The Generation of '98: Spanish Literary Regeneration

The Generation of '98

The Generation of '98 was a group of youths who took a stand—not only literary—against the problems of Spain following the colonial disaster of 1898.

The Group of Three and the 1901 Manifesto

Following this disaster, a group of writers known as the "Group of Three," consisting of Azorín, Pío Baroja, and Ramiro de Maetzu, published a manifesto in 1901. This work denounced the situation in Spain and highlighted the urgent need for improvement. Miguel de Unamuno was considered by the other three as their teacher.

Literary Style and Philosophy

All these writers shared a desire for political regeneration, focusing on a new interest in the Spanish landscape and creating a new literary style. While Waterfront Realism "describes" the scene, the authors of '98 "meditate" upon it.

Social and Political Goals

The clear purpose of the group was to improve the overall social and political regeneration of Spain. They were strongly opposed to the Restoration of Spain and sought an abstract answer to lift the spirits and morale after the disaster of 1898. In Castile, they found the root and essence of the homeland, which became the symbol of the unification of Spain. They fostered a culture, art, and literature epitomized by Don Quixote.

Political Alignment

Politically, they never sought the support of traditional groups; therefore, the only option they had left was socialism.

Distinction from Modernism

Although they were a simultaneous generation to the modernists, the interest of the modernists was purely aesthetic, whereas the noventayochistas gave more importance to the significance of the content. This caused the essay to become the dominant literary genre of the generation, which they used to spread their ideology.

Innovations in the Novel

The noventayochistas conducted a series of amendments to the novel, wiping out almost all the features of the realist novel:

• Focuses around a single character.
• Focuses on the mind of the protagonist.
• Incidents are replaced by dialogue.

Poetry and Human Reality

Poetry was concerned with the human condition, in contrast to the ideal of modernist beauty. The most important poets of the generation were Unamuno and Machado, who believed that poetry exists to express a different and deeper reality, rather than just to produce aesthetic pleasure. This idea was strongly influenced by the importance of Rubén Darío's work, Cantos de Vida y Esperanza.