Literary Movements of 20th Century Spain: '98 and '27 Generations

The Literary Generations of Spain: '98 and '27

The Generation of '98

The narrative style of the Generation of '98 used simple words and focused on topics and concerns about the national situation, often divided into two main currents:

• Idealized Evocation: The past is taken as a model of lost values.
• Castilian Landscape Description: The writer projects both love for the land and its harshest criticism.

Miguel de Unamuno

Cultivated all genres, especially narrative and essays. Key themes include the problem of Spain, the meaning of life, casticismo, and human anguish.

Notable Works: San Manuel Bueno, Martyr (novel) and The Tragic Sense of Life (essay).

Pío Baroja

Uses biographical elements and a pessimistic vision. He criticizes Spain's cultural and scientific stagnation.

Style: Formal simplicity, short sentences, and dynamic action.

Work: The Tree of Science.

Theater: Ramón María del Valle-Inclán

Creator of the Esperpento: a literary style characterized by a distorted and grotesque representation of reality, intended to show reality with a critical eye.

Works: Shrove Tuesday and Bohemian Lights.

The Generation of '27 (Ateneo de Sevilla)

Common Characteristics

• Attraction to the avant-garde.
• Appreciation of literary tradition (both educated and popular).
• Search for originality and renewal in poetry.
• Pursuit of artistic purity and perfection.
• Presence of Surrealist and dreamlike elements.
• Supremacy of metaphor over other resources.

Themes

Key themes include:

• Death: Viewed variously as a courageous attitude, a natural echo, or a source of pain and inconsolable frustration.
• Love.
• Landscape: Especially Andalusia.
• Social Concerns: Horror of war, desire for freedom, or parental loss.

Style and Poetic Evolution

The movement showed a poetic evolution from pure poetry to a growing interest in human and social problems. The style features formal simplicity, the use of popular metrics where poetic metaphors or images predominate, and innovative metrics, including free verse.

Rafael Alberti

Followed a neotraditional line, noted for his lyrical poetry and politically committed cancionero.

Works: Marinero en tierra (Sailor on Shore), El poeta en la calle (The Poet in the Street), Entre el clavel y la espada (Between the Carnation and the Sword), and Los árboles perdidos (The Lost Trees).

Federico García Lorca

Combines neopopularismo with surreal elements, metaphors, and traditional poetry. Many ballad poems use symbolism.

Works: Poema del Cante Jondo, Romancero Gitano (Gypsy Ballads), Lament for Ignacio Sánchez Mejías, and Poet in New York.

Theater Trends

Spanish theater during this period followed two trends:

1. Traditional and commercial theater (e.g., Jacinto Benavente).
2. Innovative theater.

Innovative Theater

The main exponent is Federico García Lorca.

Main Features

• Themes: Unsatisfied desire and combating tyranny.
• Characters: Often women frustrated by the inability to achieve their desires.
• Style: Formal simplicity, plasticity, rural vocabulary, and extensive use of metaphors and symbolism.

Notable Plays: Yerma (Barren), The House of Bernarda Alba, and The Shoemaker's Prodigious Wife.