry

Garcilaso de la Vega (1st Half of 16th Century)

Works: Sonnets, Eclogues (pastoral poems)
Themes: Love (lady's indifference, lover's pain), Nature (stylized setting for love complaints)
Style: Clear, simple, elegant, harmonious. Predominantly hendecasyllable verse, alliteration, musical hyperbaton.

Fray Luis de León (1st Half of 16th Century)

Prose:
Translations: Song of Songs
Original Works: The Perfect Wife
Poetry:
Translations: Passages from the Book of Job
Original Poems: Less than 40, mostly lyrical compositions with varied themes and structures.
Themes: Nature, longing for country life, night's music (influenced by Beatus Ille)
Style: Lira verse, hyperbole, alliteration, hyperbaton, metaphor, personification. Frequent... Continue reading "Spanish Literature: Golden Age and Medieval Classics" »

The Baroque Period (1598-1621)

The Baroque period (approximately 1598-1621) is a time of sinking pessimism. The utopia of man as the center of the universe fades. The concern over time is the Baroque subject par excellence. Antithesis and contrast are enhanced; these elements are also characteristic. The period seeks to surprise.

Trends in Baroque Lyric Poetry

In Baroque lyric poetry, we distinguish three trends:

• The most pure Baroque style is Conceptismo, which finds its greatest exponents in Quevedo and Baltasar Gracián. In Conceptismo, the classical balance between expression and content is broken in favor of the latter. It uses paradoxes, neologisms, antithesis, and resources to achieve humor.
• Second, the Culteranismo style is peculiar to Góngora.

J.V. Foix (1893-1987)

Josep Vicenç Foix, born in Sarrià in 1893, signed his works as J.V. Foix. He abandoned his law studies and dedicated his life to culture. Although his main activity was literature, he participated in politics as a nationalist, was interested in contemporary painting, and was involved in sports at the Catalan Flying Club. The roots of his native town, the countryside, Catalonia, and his faithfulness to his language are elements that give meaning to his work. He died in 1987.

His work includes articles on political and aesthetic considerations, such as "Some Avant-Garde Literature" (1925). His main work belongs to the poetic prose genre, as well as verse:

1. Poetic Prose: He planned to collect 365 pieces, but only 208 are conserved.

Key Aspects of Medieval Culture

Theocentricism: In medieval Christian society, everything revolved around religion, influencing lives and literature.

Middle Ages: A period spanning from the 5th to the late 15th century.

The Clergy: The literate class during the Middle Ages, driving education.

Feudalism: Production based on a natural and agricultural economy, tending toward self-sufficiency.

Orality: Medieval works often contain appeals to listeners and repetitions.

Monasteries: After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, written culture found refuge in monasteries.

Author Anonymity: Medieval books were manuscripts, and authors were often anonymous.

Secularization: In the late Middle Ages, written culture expanded beyond ecclesiastical walls.

Universities:

Catalan Literature: From Modernism to Noucentisme

Key Literary Works and Authors

"The Slope" by Clementine Ardiu reflects on the equilibria between the good and the bad in life. (19th Century).

"I would not be more than a bird alone," by Carles Riba, explores themes of nature, *tempus fugit*, and love. (Noucentisme).

"Súnion!" by Carles Riba, expresses ideals of democracy and freedom, and a perfect mental identification with the temple while in exile. (Noucentisme). "Mutilated Temple."

"Ode to Catalonia from the Tropics," by Agustí Bartra, conveys a longing for his country, which has become a strange land to him. "The furious tropic of the Silver Cross thrusts my face."

"Sun and Mourning," by J.V. Foix, deals with the clarification of his imaginary... Continue reading "Catalan Literature: Modernism to Noucentisme" »

Development of Prose in the 16th Century

The Renaissance aesthetic ideas soon blended prose fiction and didactic prose. It combined medieval traditions with innovative currents.

Didactic Prose: The Dialogues

This was a genre with great acceptance and was instrumental in the development of the novel. The most appreciated were those of Juan de Valdés and Alfonso de Valdés.

Prose Fiction Genres

Includes the pastoral, Moorish, and Byzantine genres.

Pastoral Novel

Los siete libros de la Diana (1559) by Jorge de Montemayor was published. This work is centered on the love of the protagonist for Diana. It exemplifies the most outstanding feature of the pastoral novel: the idealization of nature and love (characterized by a quiet and melancholic language)... Continue reading "Spanish Prose Development: 16th and 17th Centuries" »