This article concerns poetry in Spain .
92-523: Spanish literature is literature ( Spanish poetry , prose , and drama) written in the Spanish language within the territory that presently constitutes the Kingdom of Spain . Its development coincides and frequently intersects with that of other literary traditions from regions within the same territory, particularly Catalan literature, Galician intersects as well with Latin, Jewish, and Arabic literary traditions of
184-502: A Dios, preguntándole por qué se pudre lentamente mi alma, por qué se pudren más de un millón de cadáveres en esta ciudad de Madrid, por qué mil millones de cadáveres se pudren lentamente en el mundo. Dime, ¿qué huerto quieres abonar con nuestra podredumbre? ¿Temes que se te sequen los grandes rosales del día, las tristes azucenas letales de tus noches? Poems by José Hierro , Blas de Otero , and Gabriel Celaya were more direct, penning poems with such transparent titles as Canto
276-499: A España (Hierro), A la inmensa mayoría (Otero), or La poesía es un arma cargada de futuro (Celaya). Spanish poetry The Medieval period covers 400 years of different poetry texts and can be broken up into five categories. Since the findings of the Kharjas , which are mainly two, three, or four verses, Spanish lyrics, which are written in Mozarabic dialect, are perhaps
368-636: A collection of essays vindicating the existence of a scientific tradition in Spain . The orthodoxy of this work is even more noticeable in the Historia de los heterodoxos españoles (1880–1886), and the writer was hailed as the champion of the Ultramontane party. As the Catholic Encyclopedia (1908–10) described his work, "Every page of his writings reveals a wealth of strong common sense, clear perception, and
460-478: A devastating impact on Spanish writing. Among the handful of civil war poets and writers, Miguel Hernández stands out. During the early dictatorship (1939–1955), literature followed dictator Francisco Franco 's reactionary vision of a second, Catholic Spanish golden age. By the mid-1950s, just as with the novel, a new generation which had only experienced the Spanish Civil War in childhood was coming of age. By
552-521: A devastating impact on the trajectory of Spanish letters. In July 1936, Spain was at the height of its Silver Age. Every major writer of the three major generations—1898, 1914, and 1927—was still alive and productive. Those of 1914 and 1927 were at the height or just reaching the height of their literary powers. Several were recognized among Western civilization's most talented and influential writers. But by April 1939, Miguel de Unamuno, Antonio Machado, and Federico García Lorca, among others, were dead. All but
644-553: A dictionary and read the History of England by Oliver Goldsmith . At only 15, he studied literature under Manuel Milà i Fontanals at the University of Barcelona (1871–1872), then proceeded to the central University of Madrid . His academic success was unprecedented; a special law was passed by the Cortes to enable him to become a professor at 22. Three years later, in 1880, he was elected
736-569: A discussion nature, such as Elena y María and Reason to Love . Hagiographic poems include Life of St. María Egipciaca and Book of the Three Wise Men . Mature works, like The Book of Good Love and Rhyming Book of the Palace , were not included in the genre until the 14th century. During this movement, language use went from Galician-Portuguese to Castilian . Octosyllable , twelve syllables, and verse of arte mayor were becoming
828-682: A general cultural crisis in Spain. The "Disaster" of 1898 led established writers to seek practical political, economic, and social solutions in essays grouped under the literary heading of "Regeneracionismo". For a group of younger writers, among them Miguel de Unamuno , Pío Baroja , and José Martínez Ruiz (Azorín), the Disaster and its cultural repercussions inspired a deeper, more radical literary shift that affected both form and content. These writers, along with Ramón del Valle-Inclán , Antonio Machado , Ramiro de Maeztu , and Ángel Ganivet , came to be known as
920-540: A greater sense of distance and objectivity. These writers had enjoyed more formal academic training than their predecessors, many taught within the walls of academia, and one, Azaña, was to become President and face of the Second Republic. Their genre of choice were the essay and the article, their arguments more systematic, and their tastes, more European. In contrast to Unamuno's existential obsessions or Machado's conceptual, earth-bound verse, Juan Ramón's poetry pursued
1012-659: A martyr to the Republican cause but this time as a post-war prisoner, fighting and writing as a soldier poet throughout the war and then languishing and dying in one of Franco's prisons in 1942. Among his important works, Perito en lunas (1933) from his pre-war surrealist days and Viento del pueblo (1937), evidence of the work of a soldier-poet, stand out. The earliest years of the post-war were characterized more by hunger, repression, and suffering than by any significant literature. The published works of this period were true to pseudo-fascist dictator Francisco Franco's reactionary vision of
SECTION 10
#17328767821891104-564: A member of the Real Academia Española , but he was already well known throughout Spain. His first volume, Estudios críticos sobre escritores montañeses (1876), had attracted little notice at first. He then produced his scholarly investigation Horacio en España (1877), an analysis of Horace 's translations in Spanish literature, with a prologue by the prominent critic Juan Valera . He became famous through his Ciencia española (1878),
