Literary Movements and Historical Context in the Crown of Aragon

Causes of the Decadence

• 1) The discovery of America shifts trade away from the Mediterranean, causing a crisis.
• 2) The 18th century brings political and military wars of succession.
• 3) The expulsion of the Moors from the Kingdom of Valencia.
• 4) During the Golden Age of Castilian literature, Valencian authors are poorly rated.
• 5) The Castilian Inquisition transfers to the Crown of Aragon, causing cultural repression.
• 6) Anti-feudal social confrontations.
• 7) The disconnection of the Crown of Aragon causes linguistic fragmentation.
• 8) Castilian is considered a factor of social differentiation.
• 9) The bourgeoisie, which had supported literature, enters an economic crisis.

Table 1: Literary Elements

Includes persons, actions, events, psychological profiles, ideal descriptions, and personal relationships:

• A) Relationships based on courtly love: Idealization of women, vassalage, women full of virtues, lack of sensuality, and happy endings.
• B) Relationships based on love and sex: Women with virtues and defects, recounting true eroticism and sensuality, not always with a happy ending.

Renaixença

• 1) Anthropocentric focus.
• 2) Humanized, based on the classics, vitality, and the joy of living.
• 3) Inspiration based on popular festive traditions with simple, plain language.
• 4) Simple didactic purpose.
• 5) Joan Timoneda: Sacramental acts.
• 6) Novel and theater.
• 7) Influence on the Renaixença.
• 8) Current movement for the use of Catalan and Spanish.

Baroque

• 1) Theocentric focus.
• 2) Life as a place of passage; death is the path to salvation.
• 3) Brevity of life; preparation for death; worship of language; use of rhetorical devices.
• 4) Complex resources: exaggerations, statements, etc.
• 5) Francesc Garcia: Concerned about the intimate life after death.
• 6) Use of theater.
• 7) No subsequent recovery.
• 8) Utilized only Spanish.

Enlightenment

• 1) Anthropocentric focus.
• 2) Scientific, humanistic, didactic, open to all forms of expression.
• 3) All works are intended to show enlightened ideas.
• 4) Progress and language: comparisons with didactic purpose.
• 5) Lluís Galana: Popular themes, easy to understand.
• 6) Poetry, drama, and prose.
• 7) Influence on Noucentisme.
• 8) Significance of movement and progress in the scientific field: Diglossic bilingualism.