Federico García Lorca's Dramatic Evolution & Modern Novel Traits

Federico García Lorca: A Theatrical Journey

Federico García Lorca, a prolific playwright, began writing theater at a young age. His extensive work is often categorized into distinct periods, showcasing his evolving artistic vision.

Lorca's Theatrical Periods

Juvenile Period (Early Works)

This period includes:

• The Curse of the Butterfly (1920)
• Mariana Pineda (1925)

These early works demonstrate the revitalizing power of verse drama.

Popular and Children's Works

This period includes short puppet plays, such as:

• The Puppet Don Cristóbal (1931)

Prose and Verse Plays

Works combining prose and verse include:

• The Shoemaker's Prodigious Wife (1930)
• Doña Rosita the Spinster and the Language of Flowers (1935)

These plays often explore the central theme of frustrated love, a recurring motif in Lorca's oeuvre.

Impossible Comedies

This group of works reflects Lorca's deep personal crisis and his encounter with surrealism. Notable plays include:

• The Public (1930)
• When Five Years Pass (1931)

Major Tragedies (1933-1936)

Lorca's best-known works are his powerful tragedies, written between 1933 and 1936. These plays transcend the boundaries of space and time, speaking to enduring human realities.

• Blood Wedding (1932): Based on a true event—a bride who ran away with her lover on her wedding day. Lorca's treatment transforms the story into a classic tragedy, juxtaposing themes like love/death, oppression/freedom, and the individual versus society.
• Yerma (1934): The tragedy of a woman unable to have children. It powerfully displays universal conflicts such as loyalty/sterility and freedom/submission.
• The House of Bernarda Alba (1936): A drama Lorca subtitled "A Drama of Women in the Villages of Spain." Its argument is both parochial and profoundly tragic, focusing on five women isolated after their father's death.

Innovations in the Modern Novel

Modern novelists introduced a series of profound innovations in their work, shifting narrative focus and technique.

Key Characteristics of the Modern Novel

• Shift in Relevance: The story (what is narrated) often loses relevance to the discourse (how it is narrated).
• Inner World Focus: The novel increasingly focuses on the hero's inner world, with action replaced by perception. External reality is often diluted in favor of an interior portrait of the character.
• Fragmented Narrative: The narrative is frequently fragmented into impressions. Vagueness, temporal leaps, and evocative language contribute to the indeterminacy of the described events.
• Dramatized or Dialogic Narration: The narrator's voice is often diluted, allowing characters to speak for themselves, creating a more direct and immersive experience.