1196-510: A more esoteric version of beauty and truth above all, while still manifesting an internalized sense of the existential dilemmas that plagued intellectuals in the first half of the twentieth century. Juan Ramón was Spain's great modernist poet and the maestro of the coming vanguardist Generation of 1927. In 1957 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. José Ortega y Gasset became the spokesman for this and essential every generation of writers in
1288-442: A new type of prose named the verbal portrait. This form is demonstrated by Pulgar's work Claros varones de Castilla in which he represents the detailed lives of twenty-four distinguished contemporaries. He explores their moral and psychological natures as well as physical traits. Pulgar was the official historian of the monarchs Fernando and Isabel, the famous Catholic Monarchs of Spain. This position gave him close encounters with
1380-465: A prominent place for themselves within the Spanish cultural field. The Roman conquest and occupation of the peninsula, spanning from the 3rd century BCE to the 5h century CE, brought a fully developed Latin culture to Spanish territories. While the invasion of Germanic tribes in the fifth century CE put an end to Roman Spain, the tribes’ relative lack of advanced culture, including any kind of literary tradition, meant that any written literature produced in
1472-501: A real man—his battles, conquests, and daily life. The poet, name unknown, wrote the epic in about 1140 and Cid supposedly died forty years before in 1099. This epic represents realism, because nothing was exaggerated and the details are very real, even the geography correctly portrays the areas in which Cid traveled and lived. Unlike other European epics, the poem is not idealized and there is no presence of supernatural beings. It has assonance instead of rhyme and its lines vary in length,
1564-567: A scientific discipline; Adolfo Bonilla y San Martín, editor of the Obras completas of Miguel de Cervantes , among other works; and José María Sánchez Muniaín, chair of Aesthetics at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, who compiled the Antología general de Menéndez Pelayo . La ciencia española (1876) is a claim of the existence of a scientific tradition in Spain. Horacio en España (1877)
1656-688: A second Spanish golden age than to the material and existential anguish facing the majority of the country's population of the time. Neo-baroque poetry and paeans to Franco's Spain satisfied the censors but has enjoyed no subsequent critical shelf-life. Ironically, the narrative production of one of Franco's censors would provide the first sign of literary revival in post-war Spain. In 1942, Camilo José Cela 's novel, La familia de Pascual Duarte , used just enough experimental arrangement (temporally disjointed narrative development to problematize simple accusations of political cause-effect critique; prefaces and post-scripts that confuse authorial intentions) to avoid
1748-417: A sense of deep malaise at the social injustice, political bungling, and cultural indifference evident in contemporary Spanish society. Within a matter of years, these young authors had transformed their nation’s literary landscape. To be sure, established nineteenth century realists, such as Benito Pérez Galdós, continued to write novels and theater into the second decade of the twentieth century, and, again in
1840-531: A small handful of the remaining writers had fled into exile, dispersed across the length of the American continent, most never to enjoy the close associations of conferences, tertulias, and theater premiers that had so often united them in pre-war Madrid. Among the handful of civil war poets and writers, Miguel Hernández stands out. A young disciple and associate of the Generation of 1898, Hernández, like Lorca, became
1932-807: A social realist tradition that was as celebrated as it was short-lived. Spanish poetry experienced renewal along similar lines. Dámaso Alonso 's poem, "Insomnia" (1947) captures much of the angst and sense of violence that informed the works of Cela et al. and that would infuse the Spanish poetry of the era: Madrid es una ciudad de más de un millón de cadáveres (según las últimas estadísticas). A veces en la noche yo me revuelvo y me incorporo en este nicho en el que hace 45 años que me pudro, y paso largas horas oyendo gemir al huracán, o ladrar los perros, o fluir blandamente la luz de la luna. Y paso largas horas gimiendo como el huracán, ladrando como un perro enfurecido, fluyendo como la leche de la ubre caliente de una gran vaca amarilla. Y paso largas horas preguntándole
SECTION 20
#17328767821892024-716: A universal manner (all things come to an end). He is still considered a poet of the Middle Ages in that he finds peace and finality in religion. The 15th century may be thought of as a pre-Renaissance period. Literary production increases greatly. Outstanding poets of this century include Juan de Mena and Íñigo López de Mendoza (Marquess of Santillana). Spanish literature of the Middle Ages concludes with La Celestina by Fernando de Rojas . Important Renaissance themes are poetry, with Garcilaso de la Vega and Juan Boscán ; religious literature, with Fray Luis de León , San Juan de la Cruz , and Santa Teresa de Jesús ; and prose, with
