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Spanish Poetry in the Second Half of the 20th Century: Trends, Authors, and Representative Works

1950s: Social Poetry

Poets felt the need to provide critical testimony of reality and adopt an attitude of commitment to the situation in Spain. Key works include Cantos Íberos and Pido la paz y la palabra (I Ask for Peace and the Word) by Gabriel Celaya, and Que trata de España by Blas de Otero, published in 1955.

Key themes:

• The issue of Spain
• Social injustice
• Alienation
• Longing for freedom

The language is clear, sometimes mundane, and the tone is colloquial, but it uses many rhetorical resources.

1960s: Poetry of Knowledge

By the end of the 1950s, a group of poets emerged who sought further elaboration of poetic language and a shift from the collective... Continue reading "Spanish Poetry & Theater: Mid-20th Century to 1970s" »

Baroque Literature

Baroque (17th Century Spain)

Characteristics

A cultural movement responding to the decline of Spain in the 17th century.

• Politics & Economy: Crisis and decline.
• Society: Increased power and wealth for the nobility, greater poverty for the masses.
• Ideology: Pessimism and disillusionment.
• Culture & Literature: Artistic splendor, complexity, and contrast.

Baroque Theater

Characteristics

• Three acts.
• Two intertwined plots.
• Mix of tragic and comic elements.
• Emphasis on action.
• Themes of love and honor.

Character Types

• Gallant/Lady
• Father/Brother
• Clown
• Powerful figure (e.g., King)

Key Authors

• Lope de Vega (Fuenteovejuna)
• Calderón de la Barca (Life is a Dream)

Baroque Poetry

Characteristics

• Blend of seriousness and humor.
• Renaissance themes with

The Debate

An argumentative text where participants, guided by a moderator, exchange opinions. It's an oral, spoken text with distinct parts: presentation, discussion, and closure.

Modernism

A literary movement from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, reflecting the era's crisis. Characteristics:

• Profound spiritual and aesthetic renewal
• Emphasis on sensory and idealistic aspects
• Incorporation of sensation
• Recovery of classical and free verse

Rubén Darío

A key figure in Modernism, known for formal novelty and rupture. His first book, Azul, combined verse and prose, showcasing metric and verbal innovations. Dominant themes: social issues, eroticism.

End of the Century: Generation of '98

Writers like Miguel de Unamuno, Antonio Machado, and Pío Baroja... Continue reading "Spanish Literary Movements: Modernism and Generation of '98" »

Spanish Pre-Renaissance and Renaissance Literature

The Renaissance emerged in Italy during the 14th Century. Key authors included Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio.

The Spanish Renaissance

The Spanish Renaissance is typically divided into two stages:

• 1st Stage: Pre-Renaissance (15th Century) - A period of transition. Christian, political, social, and moral creations were based on two parallel lines:
  • Traditional Folk Poetry (lyric traditional ballads)
  • Courtly Literature (poetry, courtly romances, and books of chivalry)
• 2nd Stage: Renaissance (t-5) - This designation refers to a later period.

Transition and New Thought

In the transition from the medieval period to the Renaissance, a new thought emerged: Humanism. This was the germ of a new vision of life,... Continue reading "Spanish Pre-Renaissance Literature and Poets" »

Spanish Poetry Until the 1950s: The Movements

Poetry Rooted (Poesía Arraigada)

This movement, prominent until the 1950s, sought the perfection of verse and expression to convey beauty while representing the plight of the time. Its interest lay in achieving formal mastery.

Key Characteristics and Themes:

• Themes: Religious and traditional subjects, such as landscape or love.
• Metric: Tended toward regulation; the sonnet was a favorite form.
• Context: Associated with literary journals like Garcilaso and Escorial.

Representative Poets:

Luis Rosales: Known for writing long verses using straightforward language. His imagery is often striking, sometimes approaching surrealism (e.g., La casa encendida).

Poetry Uprooted (Poesía Desarraigada)

A reaction against... Continue reading "20th Century Spanish Poetry: Rooted, Uprooted, and Social Movements" »

Realism: Characteristics and Context

Realism is the expression of the dominant mentality of the liberal bourgeoisie in the novel of the epoch. It is a movement where all genres are cultivated, including drama and poetry.

Key Features of Realism

• Observation of Reality

  The mentality of the epoch gives priority to the rational approach to reality.

• Likelihood Analysis

  The literary work must construct a narrative world similar to the real one. Great importance is attached to the description of space and characters.

• Tendency toward Objectivity

  The writer maintains a critical intention regarding society, although this does not prevent the inclusion of a personal viewpoint.

• Preference for Closed Structure

  The structure is clearly developed with a beginning,

The Generation of '27: A Pinnacle of Spanish Poetry

In the 1920s, a group of poets reached maturity, producing a moment of brilliance in Spanish poetry. The principal authors were: Pedro Salinas, Jorge Guillén, Vicente Aleixandre, Rafael Alberti, Federico García Lorca, and Luis Cernuda.

Naming the Group: The Generation of '27

This influential literary movement was called the Poetic Generation or Group of '27. The year 1927 marked the centenary of the death of the poet Luis de Góngora, and the group acted to reclaim his legacy. Among the group members, there were many unifying points:

• Strong Friendships: Their friendships and the publication of their first books began in the early 1920s. These friendly relations extended through the Civil War

Understanding Romanticism

Romanticism was an artistic and literary movement that triumphed in the mid-nineteenth century. Its development was influenced by social and political changes that definitively settled the last vestiges of the old regime.

Historical Context

The French Revolution, occurring in the late eighteenth century, provided political, ideological, and social benefits that spread throughout Europe.

The Industrial Revolution began in England in the late eighteenth century and spread throughout Europe during the nineteenth century.

Key Features of Romantic Literature

Mariano José de Larra is a leading author of the Romantic period.

Rebellion

Romantics questioned the morality of their time and bourgeois values.

Avoidance

Confrontation with... Continue reading "Understanding Romanticism: Key Aspects, Literature, and Authors" »

Understanding Spanish: Dialects, Linguistic Features, and Literary Romanticism

Regional Varieties of Spanish and Other Iberian Languages

• Castilian Spanish: Includes dialect forms such as Andalusian, Murcian, Extremaduran, and Canarian.
• Catalan: Spoken in Andorra, Roussillon (France), and by some communities in Morocco.
• Galician: Found in Southwestern, Northwestern, Central, and Eastern Europe.
• Euskera (Basque): Dialects include Biscayan, Gipuzkoan, High Navarrese, and Souletin-Labourdine.

Key Linguistic Characteristics

Phonetics

• Seseo: Pronunciation of 'z' and 'c' (before 'e' or 'i') as 's'.
• Yeísmo: Pronunciation of 'll' and 'y' as a single 'y' sound.
• Aspiration or Loss of 's': Aspiration or complete loss of the phoneme 's' at the end of a syllable.

Federico Garcia Lorca

Lorca's drama is written in verse and prose and is characterized by tragic lyrical feeling. Frustration, love, and unsatisfied desire are recurring themes in his theater. Among his works are farces such as The Shoemaker's Prodigious Wife, historical dramas like Mariana Pineda, avant-garde theater such as The Public, and rural tragedies like Yerma, Blood Wedding, and The House of Bernarda Alba. In his avant-garde theater, the playwright delves into experimental theater with The Public, a work that explores passionate love.

His rural tragedies include Blood Wedding, a play about the impossibility of love due to social differences; Yerma, a work where motherhood is frustrated and stressed; and The House of Bernarda Alba, considered... Continue reading "Federico Garcia Lorca, Unamuno, Azorín, and Baroja: Spanish Literature" »