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Spanish Narrative Since 1970: Democracy and Diversity

With the death of Franco in 1975, Spain experienced a regime change without violence. The Constitution of 1978 marked the full recognition of individual rights, freedoms, and the establishment of autonomous communities (comunidades autónomas).

Since 1970, novelists like Luis Goytisolo and Francisco Umbral extended the structural innovations of the narrative. The new stories focused the reader's attention on the protagonist's monologue, exemplified by authors such as Juan José Millás and José María Merino.

The narrative tradition continues to expand, featuring diverse voices. Authors like Arturo Pérez-Reverte combine adventure and chronicle, Enrique Vila-Matas explores experimental themes,... Continue reading "Spanish and Latin American Narrative: 1960s to Present" »

Post-War Spanish Poetry: 1950s to 1970s

The Shift to Social Poetry (Around 1950)

Around 1950, existential poetry began to evolve towards social poetry. The focus shifted from the individual expression of anguish to demonstrating solidarity with others.

Key Characteristics of Social Poetry

The topics covered were social issues affecting the community: injustice and solidarity. This period also saw a recovery of political reflections on Spain and Hispanic society.

The style adopted was simple, close to colloquial, sometimes prosaic, and highly expressive. It aimed to reach the vast majority of readers.

The most important social poets included Blas de Otero with his work I Pray for Peace and the Word, and Gabriel Celaya with his work Cantos Iberians.... Continue reading "Spanish Poetry Movements: 1950s Social Realism and Experimentalism" »

Spanish Post-Romanticism: Bécquer and Castro

In the second half of the nineteenth century, the influence of German poetry came to Spain. These compositions mimic the rhythm and resources of popular lyrics. Far from the complaint and ornamentation typical of earlier Romanticism, this movement culminated in a trend known as Post-Romanticism.

Rosalía de Castro: Galician Post-Romantic Poet

Born in 1837 in Santiago de Compostela, Rosalía de Castro is a foundational figure of the movement.

Major Works by Rosalía de Castro

• Cantares Gallegos (Galician Songs)

  Written in Galician, the author uses traditional forms to evoke the customs and mores of her land. Social issues, such as migration, often feature a vindictive tone.

• Follas Novas (New Leaves)

  Also

Benito Pérez Galdós: Life and Major Novels

Benito Pérez Galdós. He was born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. From a very young age he lived in Madrid, dedicated to literature, and was elected to the Royal Spanish Academy. He failed in his candidacy for the Nobel Prize because of opposition from Spanish conservatives.

Classification of Galdós's novels

Galdós's novels can be classified into the following groups:

• Early novels: Galdós does not hide his sympathy for liberal Spain: La Fontana de Oro, Doña Perfecta, Gloria, Marianela, La familia de León Roch.
• Contemporary Spanish novel: Fortunata y Jacinta, which portrays the social life of Madrid at the time. It is Galdós's finest depiction of settings and social types, with masterful use of dialogue

Life of Lope de Vega

Lope de Vega was born in Madrid. Of humble origins, he was self-taught and worked as a secretary for various nobles. In 1579, he wrote a satire against his former lover, Elena Osorio, and her family after she abandoned him.

In 1614, grieving the death of his wife and his son, Carlos Félix, he was ordained as a priest. Although he initially stopped writing, he fell in love again in 1616 and resumed his literary career. He lived with Marta de Nevares and had a daughter with her. Three years after the death of Marta, the loss of another son, and the kidnapping of one of his daughters by a knight, Lope de Vega passed away.

Literary Narrative and Poetry

Lope de Vega cultivated abundant lyrical poetry, focusing on traditional themes,... Continue reading "Lope de Vega: Life, Literary Works and Theatrical Innovation" »

The Generation of '27

The Generation of '27 is a group of Spanish poets who gathered in 1927 to pay homage to Luis de Góngora on the tercentenary of his death.

Features:

• Re-addition of Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, whom these poets, along with Juan Ramón Jiménez, would recognize as a precursor to their "naked poetry."
• These poets recovered the Spanish folk tradition while also embracing the avant-garde.
• They felt the influence of early avant-garde movements like Ultraism and Creationism.
• Regarding metrics, they used traditional stanzas such as romances, ballads, sonnets, and silvas, and they can be considered initiators of free verse.
• There is also the classic footprint of Bécquer and Góngora.
• Their poetry is transcendent, human, and passionate.
• Their

Poetic Forms and Baroque Literary Devices

• Seventeenth-Century Metrics:
  • Italian hendecasyllables
  • Castilian octosyllables
  • Romances (with Baroque preferences)
• Literary Devices:
  • Metaphors
  • Paradoxes
  • Cultisms
  • Puns
  • Hyperbole

Culteranismo: The Góngora Style

A literary style characterized by:

• Extensive use of cultisms (words derived from Latin and Greek)
• Complex Latinate syntax (hyperbaton)
• Elaborate metaphors and hyperbole
• Frequent alliteration

Conceptismo: Wit and Intellectual Depth

A style focused on the ingenious association of ideas, featuring:

• Emphasis on ideas over words
• Rationalist lexicon
• Creation of unexpected compositions and word derivations
• Sharp metaphors, antithesis, and oxymoron

Luis de Góngora: Master of Culteranismo

Góngora's work is known for its:

• Pictorial

Galdós — Leading Spanish Realist Novelist

Galdós: One of the best storytellers of the Castilian language and the most representative author of the realistic novel. His Episodios Nacionales are inspired by nineteenth-century Spanish history, and his novels that come from the observation of his own era are aimed at improving the life of the country. These novels are divided into three groups.

Thesis Novels

Thesis: Moved by their progressive spirit. Through symbolic characters, the reader notes the clash between liberal ideology and conservatism. Doña Perfecta.

Contemporáneas

Contemporáneas: From his position as omniscient narrator, he provides information about the problems that Spanish society had not yet resolved. Fortunata and Jacinta.

Spiritual

The Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is the historical period of Western civilization between the 5th and 15th centuries. Its onset is conventionally located in 476 with the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and its end in 1492 with the discovery of America, or in 1453 with the fall of the Byzantine Empire.

Late Antiquity Transition

Historians now prefer to qualify this break period between Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Thus, between the 3rd and 8th centuries, there is usually talk of Late Antiquity, which was a major transition in all spheres:

• Economic: The replacement of the slave mode of production by the feudal mode of production.
• Socially: The disappearance of the concept of Roman citizenship and the definition of the medieval estates.
• Politically:

19th Century Spanish History

The Absolutist Period (Early 19th Century)

At the beginning of the century, French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and his army invaded Spain. The Spanish reacted, and Spain became the scene of the War of Independence, which ended with the expulsion of the French. During the war, the Constitution of 1812 was drafted in Cadiz. This caused confrontations between liberals and absolutists led by Ferdinand VII.

The Liberal Period

After the death of Ferdinand VII, liberals sided with his daughter Isabella, confronting those who supported King Ferdinand VII's brother Carlos, who favored absolutism. These clashes were called the Carlist Wars. The Liberals won, implementing reforms such as land redistribution and economic improvements.... Continue reading "19th Century Spain: History, Politics, and Romanticism" »