2116-537: A vein of wonderful and ever varying erudition. Thoroughly Catholic in spirit, he found his greatest delight, he declared, in devoting all his work to the glory of God and the exaltation of the name of Jesus". His lectures (1881) on Calderón established his reputation as a literary critic. His work as an historian of Spanish literature was continued in his Historia de las ideas estéticas en España ("History of aesthetic ideas in Spain") (1883-1891), which are five volumes in which he explores, summarizes and reinterprets
2208-758: A younger group of writers—mostly poets—began publishing works that from their beginnings revealed the extent to which younger artists were absorbing the literary experimentation of the writers of 1898 and 1914. Poets Pedro Salinas , Jorge Guillén , Federico García Lorca , Vicente Aleixandre , Dámaso Alonso , Rafael Alberti , Luis Cernuda , Manuel Altolaguirre were likewise the most closely tied to formal academia yet. Novelists such as Benjamín Jarnés , Rosa Chacel , Francisco Ayala , and Ramón J. Sender were equally experimental and academic. Many of this generation were full-time university professors, while others spent periods as guest teachers and students. All were scholars of their national literary heritage, again evidence of
2300-421: A “generation", contemporary critics and later literary historians were to catalogue and then interpret the arrival of new batches of authors in such generational terms for nearly the next one hundred years. Certainly, the terminology possesses a certain organizational elegance and indeed, recognizes the significant impact of major political and cultural events on changing literary expressions and tastes (for example,
2392-500: Is a frame story or short stories within an overall story. In this work, the Conde Lucanor seeks advice from his wise counselor, Patronio, who gives the advice through the telling of stories. Juan Manuel also wrote lesser-known works such as El libro de los estados on the social classes and El libro del caballero y escudero on philosophical discussions. Toward the end of the Middle Ages, writer Fernando del Pulgar (1436-1490?) created
2484-458: Is an analysis of the translations of Horace in Spanish literature, according to Horace's classical dispositions. His work Historia de los heterodoxos españoles (1880–1882) is particularly famous and valued today especially where the Christian traditions of Spain are studied. From the Middle Ages to the ending of the 19th century, he breaks down the work of all the thinkers and writers persecuted by
2576-587: Is characterized by the following points: In the Enlightenment of the 18th century, with the arrival of "the lights" to Spain, important topics are the prose of Fray Benito Jerónimo Feijoo , Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos , and José Cadalso ; the lyric of the Salmantine school (with Juan Meléndez Valdés ), the lyric of the Madrilenian group (with the story-tellers Tomás de Iriarte and Félix María Samaniego ), and
2668-699: Is usually written in series of seven to eight syllables within rhyming verse . The cuaderna vía is the most distinctive verse written in Alexandrine verse , consisting of 12 syllables. Works during the 13th century include religious, epics, historical, advice or knowledge, and adventure themes. Examples of such themes include The Miracles of the Virgin Mary , Poema de Fernán González , Book of Alexander , Cato’s Examples , and Book of Apolonio , respectively. Some works vary and are not necessarily mester de clerecía , but are reflective of it. Such poems are of
2760-622: The Baker Woman . The romanceros have no set number of octosyllables, but these poems are only parallel in this form. Romancero Viejo consists of the oldest poems in these epochs , which are anonymous. The largest amount of romances comes from the 16th century, although early works were from the 14th century. Many musicians of Spain used these poems in their pieces throughout the Renaissance . Cut offs, archaic speech, and recurrent dialogue are common characteristics among these poems; however
2852-511: The Arcipreste de Hita is an outstanding lyricist of the fourteenth century. His only work, Libro de buen amor is a framework tale in which he includes translations from Ovid, satires, little poems called serranillas , twenty-nine fables, a sermon on Christian armor, and many lyric poems that praise the Virgin Mary. Poet Íñigo López de Mendoza, the Marqués de Santillana (1398–1458), begins to show
Spanish literature - Misplaced Pages Continue
2944-513: The Baroque period, Satire, Neostoicism, and Mythological themes were also prevalent. Germany and England were the large forces in this movement. Over the course of the late 18th century to the late 19th century, Romanticism spread philosophy and art through Western societies of the world. The earlier part of this movement overlapped with the Age of Revolutions . The idea of the creative imagination
3036-443: The Enlightenment era of the 18th century, notable works include the prose of Feijoo , Jovellanos , and Cadalso ; the lyric of Juan Meléndez Valdés , Tomás de Iriarte and Félix María Samaniego ), and the theater, with Leandro Fernández de Moratín , Ramón de la Cruz , and Vicente García de la Huerta . In Romanticism (beginning of the 19th century) important topics are: the poetry of José de Espronceda and other poets; prose;
