Generation of '98: Spanish Literary Identity and Authors

The Generation of '98: Context and Origins

After the disaster of 1898, there was a perceived need for change in the state, as the restoration did not satisfy. A group of writers appeared who wanted to renew and regenerate literature aesthetically and culturally: Unamuno, Azorín, Baroja, Valle-Inclán, and Antonio Machado. Its origin lies in the "Manifesto of the Three" (Azorín, Baroja, and Maeztu), which denounced the country's reality, youth disorientation, and a lack of values.

Key Features and Ideology

• Europeanism and Pure Essence: Seeking the pure essence of the country.
• Sobriety: Seeking clarity and simplicity.
• Subjectivism: Private postures.
• Idealization of the Landscape: It serves as a symbol.
• Preoccupation with Spanish Problems: Resorting to the essay.
• Philosophical Reflections: Directions of life, religion, and time.

Mainstream Themes and Philosophical Works

They addressed mainstream themes such as death, religion, and the country's situation. Miguel de Unamuno's preoccupation with Spain is seen in En torno al casticismo (around 1895) and Por tierras de Portugal y de España (1911), where he developed the concept of "intrahistory." Other works include the spiritual path in The Life of Don Quixote and Sancho (1905), The Tragic Sense of Life (1913), and The Agony of Christianity (1925). Azorín's works include Alma castellana (1900), Andalucía trágica (1905), Castilla (1912), La ruta de Don Quijote (1905), Clásicos y modernos (1913), Los valores literarios (1914), and Al margen de los clásicos (1915).

The Novel in the Generation of '98

Miguel de Unamuno

Unamuno wrote without prior preparation or descriptions, focusing on the protagonist's existential struggle and dialogue. Key novels include Niebla (1914), which is very important, Abel Sánchez (1917), La tía Tula (1921), and San Manuel Bueno, mártir (1930).

Pío Baroja

Baroja was polythematic with a spontaneous technique using immediate reality notes. The plot focuses on existential evolution with a simple structure, little conflict, much dialogue, and a brief, clear, precise style. His works emphasize anti-heroes.

Azorín and Valle-Inclán

Azorín wrote La voluntad (1902), Las confesiones de un pequeño filósofo (1904), Doña Inés (1925), El escritor (1941), and María Fontán (1943). Valle-Inclán produced the four Sonatas (Modernist), The Carlist War (1909), El ruedo ibérico (1936), and Tirano Banderas.

Theater and Dramatic Innovation

Valle-Inclán's work is divided into cycles:

• Modernist Cycle: El Marqués de Bradomín (1906) and Voces de gesta (1908).
• Mythic Cycle: Comedias bárbaras and Divinas palabras.
• Farce Cycle: Farsa infantil de la cabeza del dragón (1909), La marquesa Rosalinda (1912), and Farsa y licencia de la reina castiza (1920).
• Grotesque Cycle: Luces de Bohemia (1920 and 1924) and Martes de Carnaval (1930).
• Final Cycle: Retablo de la avaricia, la lujuria y la muerte (1927).

The Machado Brothers wrote 7 works, including Las desdichas de la fortuna and Juan de Mañara. Unamuno sought simplicity of argument in Fedra, La venda, El otro, and El hermano Juan.

Other Dramatic Currents

• Bourgeois Comedy: Jacinto Benavente (Los intereses creados).
• Poetic Theater: Against realism, Eduardo Marquina and Francisco Villaespesa.
• Comic Theater: The astracán by Pedro Muñoz Seca, grotesque comedy and drama by Carlos Arniches, and the comedy of manners by Serafín and Joaquín Álvarez Quintero.

Poetry: Antonio Machado and Miguel de Unamuno

Antonio Machado (Seville, 1875) followed a path marked by a shift from individualism to solidarity: Soledades, galerías y otros poemas (1907) and Campos de Castilla (1912). In the latter, he used the Castilian landscape to discover the essence of Spain, reporting the defects of the Castilian peasant and provincial man, meditating on human enigmas in proverbs and songs, and offering praise and homage to writers and thinkers. Later works include Nuevas canciones (1924) and the Cancionero apócrifo.

Miguel de Unamuno's poetry dealt with metaphysical concerns and traditional meters: Poesías (1907), El Cristo de Velázquez (1920), Rimas de dentro (1923), Teresa (1924), and the posthumous Cancionero (1953).