Key Figures and Characteristics of Early 20th Century Spanish Literature

Literary Currents: Modernism and Generation of '98

Modernism (Late 19th Century – World War I)

Modernism began in the late 19th century and concluded around the First World War (1914–1918). A principal representative was Rubén Darío.

Characteristics of Modernism:

• Rebellion against bourgeois aesthetics, considered prosaic and outdated.
• Preference for poetry over prose.
• Desire for escape, leading modernists to set their work in exotic locales and ancient times.
• Intense eroticism in the expression of love.
• Alternation between melancholy, rebelliousness, and vitality.
• Search for poetic language through rhythmic and sensory facilities.
• Metric renewal: Rubén Darío revived forgotten syllable counts, such as 9, 12, or 14 syllables.

Generation of '98

The characteristics of the Generation of '98 show few major differences from Modernism:

• Concern for the problems of Spain and a desire for renewal.
• Desire for openness toward Europe, united with a love for Spain.
• Use of traditional and popular lexicon.
• Sober use of language.
• Subjectivism in landscape description.

Key Authors:

Rubén Darío (Nicaraguan, 1867–1916)

A great and admired poet. His evolution is seen in three books:

• Azul (Blue): Work of youthful enthusiasm.
• Prosas Profanas (Profane Prose): The splendor of the modernist movement and his greatest personal success.
• Cantos de vida y esperanza (Songs of Life and Hope): A book expressing disillusionment and questioning existence.

Juan Ramón Jiménez (1881–1958)

In his first books, he traces the simple sensitivity of Bécquer's romantic poetry, though his own becomes more complicated. With Sonetos espirituales (Spiritual Sonnets) in 1916, he abandoned the modernist style, adopting free verse. He replaced melancholy poetry with enthusiasm in his latest works, called Diario de un poeta recién casado (Diary of a Newly Married Poet), reflecting on death and the eternal nature of first poetry. He wrote prose and poetry; his book Platero y yo (Platero and I) received the Nobel Prize in 1956.

Miguel de Unamuno

His essays emphasized the purity and life of Don Quixote and the land of Spain. He dealt with existential issues such as the meaning of life and the desire for immortality. He wrote poetry, novels, and nivolas (a term he coined for his novels).

Pío Baroja (San Sebastián 1872 – Madrid 1956)

His novel style was more personal and subjective, reaching a wide public. His style was neglected but precise. His novels are divided into trilogies:

• The Basque Country.
• The Struggle for Life.

His pessimistic vision of the world, which characterized his personality, is reflected in El árbol de la ciencia (The Tree of Knowledge) and Camino de perfección (The Way of Perfection).

Ramón María del Valle-Inclán

Best known as a playwright. His early works, such as the Sonatas (narrative and modernist genre featuring the Marquis de Bradomín), were known before the 1920s. In the 1920s, he created esperpento plays that ridiculed Spanish society and human nature, including Luces de bohemia (Bohemian Lights), which draws a caricature of society.

Antonio Machado (Seville 1875 – Collioure, France, 1939)

He adhered to modernist aesthetics but was more intimate and less grandiose than others. In 1917, he moved to Soria, where he followed the Noventayochista trend (writing about the beauty and depth of the country). After his wife died, he left Soria and wrote prose.