3128-602: The Iberian Peninsula . The literature of Spanish America is an important branch of Spanish literature, with its own particular characteristics dating back to the earliest years of Spain’s conquest of the Americas (see Latin American literature ). The Roman conquest and occupation of the Iberian Peninsula beginning in the 3rd century BC brought a Latin culture to Spanish territories. The Muslim conquest in 711 CE brought
3220-453: The Mester de Clerecía became popular in the thirteenth century. It is the verse form of the learned poets, usually clerics (hence the name 'clerecía'). The poetry was formal, with carefully counted syllables in each line. Popular themes were Christian legends, lives of saints and tales from classical antiquity. The poems were recited to villagers in public plazas. Two traits separate this form from
3312-451: The Poema del Cid (El Cantar de mío Cid) (1140 CE) in the history of Spanish literature, they cannot be seen as a precursor to Spain's great epic poem. What the discovery of the jarchas makes clear instead is that from its origins, the literature of Spain has arisen out of and born witness to a rich, heterogeneous mix of cultures and languages. The epic poem Cantar de Mio Cid was written about
3404-553: The muwashah , maqama , and nawba . Important works include Al-ʿIqd al-Farīd , Hayy ibn Yaqdhan , The Incoherence of the Incoherence , and Hadith Bayad wa Riyad . The earliest recorded examples of a vernacular Romance-based literature date from the same time and location, the rich mix of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian cultures in Muslim Spain, in which Maimonides , Averroes , and others worked. The Jarchas , dating from
3496-518: The " Generation of 98 ". The label from its outset was controversial and even Azorín, the source of its origin, came to reject it. Nevertheless, it stuck as a way to describe a group of writers who turned in content from the more general exploration of universal middle class values characteristic of Nineteenth Century Realism to an obsession with questions of a more national nature. Their articles, essays, poems, and novels exploring Spanish history and geography carried existential overtones, expressing overall
3588-601: The 1898 connection, or a 1927 literary celebration that briefly united nearly every major vanguard poet in Spain). The next supposed “generation" of Spanish writers following those of ´98 already calls into question the value of such terminology. By the year 1914—the year of the outbreak of the First World War and of the publication of the first major work of the generation's leading voice, José Ortega y Gasset —a number of slightly younger writers had established their own place within
3680-586: The 9th to the 12th centuries C.E., were short poems spoken in local colloquial Hispano-Romance dialects, known as Mozarabic , but written in Arabic script. The Jarchas appeared at the end of longer poetry written in Arabic or Hebrew known as muwashshah , which were lengthy glosses on the ideas expressed in the jarchas. Typically spoken in the voice of a woman, the jarchas express the anxieties of love, particularly of its loss. This combination of Hispano-Romance expression with Arabic script, only discovered in 1948, locates
3772-429: The Iberian Peninsula continued along Romanized lines. Outstanding amongst the works produced is Saint Isidore of Seville’s ( c. 560–636 ) Etymologiae , an attempted summa of all classical knowledge. Called “the last scholar of the ancient world", St. Isidore penned theological and proto-scientific treatises, letters, and a series of histories that would serve as models for the rest of Western Europe throughout
Spanish literature - Misplaced Pages Continue
3864-530: The Middle Ages includes popular poems and the courtly poetry of the nobles. During the 15th century the pre-Renaissance occurred and literary production increased greatly. In the Renaissance important topics were poetry, religious literature, and prose. In the 16th century the first Spanish novels appeared, Lazarillo de Tormes and Guzmán de Alfarache . In the Baroque era of the 17th century important works were
3956-638: The Middle Ages. The arrival of Muslim invaders in 711 CE brought the cultures of the Middle and Far East to the Iberian Peninsula and ultimately to all of Europe. During the era of relative religious tolerance that followed, writers such as the Jewish theologian Maimonides (1135–1204) or the Muslim polymath (1126–1198) Averroes penned works of theology, science, philosophy, and mathematics that would have lasting impacts on Hebrew and Muslim philosophy and prove essential to
4048-642: The Spanish Catholic traditions, taking the perspective of Catholicism. In his second edition he corrected some of his perspectives, but not, for example, his jests and ironies against the Krausists and the Hegelianists , especially Emilio Castelar . Historia de las ideas estéticas en España (1883–1891) is five volumes long and very up to date. They explore, summarize, and reinterpret the existing bibliography about literary esthetics and artistics in distinct eras of
4140-425: The Spanish cultural field. Leading voices include the poet Juan Ramón Jiménez , the academics and essayists Ramón Menéndez Pidal , Gregorio Marañón , Manuel Azaña , Eugenio d'Ors , and Ortega y Gasset, and the novelists Gabriel Miró , Ramón Pérez de Ayala , and Ramón Gómez de la Serna . While still driven by the national and existential questions that obsessed the writers of ´98, they approached these topics with
