20th-Century Hispanic Theater and Literature: A Deep Dive

20th-Century Hispanic Theater

Early 20th-Century Theater

The Decade of the 1950s

Theater of the Absurd

Humor is used to escape a society full of contradictions and with little freedom.

Social realism, with works like A Straight Story (1949) by Antonio Buero Vallejo and Death Squad by Alfonso Sastre, addressed problems from a committed social position.

Theater of the 1960s

Commercial theater: Alfonso Paso and Jaime de Armiñán.

Committed and innovative theater, criticizing social problems while seeking new forms of expression.

Works: Laura by Jesús Campos, The Elm-Shirt by Lauro Olmo, Pic-nic by Fernando Arrabal, and works by Antonio Gala.

Theater of the 1940s

Ideological drama: Jacinto Benavente and Carlos Arniches.

Comedy intended to distract the public from reality.

High comedy style and authors: Edgar Neville, Jacinto Benavente.

Types of Comedy

• Género Chico: More spontaneous style, reflecting the style of the popular classes. Authors: Carlos Arniches and the Álvarez Quintero brothers.
• Humor: Enrique Jardiel Poncela (Eloísa is Beneath an Almond Tree).

Late 20th-Century Theater

Theater from the 1970s to the Present

Authors represented in exile: Max Aub and Rafael Alberti.

Renewal of foreign theater with avant-garde aesthetics: Francisco Nieva and José Sanchis Sinisterra.

Authors from previous decades: Antonio Buero Vallejo - The Foundation, Antonio Gala - The Taming of the Shrew.

New authors: José Luis Alonso de Santos - Get Off the Moor, and José Sanchis Sinisterra - Ay, Carmela!

20th-Century Hispanic American Literature

Hispanic American Poetry

Early Modernism: José Martí - Simple Verses, Rubén Darío - Azul.

Simple expression of everyday lyrical songs. Authors:

• Gabriela Mistral
• Alfonsina Storni
• Early works of Pablo Neruda and César Vallejo

From the 1920s, avant-garde influences in the Generation of '27, including Juan Ramón Jiménez.

Creationism (Vicente Huidobro and others). Authors: Pablo Neruda, César Vallejo, Octavio Paz.

From the 1950s, poetry reveals the singularity of mestizo society and its political realities, mixing Hispanic, Indigenous, and African influences. Nicolás Guillén.

Social protest poetry of Nicanor Parra.