Spanish Literature

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Spanish Literature
literature of Spain from about ad 1000 until the present, written in
the Spanish language
Geography has been an important factor in the development of
Spanish literature.
isolation from the rest of Europe
enabled Spain to develop its own distinctive literary voice
resulted in part from its diverse population
Spanish literature takes in many contradictions.
celebrates a combined heritage of Christian,
Arabic, and Jewish influences
conforms to the literary styles of European
movements

Spanish Literature
Several historical events significantly influenced Spanish literature.
the occupation of the Iberian Peninsula from 719 until the late
1400s by Moors
16th century: Spain experienced a burst of intellectual activity in
literature, art, and philosophy known as the Renaissance.
led to the Golden Age of Spanish literature from the mid-16th
century through the 17th century
20th century: The Spanish Civil War and the rise
of Francisco Franco profoundly influenced
Spanish literature.
Authors were divided into two ideological
camps: those who supported the fascist
government and those who opposed it.

The Early Period (1st Century 10th Century)

Spanish: considered a Romance language that developed
from the Latin language spoken in the Roman Empire
Middle Ages: a number of distinct dialects appeared in
Spain
Each is named after the region of the peninsula in
which it was spoken.
reflects the diversity of the lands
inhabitants and heritage

The Early Period (1st Century 10th Century)

Under Roman Rule
19 B.C.: Romans completed their conquest of Spain.
The region became known as Hispania.
Its inhabitants learned Latin from Roman traders, settlers,
administrators, and soldiers.
A Hispano-Latin literature was written in Latin by people born in
Hispania.
some of the most important writers during
the 1st century A.D. (the Silver Age of Latin
literature)
Mela: wrote the first Latin geography of the
Mediterranean world

The Early Period (1st Century 10th Century)

Under Roman Rule
Columella: wrote De re rustica (On Agriculture), the most
complete treatise on agriculture of ancient times
Lucan: wrote the epic poem Pharsalia
two greatest figures of Hispano-Roman letters: members of
the Seneca family from Crdoba
Marcus Annaeus Seneca: known for his oratory and
political writings
Lucius Annaeus Seneca: skilled in politics and oratory;
became even more famous as a Roman senator, tutor of the
emperor Nero, and author of three dramatic tragedies
Medea, The Trojan Women, and Agamemnon

The Early Period (1st Century 10th Century)

The Visigoths
Germanic tribes of eastern Europe
controlled Spain from the 5th to the 8th century
Latin: the official language of government and culture
belonged to a Christian sect called Arianism
end of the 6th century: most had been converted to Roman
Catholicism by Saint Isidore of Seville
Saint Isidore of Seville: the most important intellectual figure in
Spain during the Visigoth period
Historia de regibus Gothorum, Vandalorum, et Suevorum
(History of the Kings of the Goths, Vandals, and Suevi): the
principal source of information about these early groups
most important work: Etymologiae (a 20-volume encyclopedia)

The Early Period (1st Century 10th Century)

The Moors
brought to Spain an established language, religion, and social and
political structure
built numerous Muslim universities where the study of medicine,
mathematics, philosophy, and literature flourished
An extensive literature developed partly because Moorish caliphs
(rulers) themselves were poets.
early Middle Ages: A sizable Jewish population appeared in Spain
that brought commercial, administrative, intellectual, and artistic
talents.
The mixture of Christians, Arabs, and Jews on the peninsula
produced an unstable but highly creative literary environment.
subjects of literatures: religion, society, and politics

Toward a National Literature

(11th Century to 15th Century)

Toledo: became a cultural center where Arab, Hebrew, and Christian

scholars translated the important works of Islamic and ancient Greek
culture into Latin
works on philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, mineralogy,
medicine, and geometry
Alfonso VI: king of Castile who captured Toledo in 1085
The Muslim School of Translators came under Christian custody.
The schools activities strengthened the development of a
national language and literature.
The gradual retaking of Spain by the Christians proved to be linguistic.
12th and early 13th centuries: Writing in northern dialects (Castilian
and Leonese) became standard as Christian forces pushed the
Moors farther and farther south.