4232-563: The Spanish cultural tradition. Menéndez Pelayo took on three large works that would keep him occupied almost until the time of his death. One is the publication of Obras de Lope de Vega (1890–1902), written in 13 volumes; the second is the Antología de poetas líricos castellanos (1890–1908), another 13 volumes dedicated to medieval poetry, except for the last, dedicated to Juan Boscán . As well, despite its title, it includes epic poetry along with didactic poetry, changing Antología instead to Historia de la poesía castellana en la Edad Media ,
4324-425: The anonymous El Lazarillo de Tormes . Among the principal features of the Renaissance were the revival of learning based on classical sources, the rise of courtly patronage, the development of perspective in painting, and advances in science. The most important characteristics of the Renaissance are: In the Baroque of the 17th century important topics are the prose of Francisco de Quevedo and Baltasar Gracián ;
4416-453: The arrival of Spain's Second Republic in 1931, the Generation's poets reached the apex of their experimental writings, manifesting a clear awareness of the international vanguard “—isms" sweeping major Western capitals of the day. After 1931, the Generation's writing increasingly displays the imprint of the political and social stresses that would lead to Spain's bloody civil war. The Spanish Civil War , lasting from July 1936 to April 1939, had
4508-560: The awe experienced in confronting the sublimity of nature. It elevated folk art, nature and custom. The characteristics of the works of Romanticism are: Various are the themes of the romanticist works: In Realism (end of the 19th century), which is mixed with Naturalism , important topics are the novel, with Juan Valera , José María de Pereda , Benito Pérez Galdós , Emilia Pardo Bazán , Leopoldo Alas (Clarín) , Armando Palacio Valdés , and Vicente Blasco Ibáñez ; poetry, with Ramón de Campoamor , Gaspar Núñez de Arce , and other poets;
4600-464: The bloodless coup of 1868 and that would come to a tragic end with the outbreak of civil war in July 1936. The writing of this supposed generation can be roughly divided into three moments. In their early years their work arises still out of mostly local and national traditions, culminating in their united celebration of the tri-centennial of the death of Golden Age poet Luis de Góngora . From mid decade until
4692-461: The case of Galdós, were much admired by the new generation of writers. Nevertheless, with the novels of Unamuno, Azorín, Pío Baroja, and Valle Inclán, the theater of the latter, and the poetry of Antonio Machado and Unamuno, a definitive literary shift had taken place—a shift in both form and content—pointing towards the more celebrated experimental writings of Spain's vanguard writers of the 1920s. Thanks to Azorín's designation of his fellow writers as
SECTION 50
#17328767821894784-520: The causes of the decadence of Spain as a nation between the 19th and the 20th century is called Regenerationism. It expresses a pessimist judgement about Spain. The regenerationist intellectuals divulgated their studies in journals with a big diffusion, so the movement expanded. Some important Modernist authors are Salvador Rueda , Juan Ramón Jiménez , Miguel de Unamuno and Rubén Darío . The destruction of Spain's fleet in Cuba by U.S. gunboats in 1898 provoked
4876-602: The censors´ cuts and to present to discerning Spanish readers an exposé of a spiritually troubled, socially impoverished, and structurally violent society. Cela was to remain for the next five decades as one of Spain's most important novelists, eventually receiving the Nobel Prize for literature in 1989. With the 1945 publication of the Nadal Prize winning Nada by Carmen Laforet and the 1947 release of Miguel Delibes 's La sombra del ciprés es alargada , readers of intelligent Spanish narrative at last had cause for hope. While
4968-521: The central and southern regions. Latin still prevailed in the north. The Jewish culture had its own Golden Age through the span of the 10th to 12th centuries in Spain . Hebrew poetry was usually in the style of Piyyut ; however, under Muslim rule in Spain, the style changed. These poets began to write again in what was the "pure language of the Bible ". Beforehand, poems were written in Midrash . This change
5060-479: The characters in this book, making the work realistic and detailed. Lyric poetry in the Middle Ages can be divided into three groups: the jarchas, the popular poems originating from folk-songs sung by commoners, and the courtly poetry of the nobles. Alfonso X of Castile fits into the third group with his series of three hundred poems, written in Galician: Las cantigas de Santa María. Another poet, Juan Ruiz, or
5152-870: The culture of Spain with the works of the Generation of 1898 , which were mostly novelists but some were poets. The Generation of 1927 were mostly poets. Many were also involved with the production of music and theatre plays. Poets during the World War II and under General Franco in peacetime: These works became experimental, using themes, styles and characteristics of traditional poetry throughout Spain’s time and combining them with current movements. Some poets remain more traditional, while others more contemporary. Post-Franco and Contemporary Spanish Poets: Men%C3%A9ndez Pelayo Defunct Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo ( Spanish pronunciation: [maɾθeˈlino meˈnendeθ i peˈlaʝo] ; 3 November 1856 – 19 May 1912)
