The Aesthetics of Change: Modernism in Hispanic Literature

Modernism: A Force of Cultural Resistance in Latin America

Modernism emerged as a subversive force in Latin America and an expression of resistance to the commercialism of the bourgeois cultural revolution. Besides a change in literary taste, Hispanic American Modernism involved the claim of a new partnership with decolonizing intentions. The modernists rebelled against materialism, imperialism, the bourgeoisie, and the utilitarian. As an immediate source, they looked to French movements, viewing Parnassianism and Symbolism as the most demanding and audacious expressions of the trends of the time.

Features of Modernism

Modernism has been defined as the aesthetics of change due to its constant attempt at the renewal of literary language. Key characteristics include:

• Evasion, Exoticism, and Cosmopolitanism: These concepts led to a flight from space and time in search of a universal present.
• Poets inclined towards the past, distant lands, and the exotic.
• Exoticism was a way to realize aesthetic aspirations and ideals beyond reality. They created their own ideal world.
• Cosmopolitanism was defended as a facet of the need to escape, the desire to pursue the aristocratic, while simultaneously reaffirming their Hispanic roots.

Renewal of Poetic Language and Versification

The intention was to renew poetic language, making it a unique and astonishing creation. Modernists:

• Enriched the language with foreign words and Americanisms.
• Utilized archaisms and neologisms.
• Employed a conversational style.
• Used Impressionistic techniques for effects of synesthesia, achieving chromaticism and musicality.

The formulation of new proposals regarding versification followed three directions:

1. Retrieval of old forms.
2. Expanding known meters.
3. The creation of new meters and the pursuit of metrical freedom.

Modernism in Spain

Environment and Early Literary Modernism in Spain

The poetry and intimacy of Bécquer constitute the foundation of Spanish Modernist subjectivism. Figures like Villaespesa, Rueda, and Francisco Salvador maintained contact with Hispanic American writers. Symptoms of change are observable in literary journals such as La Vida Literaria (The Literary Life), which published poetry and modern theoretical writings. Dating from the beginning of the 20th century are figures like Juan Ramón Jiménez, Antonio and Manuel Machado, Valle-Inclán, and Miguel de Unamuno.

Peculiarities of Spanish Modernism

The best Spanish poets soon showed unique features; Darío himself insisted that every poet find his own way. Spanish Modernism had a limited duration. The writers began a search for metaphysical and transcendental themes, focusing on tradition and the reality of their own country. Its artistic features were determined by feelings of loneliness, historical marginalization, and powerlessness. In Spain, a decadent symbolism was constructed.