Spanish Literature: Unamuno, Ortega y Gasset & Movements

The Essay: Definition and Characteristics

The essay is a prose text of variable length, addressing diverse themes with a reflective character. It has several characteristics, such as the use of exposition and argumentation within textual modalities. The reflection is subjective, presenting the author's perspective to persuade the reader, often with a dialogical character. Its structure is open, organized with freedom, and may include heterogeneous fragments. It typically employs a standard language style, sometimes including colloquial voices and idioms, with few technical terms.

Fin de Siècle Spanish Writers (Generation of '98)

Following the crisis of social consciousness and values after 1898, authors sought a national cultural identity, focusing on the Spanish character and originality, highlighting Castile. Authors began to express their views, notably figures like Unamuno, Azorín, and Machado.

Miguel de Unamuno: Works and Thought

His texts are marked by subjective reasoning and the expression of his personal world, constituting a kind of spiritual autobiography. His works often revolve around caciquismo, showcasing the national spirit of Castile, where the intrahistoria of his characters reveals them as anonymous people. In Life of Don Quixote and Sancho, he addresses the individual problem and the anguish of death in thought. And in Tragic Sense of Life, he seeks immortality through a struggle between reason and faith.

Noucentisme Movement and Key Ideas

Liberal thinkers wanted to modernize the country and achieve a moral change in individuals. Their most significant characteristics include:

• Europeanism
• Scientism
• Vital new sensibility
• Political reform
• Ensimismamiento (Self-absorption/Introspection)

Ortega y Gasset: Philosophy on Spain and Art

His basic ideas were vital reason, which explores the fundamental reality of individual human life, the circumstances, and perspectivism: the self is inseparable from the circumstances of which it forms part, and the individual perspective is key.

The concern for Spain constitutes one of the driving forces of his thought, a theme derived from the Regenerationism reform of the 19th century. According to Ortega, the problem of Spain is based on the absence of rebellious elites and the anarchic rebellion of the masses. He advocated for the integration of Spain into Europe.

He also indicated that the aesthetics of art should abandon the human element, tending towards an artificial style and moving away from the masses, because art is for the minority.

Linguistic Notes: Register and Semantic Fields

Let's consider a brief exposition-argumentation example. The register combines a cultured level with slang terms and abundant cultismos. Verbs and semantic fields are important. For example, a semantic field related to drugs might include: adjacent, psychopath, addiction, poison, dosage, alcohol, tobacco.

Functions of Language in Text Analysis

The functions of language vary depending on the type of text:

• Expressive function: To know the author's opinion.
• Representative function: To report on an event.
• Appellative function: To address the reader and shape their opinions.