5244-495: The cultures of West Asia and the North Africa to the peninsula, creating Andalusi literary traditions . In medieval Spanish literature , the earliest recorded examples of a vernacular Romance-based literature mix Muslim, Jewish, and Christian culture. One of the notable works is the epic poem Cantar de Mio Cid , composed some time between 1140 and 1207. Spanish prose gained popularity in the mid-thirteenth century. Lyric poetry in
5336-518: The defense of Spanish tradition, are no longer accepted, his studies of Spanish literature ( Medieval , Renaissance , and Golden Age ) are still valuable. He died at Santander. He is buried in Santander Cathedral , where his monument may still be seen. Among his many disciples can be mentioned: Ludwig Pfandl , German Hispanist and biographer of many important Spanish historical figures; Ramón Menéndez Pidal , founder of Hispanic philology as
5428-524: The early 1960s, Spanish authors moved towards a restless literary experimentation. When Franco died in 1975, the important work of establishing democracy had an immediate impact on Spanish letters. Over the next several years a wealth of young new writers, among them Juan José Millás , Rosa Montero , Javier Marías , Luis Mateo Díez , José María Merino , Félix de Azúa , Cristina Fernández Cubas , Enrique Vila-Matas , Carme Riera , and later Antonio Muñoz Molina and Almudena Grandes , would begin carving out
5520-478: The early models laid down by Cela and Laforet. Equally influenced by the films of the Italian neorealists, novelists such as Luis Romero ( La noria , 1951), Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio ( El jarama , 1956), Jesús Fernández Santos ( Los bravos , 1956), Carmen Martín Gaite ( Entre visillos , 1957), Ignacio Aldecoa ( El fulgor y la sangre , 1954), and Juan Goytisolo ( Juegos de manos , 1954) produced
5612-463: The existing bibliography on literary and artistic aesthetics at different times of the Spanish cultural tradition. He undertook the publication of the works of Lope de Vega (1890-1902) in 13 volumes. Another tremendous work was his Anthology of Castilian Lyric Poets (1890-1908), again 13 volumes devoted to medieval poetry (except the last one, dedicated to Juan Boscán Almogáver ). He also devoted much time to his Orígenes de la novela ("The origins of
SECTION 60
#17328767821895704-570: The first half of the twentieth century. In essays like “Meditations on the Quijote," “The Rebellion of the Masses," and most famously, “The Dehumanization of Art," Ortega laid out theories of art and society that lucidly explained and celebrated twentieth century vanguard experimentation while holding fast to an elitist social vision whose eclipse this art ironically expressed. The most elusive voice of this generation, and arguably, unclassifiable within this group
5796-434: The first modern book of laws of the land written in the people's language. Another work was La primera crónica general which accounted for the history of Spain from the creation until the end of Alfonso's father's reign, San Fernando. For his direction of these works and many others he directed, Alfonso X is called the father of Spanish prose. His nephew, Don Juan Manuel is famous for his prose work El Conde Lucanor which
5888-545: The flowering of the European Renaissance centuries later. While none of their works can be considered direct ancestors of a Spanish literary tradition, it was out of the cultural milieu fostered by such intellectual energy that the first written manifestations of a Spanish literature proper arise. The period of Islamic rule in Iberia from 711 to 1492 brought many new literary traditions to Spain. Most literature at this time
5980-429: The footing of verses. Main themes derive from Provençal poetry . This form of poetry was generally compilations of verses formed into books, also known as cancioneros . Main works include Cancionero de Baena , Cancionero de Estuniga , and Cancionero General . Other important works from this era include parts of Dance of Death , Dialogue Between Love and an Old Man , verses of Mingo Revulgo , and verses of
6072-402: The fresh, joyful experimentation of Spain's "Silver Age" writers had disappeared, Cela, Laforet, and Delibes at least showed a renewed commitment to a kind of writing that first, was connected to Spain's material reality, and second, would stretch itself aesthetically in its attempts to capture the experience. By the middle of the next decade, a whole new generation of novelists was latching onto
6164-432: The impact of the calls of “Regeneracionistas" and the Generation of 1898 for Spanish intelligence to turn at least partially inwards. This group of poets continues to be, without contest, the most celebrated and studied of Spain's twentieth century writers. Their work provides a capstone to what some have called the “Silver Age" of Spanish Letters, a period that began with the veritable explosion of novel production following
6256-547: The latter romanticism (post-romanticism) some appear: Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer and Rosalía de Castro . Some anti-romantic poets are Ramón de Campoamor and Gaspar Núñez de Arce . In part a revolt against aristocratic, social, and political norms of the Enlightenment period and a reaction against the rationalization of nature, in art and literature Romanticism stressed strong emotion as a source of aesthetic experience, placing new emphasis on such emotions as trepidation, horror, and
