Spanish Literary Movements: Generation of '27, '98, Vanguard, and Surrealism

Generation of '27

In the 1920s, a group of outstanding poets emerged, renewing Spanish poetry of the twentieth century. This group, often associated with the tribute to Góngora's tercentenary, included Jorge Guillén, Salinas, Alberti, Lorca, Dámaso Alonso, Gerardo Diego, Cernuda, Aleixandre, Manuel Altolaguirre, and Emilio Prados. They aimed to renew poetic language, influenced by modern and avant-garde traditions. Characteristics adopted by the Generation of '27 included intellectual poetry, hermeticism, minority appeal, originality, and self-sufficiency of art. They used free verse and metaphors.

Stages:

1. Up to 1927: Influence of Juan Ramón and 'pure' poetry.
2. Until 1939: Stage of maturity, re-humanization of poetry.
3. Emerging poets and exile of the group.

Generation of '98

The writers of the Generation of '98, influenced by the dominant modernist era, adopted new attitudes towards life, including a rejection of daily reality and a renewal of literary language. Members included Baroja, Unamuno, Maeztu, Darío, and Valle-Inclán. Their ideological evolution shifted from revolutionary ideas to more conservative positions. They often met at the Ateneo de Madrid.

Characteristics:

• Similar ages and often friends.
• Many were anarchists and socialists.
• Engaged in gatherings and discussions.
• Affected by the end-of-century crisis and the Disaster of '98.
• Renewed literary language.
• Treated subjects with a style away from rhetoric.

Vanguard Spec

The translation into Castilian of futurist and surrealist manifestos, the arrival of Vicente Huidobro (founder of Creationism), and the stay of Spanish artists in Paris facilitated the dissemination and assimilation of avant-garde movements.

Juan Ramón Jiménez

Born in Moguer (Huelva) in 1881, Juan Ramón Jiménez went to Madrid at the age of 19, where he met Rubén Darío. His frequent depressions led to stays in various clinics. He wrote his famous Platero y yo (1914). A supporter of the Republic, he went into exile in America, where he died in 1958. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1956. He dedicated himself fully to poetry and never wrote "g" when it sounded like "j".

His three stages:

1. Modernist: From his beginnings until 1915, he sought the language and words appropriate to his experience.
2. Intellectual: After a boat trip to the U.S. in 1916, his new poetry moved away from music and used free verse in an attempt to realize the essence of things, resulting in abstract poetry.
3. True: A pantheistic poet, he sought a connection with God, whom he saw in nature.

Vanguard Movements

In the early twentieth century, various movements emerged that broke with traditional conceptions of art and literature. They all shared a desire for originality and embraced the irrationality of their proposals. Members experimented with new techniques to reflect reality, forming closed groups and developing theoretical manifestos. Expressionism, Futurism, and Cubism were key movements. Expressionism introduced the artist's subjectivity, while Cubism, exemplified by Picasso, focused on the representation of people and objects. These movements preceded literary autonomy and the concept of the absolute work of art.

Dadaism

Established in Zurich by Tristan Tzara in 1916, Dadaism's radical proposals went beyond art, attempting to free the individual's fantasy. It was a forerunner of the Surrealist movement.

Surrealism

A great revolutionary artistic movement that attempted to transform life. Its creator, André Breton, defended the total liberation of man and artistic creation.