Toward a National Literature

(11th Century to 15th Century)

late Middle Ages: Spanish literature took many forms that

helped define the emerging Spanish state under Christian
rule.
Uneducated but highly entertaining bards sang stories of
the Christian heroes.
Scholars wrote and translated works under the direction of
monarchs.
Monks, clerics, and priests composed poetry about the
natural and spiritual world.

Toward a National Literature

(11th Century to 15th Century)

The Earliest Spanish Literature

jarchas (songs): the first truly Spanish works of literature that
appeared just before the Christian reconquest of the Iberian
Peninsula
first appeared as short stanzas at the end of a muwassaha (a
poem written in the second half of the 11th century in Arabic
and Hebrew)
combined styles of Arabic or Hebrew poetry in Mozarabic
written in other Spanish dialects as the reconquest spread
most often expressed the point of view of a
woman in love who seeks solace and advice
similar in theme and form to later cantigas de
amigo (love songs)

Toward a National Literature

(11th Century to 15th Century)

The Troubadour Style and the Epic

late 12th century: The first great works of Spanish oral literature
appeared.
poems composed by troubadours (medieval poets who sang
for the people in village squares and for the nobility in castles
and royal courts)
flourished in Spain as a result of pilgrimages to the burial
place of Saint James, the patron saint of Christian Spain
entertained the pilgrims with songs and long, narrative
poems called epics
epics: composed mainly in a poetic style
known as mester de juglara (craft of the
troubadour)

Toward a National Literature

(11th Century to 15th Century)

The Troubadour Style and the Epic

epics: composed mainly in a poetic style known as
mester de juglara (craft of the troubadour)
verses: most were 12 to 16 syllables long, with a
caesura (pause) in the middle
focus on social and political realities and lack of
extensive exaggeration, supernatural forces, and
fantasy

El cantar de mo Cid (The Song of the Cid)

an epic poem in the troubadour style
believed to be produced around 1140
Rodrigo Daz de Vivar: an 11th century
Spanish warrior known as El Cid Campeador
became a national hero and served as
the subject for the most famous epic in
Spanish literature
noted for its realistic, detailed description
of the code of chivalry and other customs of
the period, its accurate rendering of political
alliances, and its dramatic touches
a guide to exemplary Christian behavior

Toward a National Literature

(11th Century to 15th Century)

Evidence of a Dramatic Tradition

Troubadours performed plays as well as epics to amuse
people.
Auto de los Reyes Magos (Drama of the Three Wise Men):
a religious play written in the mid-12th century in the
Castilian dialect
one of the earliest plays written in a Romance language

Toward a National Literature

(11th Century to 15th Century)

The Scholarly Tradition

initiated at Toledo by the Moors continued under Alfonso X, known
as El Sabio (The Wise)
directed the scholars at the School of Translators to translate
histories, chronicles, and scientific, legal, and literary writings from
other languages (Latin, Greek, and Arabic) into Castilian
worked towards a standardized language based on the Castilian
dialect
Castilian: became standard for literature and formal education
Libro del Conde Lucanor (1335; Book of Count
Lucanor): a prose fiction by Don Juan Manuel; a
collection of 50 stories that imitate the fables
attributed to Aesop

Toward a National Literature

(11th Century to 15th Century)

Poetry in the Cleric Style

end of the 13th century: mester de juglara (poetry of the people)
and mester de clereca (craft of the clerics)
three characteristics of mester de clereca
The authors were educated individuals, such as monks and
priests.
The structure was organized in stanzas of four verses that
isolated and focused on specific ideas.
The subject matter focused more on religious aspects of love
and life.
Gonzalo de Berceo: the first poet identifiable by
name who wrote in the mester de clereca and in
Castilian

