Literary Figures and Rhetorical Devices in Catalan Literature

Rhetorical Devices

• Metaphor: A word used in place of another which has a similar meaning.
• Comparison: The presentation of one reality as identical to another.
• Metonymy: The container which replaces the contents.
• Personification: Attributing human qualities to animals, things, or concepts.
• Alliteration: Repetition of the same sound.
• Paronomasia: A wordplay involving two words that differ by only one phoneme.
• Anaphora: Repetition of one or more words at the beginning of verses or sentences.
• Hyperbaton: The inversion of sentence order.
• Asyndeton: The elimination of conjunctions as links between sentences.
• Polysyndeton: The presence of repeated and unnecessary conjunctions.
• Epithet: An adjective that underscores an inherent quality of the noun.

Notable Catalan Avant-Garde Figures

Joan Salvat-Papasseit (1884–1924)

Born in Barcelona, Papasseit is the most notable figure of the Catalan avant-garde. Born into a poor family, he was orphaned at seven and interned in an orphanage until age twelve, as his mother lacked the resources to support him. He began working at thirteen, which limited his formal education. Later, he befriended Catalan intellectuals and began reading famous authors, becoming an intellectually self-taught writer. He founded the journal Enemy of the Village, where he expressed his vision of art, religion, class struggle, and Catalan culture. He married Carmen Eleuterio in 1918 and died of tuberculosis in 1924 after writing much of his work in sanatoriums during his final six years.

Work

His first two books were more avant-garde (Poems in Hertz Waves and Seagulls and Port Radiator), later shifting to a more personal and patriotic style (Conspiracies, The Achievement of the Kite). His best work, The Poem of the Pink Lips, moves away from the themes of his early works to explore love between a poet and his apprentice.

J.V. Foix (1893–1987)

Born in Sarrià, Foix began studying law but left to devote himself to the family bakery and literature. Influenced by French and Italian avant-garde movements, he organized exhibitions in Barcelona and collaborated with clandestine journals during the Civil War. He became a member of the Institute for Catalan Studies in 1961.

Work

His output includes poetry, prose, and verse. His surrealist writings attempt to harmonize the avant-garde with classical traditions. He utilized a highly elaborate and musical language, notably in Mourning Sun and Unreal Omegas, which feature political criticism alongside personal images and anecdotes.