Spanish Literature: Generation of 98 and Generation of 27 Poets

Spanish Literature: The Generation of 98 and the Generation of 27

Rubén Darío was born in Nicaragua and lived in Paris. His blue, secular prose, his songs of hope, and his personal life made him a central figure of Modernismo.

Juan Ramón Jiménez, born in Moguer, was a very depressive and melancholic poet. His work was influenced by Zenobia Camprubí and marked by his dead wife, the canker of his time, and his influence on the Bécquer-to-Juan Ramón tradition. His work moved through several stages:

• First stage: the Modernist period, with Jardines lejanos and Poe-inspired works.
• Second stage: the Modernist and sensual period, with a focus on magic and sorrows.
• Third stage: the pure and naked poetry of the one-day poet.
• Fourth stage: the pure and naked poetry of eternity, written on the other side of his life, with his later sanatorium-inspired poetic prose.

Antonio Machado

Antonio Machado was born in Sevilla. He worked as a professor in France and as a student in Soria. When he left Soria, his life was moved by the Civil War. He went to France and wrote other poems, including Galerías and Campos de Castilla, which are centered on love and the Castilian landscape.

Ramón María del Valle-Inclán

Ramón María del Valle-Inclán was an intelligent and extravagant writer. He traveled to Mexico, studied the Arts in Galicia, lived in Italy, Madrid, and Pontevedra. His major works include the Sonatas: Primavera (adolescence), Verano (youth), Otoño (maturity), and Invierno (old age). He was an innovator of the theatre with the esperpento, a grotesque style that criticized Spain. His novel Luces de bohemia portrays the life of a tyrant dictator.

Miguel de Unamuno

Miguel de Unamuno was born in Bilbao and was a professor at the University of Salamanca. He wrote essays and novels that explore Spanish identity, the spiritual landscape of Castile, the agony of Christianity, and existential themes such as love and pedagogy. His novel Niebla (Fog) is one of his best-known works.

Pío Baroja

Pío Baroja was a novelist from San Sebastián. His novels describe social class and life in the Basque Country. His influential trilogy, La lucha por la vida, includes La casa de Aizgorri, Labraz, and Zalacaín el aventurero.

Azorín

Azorín, born in Alicante, was a lawyer and journalist. His novel La voluntad presents the confessions of a philosopher. His essays explore Castilian themes and the timelessness of the Castilian town.

The Generation of 27

The Generation of 27 includes Federico García Lorca, Rafael Alberti, and Vicente Aleixandre. Lorca, a poet of Granada, wrote Poeta en Nueva York, Canciones, and Romancero gitano. Alberti, a poet from Cádiz, wrote Marinero en tierra and Cantes, while Aleixandre, whose work includes La destrucción o el amor, is known for his passionate lyric poetry.

Key Themes

• The return to the sea and the land.
• The dislocation of the individual in modern society.
• The Spanish landscape and national identity.
• Love, death, and existential reflection.