Toward a National Literature

(11th Century to 15th Century)

Poetry in the Cleric Style

Juan Ruiz: wrote El libro de buen amor (1330, enlarged 1343;
The Book of Good Love)
consists of more than 7,000 verses written to glorify spiritual
love
focuses on the raucous and negative influences of mal amor,
or carnal love
addresses the conflict between two ideas religious piety
and worldly experience with a blend of low humor and
moral teaching
Trotaconventos: considered the prototype of
the female go-between in many later
European literary works

Toward a National Literature

(11th Century to 15th Century)

Lyric Poetry
end of the 14th century: The educated classes in Spain had
begun to produce shorter lyric poetry in Castilian.
often addressed the idea of courtly love
sonnet: a popular form of lyric poetry, in imitation of the
sonnet perfected by Italian poet Petrarch
15th century poet igo Lpez de Mendoza: offered the
best examples of the early sonnet in Spanish in his
Sonetos hechos al itlico modo (Sonnets written in the
Italian Mode)

Toward a National Literature

(11th Century to 15th Century)

Spain United
1479: marriage of Roman Catholic monarchs Isabella I of Castile and
Ferdinand V of Aragon
brought together the largest Christian kingdoms in Spain
assumed control of many powers of the Catholic Church
unified Spain and helped create a Spanish religious and political
identity
expansion as Spain sent explorers to the Americas
Castilian as the official language of Spain
1492: humanist Antonio de Nebrija published
Gramtica sobre la lengua castellana (Grammar
of the Castilian Language)
the first attempt to study and standardize the
grammar of a European language

Toward a National Literature

(11th Century to 15th Century)

Spain United
movable type became available for publishing books
made Spanish culture and literature immensely more
accessible

Spain began to limit its cultural, philosophical, and religious

identity.
intellectual and spiritual isolation: led
to censorship of literature in newly
conquered territories

de Rojas La Celestina
La tragicomedia de Calisto y Melibea (1499) by Fernando de Rojas
exemplifies the strict moral tone and temper of the times in Spain.
concerns two noble lovers, Calisto and Melibea, who resort to the
services of a go-between named Celestina to further their love
celebrates human diversity, accepting existence as a complex set
of natural impulses
structure: a novel in dialogue form
illustrates the tensions between the novel and the drama
illustrates the tensions between tragedy and comedy,
between the idealism of the lovers and the materialism
of the servants

The Renaissance in Spain

(Early and Mid-16th Century)

Renaissance literature in Spain was limited to a few forms, themes,

and figures.
Renaissance humanism did not achieve the importance in Spain
that it did in Italy, France, and other parts of Europe.
Spanish writers relied on accepted styles and looked to Spanish
history for subject matter.
chief literary forms
novels of chivalry
romances (oral ballads from the Middle Ages)
pastoral poetry (poetry that portrays the
innocence of life in the country)
religious poetry

The Renaissance in Spain

(Early and Mid-16th Century)

Works of Chivalry and Romance

Chivalric novels celebrated the deeds of knights-errant.
immensely popular and mixed the themes of epic heroism with
figures from the reconquest
Themes of courtly love (from the troubadour poets) were also
popular.
Amads de Gaula (Amads of Gaul): a 14th century story written
down in four books by Garci Rodrguez de Montalvo in 1508
Ballads/Romances circulated in oral form since the Middle Ages.
historical or legendary themes that focused on
figures of the reconquest
Bernardo del Carpio and the Cid
romances fronterizos (ballads of the frontier):
focused on wars between Christian and Islamic Spain

The Renaissance in Spain

(Early and Mid-16th Century)

Pastoral Poetry
City dwelling became more common during the
Renaissance.
Pastoral poetry became popular.
depicted ladies and gentlemen who retired to the
country in search of a simple life
Spanish pastoral poets: Juan Boscn Almogaver and
Garcilaso de la Vega
imitated the sonnet, tercet, and other
verse forms often used in Italian
pastoral works

