20th Century Spanish Literary Movements: Modernism & Generation of 98

20th Century Literary Movements

The 20th century saw a departure from the realism of the previous century, with movements like:

• Parnassianism: Seeking perfection and escape from reality (Charles Baudelaire).
• Symbolism: Using symbols and images to represent reality through language (Arthur Rimbaud).
• Decadence: Exploring new forms with coarse and vulgar language.

Modernism

Modernism evolved from aesthetics to social and existential concerns, incorporating principles of Parnassianism and Symbolism.

Characteristics of Parnassianism:

• Unreal, exotic, and distant settings to escape reality.
• Metric forms and traditional lines like Alexandrine verses (14 syllables).
• Mixing senses and creating synesthesia.
• Use of alliteration, internal rhymes, and parallels for musicality.

Key Authors of Modernism:

• Poetry: Manuel Machado (Caprichos), Antonio Machado (Solitudes), Juan Ramon Jimenez (Ninfeas).
• Novel: Ramón María del Valle-Inclán (Sonata).
• Theater: Eduardo Marquina (In Flanders Has Been the Sun), Valle-Inclán (Bohemian Lights).

Rubén Darío

Félix Rubén García Sarmiento, known as Rubén Darío, is the pioneer of Modernism. He wrote both prose and poetry.

Notable Works of Rubén Darío:

• Blue: Considered the pioneer of Modernism, influenced by Parnassianism.
• Profane Prose: Enriched language with metric combinations, alliteration, and synesthesia. Explores love in harmony with art.
  • Alliteration: Repetition of a sound for a specific effect.
  • Synesthesia: Joining two elements from different senses.
• Songs of Life and Hope: Focuses on people, their problems, and the future.

Generation of 98

Named by José Martínez Ruiz (Azorín), this group of writers was concerned with Spain's situation.

Features:

• Subjectivism: Authors reflect their own feelings.
• Use of traditional words due to interest in Spain.
• Use of essays (philosophical texts).
• Idealization of nature and Castilian landscapes.

Themes:

• Landscapes
• History
• Spanish culture

Key Authors of Generation of 98

Miguel de Unamuno: Called his novels "nivolas," blending philosophy with literature and focusing on Spain (Mist, Saint Manuel Bueno, Martyr).

Pío Baroja: Involved in the action of his novels, adding comments and descriptions (The Way of Perfection, The Tree of Knowledge).

Ramón María del Valle-Inclán: His novels transitioned from Modernism to the "esperpento," mixing real and grotesque fictional characters. He invented a technique blending comedy, tragedy, and farce to criticize society, using parody, grotesque, and burlesque.

José Martínez Ruiz (Azorín): His novels lack plot, focusing on portraits of the Spanish land and its inhabitants (The Will).

Antonio Machado: His works range from romanticism to intimate philosophical reflections, through Modernism and objectivism (Fields of Castile, reflecting on the passage of time and the Castilian landscape).