Defining Literary Movements: Novel and Theatre in the 20th Century

20th Century Novel: Social and Experimental Forms

The Social Novel

Authors of the Social Novel contribute their works to change society, aiming to raise awareness among readers and transform the existing state of affairs. The genre experienced a significant moment during "the Roaring Twenties."

Key authors include Ernest Hemingway, known for works like A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bell Tolls.

A related group of Hispanic writers, often associated with Magical Realism, interpreted harsh reality by projecting fabulous elements onto a real background, integrating them into everyday life. Notable figures include Juan Rulfo (with Pedro Páramo), Gabriel García Márquez (One Hundred Years of Solitude), and Mario Vargas Llosa.

The Experimental Novel

The Experimental Novel breaks with traditional forms of storytelling. Time often runs non-linearly, jumping back and forth. The classic hero is replaced by an anti-hero or a collective character. This narrative genre is intended to reflect the disorientation and confusion that characterized the modern world.

Prominent authors include Franz Kafka, with his work The Metamorphosis, and Albert Camus, known for The Plague.

Modern Theatre: Innovation and Audience Engagement

Theatre generally renewed more slowly than other literary forms due to resistance from producers and the public. However, certain innovations were achieved, notably a departure from the realism of the previous century and a new focus on audience participation and alienation. Several distinct streams emerged:

• Traditional and Independent Theatre

  Traditional Theatre encompassed Naturalist and Symbolist movements. Bernard Shaw highlighted this era with his version of the classical myth of love in Pygmalion.

  Independent Theatre operated outside commercial channels, focusing on artistic freedom.

• Existential Theatre

  This movement focused on the intractable internal conflicts of the human being. Luigi Pirandello is a key figure, highlighted by his work Six Characters in Search of an Author.

• Theatre of the Absurd

  The Theatre of the Absurd presents a discouraging vision of the world and the human condition. It abandons traditional thought and logic to present pure absurdity to the audience, utilizing nonsensical arguments, inconsistent characters, and empty dialogues. This movement originated in France with playwrights like Ionesco and Samuel Beckett (known for Waiting for Godot).

• Social and Political Theatre

  Social Theatre is exemplified by Bertolt Brecht, who created didactic and political works that aimed to raise awareness of the need to transform society. Brecht rejected traditional staging, instead utilizing the Alienation Effect (or distance). He structured his works as parables, often using a narrator to announce what was going to happen.