Spanish Theater Pre-1936: Valle-Inclán, Lorca, and Esperpento

Spanish Theater Before 1936

The theater movement before the Civil War was characterized by two main currents: commercialism and renewal.

Commercial Theater: Conventional Works

Commercial theater formally included more conventional works that responded to the public taste of the times. This current featured two main types of drama:

1. Bourgeois Atmosphere and Melodrama: Works that satirized or critiqued the bourgeois atmosphere, such as Jacinto Benavente's rural melodramas and plays like Rosas de otoño.
2. Comic Theater: Works by authors like Carlos Arniches (e.g., Los caciques) and the Quintero brothers, Serafín and Joaquín Álvarez Quintero (e.g., Los de Caín).

Two works stand out above all others in this category:

• Los intereses creados (The Vested Interests) by Benavente, which criticizes the hypocrisy of bourgeois society, governed by self-interest and money.
• Señorita Trevélez by Arniches, which criticizes the idleness and immorality of the young bourgeoisie in the provinces, aligning with the regeneration themes of the Generation of '98 authors.

Theater Renovation Movement

Theater renovation works were more complex and innovative, featuring authors such as Unamuno and Azorín, but especially Valle-Inclán and Lorca.

Ramón María del Valle-Inclán and Esperpento

Ramón María del Valle-Inclán is the creator of a new form of theater called Esperpento. The Esperpento is a grotesque distortion of reality (as reflected by concave lenses) used to highlight the absurd and miserable nature of existence. Key characteristics include:

• Recreation of violent and degraded environments.
• Animalization and objectification of the characters.

In Luces de bohemia, Valle-Inclán made a scathing critique of the political and social reality of Spain at the time. Valle-Inclán is considered an author in the Generation of '98. Some of his works are set in a primitive, mythical Galicia governed by greed or lust. Notable works include:

• Comedia bárbara (Barbaric Comedy)
• Divinas palabras (Divine Words)
• Martes de Carnaval (Mardi Gras)
• Retablo de la avaricia, la lujuria y la muerte (Altarpiece of Greed, Lust, and Death)

Federico García Lorca (Generation of '27)

Federico García Lorca was born in Fuentevaqueros. He lived in the Residencia de Estudiantes in Madrid, where he met Dalí and Buñuel. He toured America and directed the traveling theater group La Barraca. He returned to Granada in 1936, where he was assassinated shortly after the start of the Civil War. He belongs to the Generation of '27.

Central Themes: Frustration and Conflict

The main characteristic issue of Lorca's theater is the frustration and dissatisfaction that arises from the clash between two opposing forces:

1. A desire for freedom, erotic fulfillment, and vital expression, usually embodied by a female character (e.g., Adela in La casa de Bernarda Alba, the Bride in Bodas de sangre, Doña Rosita in Doña Rosita la soltera, or the protagonist of Yerma).
2. A harsh reality (society, tradition, destiny) that opposes the fulfillment of these desires.

Dramatic Techniques

Lorca's theater features the use of both verse and prose. Some works, such as Mariana Pineda, are written entirely in verse. Others, such as La zapatera prodigiosa (The Shoemaker's Prodigious Wife) and Amor de Don Perlimplín con Belisa en su jardín (The Love of Don Perlimplín and Belisa in the Garden), alternate prose and verse. Other key features include:

• The importance of nonverbal cues (music, costumes, lighting), reflecting a conception of theater as a total spectacle.
• The use of an intensive poetic language, saturated with similes, metaphors, and symbols.