Generation of '98 and Modernism: Key Literary Movements

Generation of '98: Reforming Spain

The Generation of '98 comprises writers and intellectuals who shared concerns about reforming Spain and a desire for aesthetic transformation. They recognized the political, social, and cultural crises during the transition from the 19th to the 20th century. Key features include:

• Concern for Spain's Problems: They critically reflected on the country's issues from reformist perspectives, delving into the topic of Spain subjectively.
• Existential Issues: They addressed profound human issues from individual perspectives, influenced by contemporary European philosophical currents.
• Sobriety: They contributed to the century's aesthetic renewal by deliberately pursuing anti-rhetorical language, elaborate in its simplicity and imbued with subjective vision.

Modernism: A Cultural and Artistic Shift

Modernism is a cultural movement with diverse manifestations across European countries, impacting arts and architecture. It arose from artistic and ideological trends.

Modernist Literature: Renewal and Beauty

Modernist literature encompasses romantic nonconformity, incorporating new French and Latin American aesthetic trends. It features an intense renewal of literary language, especially evident in poetry and the novel. Aestheticism and the search for beauty are central, representing non-conformist or rejection of the main actualevent. The primary modernist literary genre was poetry, followed by narrative prose.

Influences on Modernism

• Parnassianism: This French aesthetic movement emphasized great beauty and formal perfection, rejecting romantic sentimentality.
• Symbolism: Also of French origin, symbolism seeks to intimately suggest the poet's emotions through symbols of reality.

Key Figures

• Ruben Dario (1867-1916): The most representative poet of Modernism, a diplomat and journalist who significantly contributed to Modernism in Spain and Latin America, drawing from Parnassianism and Symbolism.
• Pio Baroja (1872-1956): A great narrator whose novels reflected his skeptical and pessimistic worldview, considering the world lacking order and meaning.