Evolution of Spanish Poetry and Modernist Thought

Modernism: A New Attitude Toward Life

Modernism is a school of thought that declares a new attitude toward life. It encompasses an "outer" space situated in unreal action, featuring poems with fairies, nymphs, centaurs, knights, and princesses, inherited from the Romantics. It also includes an "intimate" response of the poet to his melancholy, which is sometimes almost existential. In many poems, it highlights pessimism and a lack of religious belief.

Key Features of Modernist Poetry

• Discontent with life and the concept of "art for art's sake."
• Musical effects and favorite meters, specifically highlighting alexandrines and dodecasyllabic verses.
• Visual images and sensory details.

The Three Stages of Poetic Evolution

The sensitive stage (1898–1915) is marked by Bécquer's influence, symbolism, and modernism, dominated by descriptions of the landscape as a reflection of the poet's soul. It is an emotional and sentimental poetry, exemplified by Sad Arias.

The intellectual stage (1916–1936) shows a spiritual evolution in the desire to be saved from death, striving for eternity through beauty and poetic debugging. It suppresses music to reach the pure essentials, as seen in Diary of a Newly Married Poet.

The real stage (1937–1958) includes all works written during exile. It continues seeking beauty and perfection, as seen in Animal Background.

Surrealism and the Unconscious

Surrealism proclaims the liberation of creative activity through the exploration of dreams and the unknown world of the unconscious.

Rubén Darío: The Father of Modernism

Rubén Darío was born on January 18 in Nicaragua. He was the initiator and primary exponent of the Modernist literary language in Spanish. He led the consolidation of the movement with his work Blue, featuring compositions written in verse and prose that express exoticism, elegance, sentiment, and eroticism, representing a rejection of Spanish traditionalism.

His work Secular Prose is populated by elegant abbots, princesses, and swans. Later, Songs of Life and Hope fades these elements and focuses on the essence of being Spanish.

Antonio Machado and the Generation of 98

Antonio Machado was born in Seville (1875) and belongs to the Generation of '98. In 1902, he returned to Paris where he met Rubén Darío. In 1919, he returned to the land of Castile. In 1928, he met Pilar Valderrama, with whom he was secretly in love (she was married). In 1939, he went into exile in the town of Collioure, France, where he died in February.

Major Works and Themes of Machado

His books include:

• Solitudes: Reworked in 1907 with forty new poems and deleted items; he referred to the external modernism in Solitudes, Galleries, and Other Poems.
• Campos de Castilla: A heterogeneous book that does not always speak of the same thing; its themes align with the Generation of '98. Thematic groups include Soria, Baeza, Proverbs and Songs, and Praise.
• New Songs: Published twelve years later, this work explains his deepest concerns and thoughts.