6348-513: The lyric of the Sevillian school; and also the theater, with Leandro Fernández de Moratín , Ramón de la Cruz and Vicente García de la Huerta . Enlightenment thinkers sought to apply systematic thinking to all forms of human activity, carrying it to the ethical and governmental spheres in exploration of the individual, society and the state. Three phases in the Spanish literature of the 18th century are distinguished: Early Romanticism appeared with
6440-424: The mester de juglaría: didacticism and erudition. Gonzalo de Berceo was one of the greatest advocates of this school, writing on religious subjects. Spanish prose gained popularity in the mid-thirteenth century when King Alfonso X of Castile gave support and recognition to the writing form. He, with the help of his groups of intellectuals, directed the composition of many prose works including Las siete partidas,
6532-501: The most common length being fourteen syllables . This type of verse is known as mester de juglaria (verse form of the minstrels). The epic is divided into three parts, also known as cantos. Medieval Spanish poets recognized the Mester de Juglaría as a literary form written by the minstrels (juglares) and composed of varying line length and use of assonance instead of rhyme. These poems were sung to uneducated audiences, nobles and peasants alike. This Castilian narrative poetry known as
6624-462: The movement away from the traditions of the Middle Ages. He shows a knowledge of Latin authors and familiarity with the works of Dante and Petrarch . Mendoza was also the first to introduce the sonnet into Spanish literature. The last great poet of the Middle Ages is Jorge Manrique . He is famous for his work which laments the death of his father, Coplas a la muerte de su padre . In this piece, Manrique shows classical feelings by expressing himself in
6716-477: The novel"), three volumes published in 1905, 1907 and 1910, with a fourth posthumous volume where he examined the imitations that La Celestina gave rise to in the 16th century. Simultaneously, he published the Anthology of Hispano-American Poets (1893-1895), 4 volumes that are actually a History of Hispano-American poetry as he titled it when reissuing it in 1911. Although some of his judgments, mainly those related to
6808-515: The novelists Gabriel Miró , Ramón Pérez de Ayala , and Ramón Gómez de la Serna . Around 1920 a younger group of writers—mostly poets—began publishing works that from their beginnings revealed the extent to which younger artists were absorbing the literary experimentation of the writers of 1898 and 1914. Poets were closely tied to formal academia. Novelists such as Benjamín Jarnés , Rosa Chacel , Francisco Ayala , and Ramón J. Sender were equally experimental and academic. The Spanish Civil War had
6900-521: The oldest of Romance Europe . The Mozarabic dialect has Latin origins with a combination of Arabic and Hebrew fonts. Many parts of Cantar de Mio Cid , Cantar de Roncesvalles , and Mocedades de Rodrigo are part of the epic. The exact portion of each of these works is disputed among scholars. The Minstrels , over the course of the 12th to the 14th centuries, were driving force of this movement. The Spanish epic likely emanated from France . There are also indications of Arabic and Visigoth . It
6992-403: The prose of Francisco de Quevedo and Baltasar Gracián . A notable author was Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra , famous for his masterpiece Don Quixote de la Mancha . In this novel Cervantes consolidated the form of literature that the picaresque novel had established in Spain to a fictional narrative that became the template for many novelists throughout the history of Spanish literature. In
7084-572: The rise of a Spanish literary tradition in the cultural heterogeneity that characterized Medieval Spanish society and politics. However, the Mozarabic language of the Jarchas appears to be a separate Romance language whose evolution from Vulgar Latin paralleled that of Castilian Spanish rather than deriving from or fusing into the latter. Hence, while the relatively recent discovery of the Jarchas challenges pride of chronological place that belonged for so long to
7176-440: The singular figure of Manuel José Quintana . In Romanticism (beginning of the 19th century) important topics are: the poetry of José de Espronceda and other poets; prose, which can have several forms (the historical novel, scientific prose, the description of regional customs, journalism —where Mariano José de Larra can be mentioned—; the theater, with Ángel de Saavedra (Duke of Rivas), José Zorrilla , and other authors. In
7268-518: The theater is notable ( Lope de Vega , Pedro Calderón de la Barca , and Tirso de Molina ); and poetry with Luis de Góngora (who is a Culteranist ) and Francisco de Quevedo (who is a Conceptist ). In the works of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra notable novels are La Galatea and Don Quixote de la Mancha . The Baroque style used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music. The Baroque
7360-488: The theater, with José Echegaray , Manuel Tamayo y Baus , and other dramatists; and the literary critics, emphasizing Menéndez Pelayo . In Modernism several currents appear: Parnasianism , Symbolism , Futurism , and Creationism . The destruction of Spain's fleet in Cuba by the U.S. in 1898 provoked a crisis in Spain. A group of younger writers, among them Miguel de Unamuno , Pío Baroja , and José Martínez Ruiz (Azorín), made changes to literature's form and content. By
