Spanish Literary Movements: A Historical Overview

The first half of the twentieth century was a very rich period from a literary point of view. The authors of the Generation of '98 used the genre as a key vehicle of expression, while the authors belonging to the Novecentismo or Generation of '14 intended to seek new narrative forms.

The Novel in the Generation of '98

The novel is the most important genre for many cultured members of this group. The subjects they preferred were Spain, the causes of decay, history, people... further reflection on man and his destiny. These authors did not focus on the history of great characters; an essential element in the novels of the Generation of '98 is the description of the landscape as reflecting a particular mood.

In terms of style, these authors were based on simplicity and clarity. The argument was most important.

Among the members of the Generation of '98, the major novelists are: Pio Baroja, Ramón del Valle-Inclán, Miguel de Unamuno, José Martínez Ruiz, Azorín, and Angel Ganivet.

Novecentismo or Generation of '14

As a bridge between the Generation of '98 and the Generation of '27, we find a group of writers who are referred to as Novecentistas. They were philosophers, historians, and writers.

Features

They turned to pose the problem of Spain, as the authors of '98 did, though they gave a more intellectual and precise approach.

They wanted Spain to look in the mirror to Europe to modernize.

All had a university and political vocation.

They shared a bright and perfectionist style.

Untying the art of life, and art became dehumanized

Gabriel Miró (Alicante, 1879 - Madrid, 1930)
Ramón Pérez de Ayala (1880, Oviedo - 1962, Madrid)
Ramón Gómez de la Serna (1891-1963)

Cultivated all genres, as well as inventing one: the greguería (defined by him as a metaphor + humor). He always tried to be original and aesthetically renewed.

The Dehumanized Novel

A group of authors concerned more for art than for human problems emerged.

The Social Novel

From the 30s, the dehumanized face of the novel gave rise to a movement that demanded the re-humanization of art. Themes revolved around the war in Morocco and the situation of the workers and peasants, which sometimes made these novels into social reporting.

Ramón J. Sender (1902-1982)
It is the principal author of this current. Requiem for a Spanish peasant

The Nineteenth-Century Realist Narrative

The importance of the realist novel acquired in the second half of the nineteenth century persisted in the work of some authors determined to prolong it, such as Ricardo León and Concha Espina.

The Comic Novel

Wenceslao Fernández Flórez (1884-1964)
He is one of the few Spanish authors dedicated almost exclusively to the novel, humor, though that will gradually soured because of skepticism. Gradually, his mood gradually becomes more intellectual and critical