Understanding Spanish Literary Movements: '98, '27, Realism, and Naturalism

Spanish Literary Movements: Generation of '98, '27, Realism, and Naturalism

The Generation of '98 traditionally grouped writers, essayists, and poets who were affected by the moral crisis and social policies following the defeat of Spain in the Hispanic-American War.

Inspired by the regenerationism advocated by Cánovas' critics, the Generation of '98 offered an artistic vision. Pedro Salinas critiqued this generation. The authors maintained a close friendship and opposed Restoration Spain.

They distinguished between a real, miserable Spain and an official, seemingly false Spain.

They had great interest in and love for Castile, including its miserable, dusty, and abandoned villages.

The Generation of '27

The Generation of '27 was a constellation of writers who became known in the Spanish cultural scene around 1927. All members of the Generation of '27 are now deceased, with Rafael Alberti being the last.

The concept of generation has been discussed, considering its historical nature and whether it includes authors based on birthday criteria.

Literary Realism

Realism is a literary movement invented by French writer Jules Champfleury (1821-1889), who first defined his art as realistic. Literary realism is part of a broader movement that also influenced the visual arts, cinema (neorealism), photography, and the philosophy of science. It documented society of the time in the nearest environment, in opposition to the aesthetics of romanticism, which favored unusual settings, exotic characters, and extravagance.

Characteristic procedures of Literary Realism include detailed and meticulous descriptions, enumerations, concrete nouns, long paragraphs with complex subordination, and abundant reproduction of popular speech. Realism had two streams: one conservative, praising old customs.

Realism attempts to show a true and exact reproduction of reality.

It uses careful description to show accurate profiles of themes, characters, situations, and locations. The everyday, not the exotic, is the central theme.

Realism rejects sentimentality and shows man objectively, with touches of raw reality.

The language is colloquial, and the works are critical, expressing ordinary speech.

The works show a relationship between people and their economic and social environment, presenting characters as evidence of an age, social class, or trade.

The origin of European literary realism can be found in medieval Spanish literature.

The European realist novel comes from the epic of the middle class or bourgeoisie, which has succeeded through successive revolutions, gaining increasing power (1789, 1820) and becoming the ruling class in all aspects of life, including cultural and aesthetic. Bourgeois ideals (materialism, utilitarianism, the search for economic success and social status) appear in the novel, and in its final phase, some of its internal problems are also shown.

Naturalism

Naturalism, on the other hand, exaggerates the social content, documentaries, and scientific aspects of Realism, approaching the description of the lower classes, marginalized, and disadvantaged.

Naturalism is an art style based on reproducing reality with perfect objectivity and documentary detail in all its aspects, from the most sublime to the most vulgar. Its most representative figure is Émile Zola.

From France, Naturalism spread throughout Europe during the next twenty years, adapting to different national literatures. Naturalism depicts the human being without free will.

In Germany, this movement was not developed with such strength, and in the United States, it arrived very late.