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Key Spanish Lyric Poets

Juan Ramón Jiménez: A Poetic Evolution

Juan Ramón Jiménez remains one of our greatest poets. His impressive career exemplifies the evolution of Spanish lyric poetry from Modernism almost to the present day.

Modernist Stage (Pre-1908)

• From his modernist stage, we can find authentic poems of sensuality, innocence, and beauty.
• This corresponds to his sensitive stage, which ends in 1916. However, we can categorize only the first part of this stage, until 1908, as truly modernist.
• Notable works from this trend include Arias Tristes and Jardines Lejanos.

Second Stage (1908-1915)

• From 1908, Jiménez began to use rich adjectives and many vivid images to achieve brighter and more sensory effects.
• His metric features an extensive rhythm,

Prose Works

While less known, Vicente Aleixandre also has a prose production, as exciting as it is brief. Key works include A Life of the Poet (1950), Some Characters of the New Spanish Poetry (1955), and most notably, Encounters (1958), a collection of reminiscences of Spanish writers, which expanded to fifty-two portraits. A comprehensive collection, Complete Prose, including his correspondence, was published in 2002.

The Generation of '27

The Generation of '27 was a diverse group, often categorized in pairs or trios. Neopopularist poets like Rafael Alberti and Federico García Lorca drew inspiration from Gil Vicente, ballads, and traditional lyric. Gerardo Diego, after his creative phase, explored the poetry of Lope de Vega.

Poetic Works

Aleixandre'... Continue reading "The Poetic Journey of Vicente Aleixandre" »

Spanish Poetry: Late 1970s Trends and Style

On the multiplicity of the final years of the 70s, continuing trends among critics highlight:

• The avant-garde and surrealism trends;
• The trend towards neo-modernism;
• Culturalism;
• Classicism;
• Another trend is the baroque, exemplified by Antonio Carvajal.

With these new trends in poetry, there is a shift towards a poetry that gives entry to privacy and maintains the theme of emotion. Urban and everyday life themes are maintained, becoming a source of autobiographical content. The tone of the poems uses colloquial language, is loaded with a lexicon of modern life, and allows for an ironic distancing from reality. Free verse is still used, as is a return to classical metrical forms.

The Eighties and Nineties:

Poetry, whether committed or social, should address the problems experienced by fellow citizens. It should make them aware of the meaning of life and the circumstances of the time in which they live. In American literature, a long list of writers are attentive to the social and political problems of their people. Poets abandon the pastoral mirage of primitive peoples living in harmony with nature and show us men and women exploited by an impeccable capitalist system.

During the Civil War, many poets positioned themselves for the republic, but their fate differed afterward. Post-war Spain was conditioned by the military victory of a group led by the army, the Catholic Church, and the privileged strata. This victory meant a regression for Spanish... Continue reading "Social and Committed Poetry: Trends and Evolution" »

Cultural Characteristics of the Medieval Period

1. Theocentricism: The Centrality of the Church

The Church was the sole institution holding knowledge during the Middle Ages. It directed nearly all aspects of life, including religion, education, and literature. Monasteries housed the only libraries and books, often kept in the scriptorium.

• Book Production: Books were expensive, typically made of leather. Reading was rare and often restricted.
• Church Authority: The Church's authority was undisputed, largely because it controlled access to books and learning. This privilege began to diminish with the Renaissance, as the number of printed books multiplied.

Literary Features and Authority

Medieval literature began to develop with religious themes, although... Continue reading "Defining Features of Medieval Culture and Thought" »

Spanish Literature in the 1940s

Alarmist Novel

• Representative Novel: The Family of Pascual Duarte
• Narrator: Autobiographical account, 1st person
• Argument: Extreme situations
• Characters: Antiheroes
• Space: Sordid environments
• Ideological Aspects: It is determined by the education received
• Style: Misrepresenting the truth

Existential Novel

• Representative Novel: Nothing, a story of the 1st person, frustrating experiences of Andrea
• Topics: Existential anguish and extreme situations
• Characters: Protagonist individual
• Time: Brief, reduced
• Area: Closed, asphyxiating places

Novels of the 1950s

Precursor Novel

• The Beehive
• Witnessing society
• The cruelty to the weak and lack of ethical values
• Developed language
• Character: Collective
• Narrator: Omniscient observer and subjective
• Time:

NEW:

1. Introduction to Modernism

Arose in Catalonia between 1892 and 1911. Catalonia desired a national and European identity, unlike the Reinaixença. It showed a desire for modernization, renovation efforts, and a cosmopolitan spirit. There were two stages:

- Combative Stage (1892-1898):

Artists criticized society and aimed to impose their vision. They carried out their work in cultural centers in Barcelona (Els Quatre Gats brewery) and Sitges (Cau Ferrat) and with publications such as L'Avenç.

- Established Stage (1898-1911):

The bourgeoisie accepted Modernism. It was the most fruitful period. The Joventut magazine was important. Modernism ended with the death of Joan Maragall. It established a special relationship between artist and society.... Continue reading "Catalan Modernism: Poetry, Prose, and Cultural Renaissance" »

Luis de Góngora

Unlike other authors such as Lope de Vega and Quevedo, Luis de Góngora's writing is almost exclusively poetic. He cultivated poetry both in its traditional forms and in the popular underground cult. In both cases, the tone of his poetry can range from the most serious, beautiful, and noble to the cartoonish, humorous, festive, and burlesque.

Letrillas and Romances

Góngora is an accomplished poet in both types of compositions.

• His letrillas and ballads (Da bienes Fortuna; Lloraba la niña; Hermana Marica, among others) cover a great variety of themes. They maintain the vitality, beauty, grace, and charm typical of this type of verse, but Góngora does not renounce the elaborate language, expressiveness, and artifice of his cultivated

Characteristics of the Picaresque Novel

• The protagonist is a rogue of very low social rank or estate, often offspring of parents without honor.
• Autobiographical narration.
• The protagonist is an anti-hero, destined to fail and remain a rogue.
• Moralizing and pessimistic ideology.
• Itinerant structure with satirical intent.
• Strong realism, even naturalism.
• Narration in the first person.
• The rogue class does not rise in social standing.

Lazarillo de Tormes: An Anonymous Picaresque Novel

Plot Summary

Lázaro, as a child, begins to serve his first master. Throughout the novel, he serves many masters, gaining unique life lessons from each.

Themes and Structure

The novel is composed of a prologue and seven "treatises" (chapters). The book is autobiographical and,... Continue reading "Spanish Golden Age Literary Genres and Masterpieces" »

Spanish Theater in the Early 20th Century

The Second Decade: Noucentisme

During the second decade, the theater exhibited Noucentista characteristics: rationalism, anti-romanticism, a preference for classical and intellectualized expression of emotions, a defense of pure art, and works directed towards a knowledgeable, sophisticated audience. There was extreme concern for the design, structure, and language of the work.

Leading Authors of the Second Decade

• Ramon del Valle-Inclán: In his primitive stage, he wrote works like Romance of Wolves and Eagle Crest. Their common features are violence, cruelty, brutality, destruction, passion, myths, and superstitions. There are plenty of marginal and strange beings. During his time of artificial distancing,