Key Figures and Themes of the Generation of '98

Pio Baroja

Biography: He studied medicine but practiced only briefly. He dedicated himself to literature and became a member of the Royal Spanish Academy. Work: He wrote three trilogies, including The Struggle for Life and The Basque Country. Thought: His writing often reflects a disenchanted acceptance of life. Style: His storytelling was fluid, characterized by graphic descriptions and self-critical dialogue.

Valle-Inclán

Biography: He studied law but left before graduating to travel to Mexico. He led a bohemian lifestyle and was famous for his eccentric personality. Work: Sonatas, Bohemian Lights. Style: In his first period, he used beautiful, rhythmic prose with sensory effects, later transitioning to the grotesque and blatant, raw language.

Themes of the Generation of '98

The issue of Spain is central to these authors, mixing pain and love with both rejection and exaltation of the country. They were critical of politics and society. History: They attempted to trace the roots of present evils in the past. A major goal for these authors was the Europeanization of Spain. Style: They were great admirers of Larra and Bécquer. They sought a renewal of literary language, prioritizing content over form. Subjectivism: They did not separate their vision of reality from their personal perspective, often favoring traditional, rustic vocabulary.

Azorín

Biography: He studied law but dedicated his life to journalism and Spanish essays. Work: The Will. Topics: He wrote evocative pieces about the land. Style: He utilized poetic and lyrical prose, subjective descriptions, a wealth of adjectives, and complex compound sentences.

Miguel de Unamuno

Biography: He served as rector and professor of Greek at the University of Salamanca. He sought expressiveness and intensity, often using rustic, traditional words. Essays: The Life of Don Quixote and Sancho. Novels: Mist, The Tree of Knowledge.

Rafael Alberti

Biography: Alberti outlived most of his generation. His poetic vocation emerged while he was interned in a sanitarium for tuberculosis, where he transitioned from painting to writing. Style: His early works show a marked influence of medieval popular lyricism, followed by a neo-Gongorist stage, and later, surrealism. Life: During the war, he enlisted in the Republican Air Force. He lived in Buenos Aires and Rome before returning to Spain after Franco's death, where he served as a Communist deputy before returning to poetry. He received the Cervantes Prize in 1983 and the Lenin Peace Prize in 1966.

Manuel Machado

Biography: A great Spanish poet of the bohemian era. In 1910, he married and worked for three years at the National Library. He wrote several plays with his brother Antonio. When the Civil War broke out, the family was divided. Style: His work is characterized by a blend of superficial elegance, poetry, and deep meditation.