7452-589: The theater, with José Echegaray , Manuel Tamayo y Baus , and other dramatists; and the literary critics, emphasizing Menéndez Pelayo . Realism offered depictions of contemporary life and society 'as they were'. In the spirit of general "Realism," Realist authors opted for depictions of everyday and banal activities and experiences, instead of a romanticized or similarly stylized presentation. The realistic works of this period are characterized by: In Modernism several currents appear: Parnassianism , Symbolism , Futurism , and Creationism . Literary Modernism in Spain
7544-438: The theater, with Ángel de Saavedra (Duke of Rivas), José Zorrilla , and other authors. In Realism (end of the 19th century), which is mixed with Naturalism, important topics are the novel, with Juan Valera , José María de Pereda , Benito Pérez Galdós , Emilia Pardo Bazán , Leopoldo Alas (Clarín) , Armando Palacio Valdés , and Vicente Blasco Ibáñez ; poetry, with Ramón de Campoamor , Gaspar Núñez de Arce , and other poets;
7636-438: The title of the reprint in 1911. The third work is his study of Orígenes de la novela , three volumes published in 1905, 1907, and 1910, with a fourth, posthumous, volume in which he analyzes the imitations that gave place in the 16th century for La Celestina . He published simultaneously a four volume work called Antología de poetas hispano-americanos (1893–1895), which in reality is Historia de la poesía hispanoamerica , as it
7728-515: The type and focus were diverse. Lyrical romances are also a sizeable part of this era. During the 17th century, they were recycled and renewed. Some authors still stayed consistent with the original format. By the 20th century, the tradition still continued. During the time when Spain was occupied by the Arabs after the early 8th century, the Iberian Peninsula was influenced by the Arabic language in both
7820-454: The year 1914—the year of the outbreak of the First World War and of the publication of the first major work of the generation's leading voice, José Ortega y Gasset —a number of slightly younger writers had established their own place within the Spanish cultural field. Leading voices include the poet Juan Ramón Jiménez , the academics and essayists Ramón Menéndez Pidal , Gregorio Marañón , Manuel Azaña , Eugenio d'Ors , and Ortega y Gasset, and
7912-548: Was a Spanish scholar, historian and literary critic . Even though his main interest was the history of ideas , and Hispanic philology in general, he also cultivated poetry , translation and philosophy . He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times. He was born at Santander where he showed that he was an infant prodigy. His brother said in his memoirs that at the age of twelve he translated Virgil without
8004-655: Was a result of the commitment the Arabs had to the Koran . Tempos and secular topics were now prevalent in Hebrew poetry. However, these poems were only reflections of events seen by the Jews and not of ones practiced themselves. This epoch includes the Renaissance of the 16th century and the Baroque of the 17th century. During the Renaissance, poetry became partitioned into culteranismo and conceptismo , which essentially became rivals. During
8096-467: Was influenced by the " disaster of '98 ", Regenerationism, and the Free Institution of Education (founded by Giner de los Ríos ). Modernism was rooted in the idea that "traditional" forms of art, literature, religious faith, social organization, and daily life had become outdated; therefore it was essential to sweep them aside. The intellectual movement that thinks objectively and scientifically about
8188-614: Was produced in standard Arabic, though poetry and other forms of literature of the Jewish golden age found expression in Judeo-Arabic or Hebrew . Maimonides , for example, wrote his magnum opus The Guide for the Perplexed in Arabic with Hebrew script . Other major literary figures of the time include Ibn Arabi , Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad , Ibn al-Khatib , Ibn Zaydún and Hafsa Bint al-Hajj al-Rukuniyya . Important literary styles include
8280-467: Was rising above the idea of reason. Minute elements of nature, such as bugs and pebbles, were considered divine. There were many variations of the perception of nature in these works. Instead of allegory , this era moved towards myths and symbols . The power of human emotion emerged during this period. Spain went through drastic changes after the demise of Spain’s colonial empire. French and German inspiration along with Modernism greatly improved
8372-452: Was the novelist Ramón Gómez de la Serna who carried the narrative experiments of Unamuno and Valle Inclán to absurd extremes, such as in his 1923 novel, El novelista , where varieties of plays with narrative subjectivity result in chapters envisioned through the eyes and voice of street lamps. More approachable and enduring are Gómez de la Serna's “Greguerías," an original form of aphorism that he described as “humor plus metaphor." Around 1920
8464-491: Was titled in the 1911 reedit. He corrected in this edition his appreciations of Peru, after having contact with Marqués de Montealegre de Aulestia. The 1911 edition is a general study of all Hispanic-American poetry which served to flatter the ex-colonies with the old and decadent peninsula. He reprinted his work Estudios de crítica literaria (1892–1908) in five volumes and some Ensayos de crítica filosófica (1892), in parallel form to each other, which were done in his namesake as
#188811