Spanish Literature 1940s-1950s: Movements, Themes, and Authors

Poetry Movements in Post-War Spain

The 1940s: Rooted and Uprooted Poetry

Rooted Poetry (Poesía Arraigada)

This movement presents an optimistic vision of reality, though an intimate line often reveals the chaos and pain produced by the war.

Key Themes:

• The country and the glorious past
• Religious fervor and the beauty of the landscape
• Familiar life and traditional metrics

Language and Metric:

Worshipful language and the use of classical forms (e.g., the sonnet).

Uprooted Poetry (Poesía Desarraigada)

Expresses the despair and anguish of man regarding existence and the meaning of life.

Key Themes:

• The meaning of life and suffering in this world
• God's lack of response to pain

Language and Metric:

Uses a lexicon reflecting violent despair and anguish. Utilizes both traditional forms and free verse.

The 1950s: Social Poetry

Social Poetry denounces social injustice and proclaims solidarity with the disadvantaged, emphasizing the need to amend reality.

Key Themes:

The theme of Spain; the love of country is summarized in the ardent desire for a Spain characterized by freedom and peace.

Metric:

Primarily verso libre (free verse).

Notable Authors:

Gabriel Celaya, Blas de Otero.

The Spanish Novel After the Civil War

The 1940s Novel: Pessimism and Anguish

Presents a pessimistic vision of reality, reflecting the emptiness and anguish caused by the war. Characters are often solitary and sometimes forced into violence.

Narrative Style:

These works frequently employ first-person narrative and monologues.

Key Works and Authors:

• Camilo José Cela: The Family of Pascual Duarte
• Carmen Laforet: Nada (Nothing)

The 1950s Novel: Social Realism

These social novels testify to the problems and conflicts of Spanish society at the moment. They utilize simple language, often abundant in the colloquial register, giving their works an objective focus.

Key Works and Authors:

• Camilo José Cela: The Hive (La colmena)
• Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio: The Jarama (El Jarama)

Spanish Theater Movements

Commercial Theater (Teatro de Consumo)

This theater is proposed to entertain an audience that identifies with the moral values of the bourgeoisie.

Notable Author:

José María Pemán

Intellectual Humor Theater

Presents situations that reveal disparate human contradictions and absurdities.

Notable Author:

Enrique Jardiel Poncela

Witness Theater (Teatro Testimonial)

Addresses the problems of contemporary man and his struggle against an adverse fate. This movement is characterized by a predominant ethical component, focusing on the search for truth, the exercise of freedom, and the transformation of society.

Key Work and Author:

Antonio Buero Vallejo: Story of a Stairway (Historia de una escalera)