The Renaissance in Spain

(Early and Mid-16th Century)

Religious Poetry
gained intensity near the middle of the 16th century, partly as a
consequence of the Counter Reformation
expressed attitudes of spiritual devotion,
the state of the soul, and the desire to
withdraw from the world
three writers of religious verse
Augustinian monk Luis Ponce de Len
(known as Fray Luis de Len)
Carmelite monk Juan de Yepes y lvarez
(known as Saint John of the Cross)
Carmelite mystic Saint Teresa of vila
(known as Saint Teresa de Jsus)

Fray Luis de Len

worked on the theme of
pastoral serenity
lyric poem Vida retirada
(The Retiring Life)

Religious
Poetry

on Christian devotion and the

beauty of love for God
Saint John of the Cross
composed the most
mystical and intense
poems written in the
Spanish language
poems: Cntico espiritual (Spiritual
Canticle), Llama de amor viva
(Living Flame of Love), and Noche
obscura del alma (Dark Night of
the Soul)

Religious
Poetry

Saint Teresa of vila

one of the most
important reformers of
the Catholic Church
during the Counter
Reformation
most famous prose:
Moradas del castillo interior
(1577; Rooms in the Interior
Castle of the Soul)
focuses on the
theology of the soul
and its relation to God

poetry: expresses her mysticism

and a personal desire to escape
the earthly life by joining God in
the afterlife

Spanish Baroque and the Golden Age

(Late 16th through 17th Centuries)

Baroque Period
filled with disillusion and disappointment
1567: The Netherlands revolted against harsh
Spanish rule under Philip II and a costly war
ensued.
1588: The Spanish Armada, the naval fleet sent
by Philip to conquer England, suffered a
humiliating defeat.
Spanish literature entered its Siglo de Oro (Golden Age).
Spanish writers saw from experience that humankinds
talents often could not triumph over violence, ignorance, and
injustice, nor over the forces that had defeated the Armada.

Spanish Baroque and the Golden Age

(Late 16th through 17th Centuries)

The Rise of Prose

the creation of the picaresque novel
a narrative that recounts the life and adventures of pcaros
(rascals)
prototype: La vida de Lazarillo de Tormes y de sus fortunas
y adversidades (The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes and his
Fortunes and Adversities, 1554)
demonstrates how the human spirit survives in a hostile
world by use of wit and trickery
disillusion in pastoral writings
1559: Jorge de Montemayors Los siete libros de la Diana (The
Seven Books of Diana)
the first pastoral novel written in Spanish

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616)

Spanish writer, considered by many to
be the greatest Spanish author, whose
novel El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote
de la Mancha (Part I, 1605; Part II, 1615;
The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of
la Mancha) is regarded as one of the
masterpieces of world literature
achieved acclaim comparable to that
of Homer, Dante Alighieri, and William
Shakespeare

Don Quixote
generally considered the first great Western novel
describes the adventures of Alonzo Quixano, an idealistic Spanish
nobleman who, as a result of reading many tales of chivalry, comes
to believe that he is a knight who must combat the world's injustices
focus of the novel: the sustained dialogue between idealism and
realism as lived by Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, respectively
structure: complex
contains characteristics of various types of novels and
critiques of both the chivalric and pastoral modes
incorporates autobiographical elements and details of
the history and deeds of the time

Spanish Baroque and the Golden Age

(Late 16th through 17th Centuries)

Experiments in Poetry
Luis de Gngora y Argote: one of the most inventive poets of the
baroque age
experimented with language
used unusual word order, word invention, personal
symbolism, descriptions of the five senses, and references to
Greek and Roman mythology to capture the periods instability
came to be known as gongorism or culturanism: captured
the essence of the Spanish culture in forms, words, and
symbols
outstanding books: Fbula de Polifemo y Galatea (1627; Fable of
Polyphemus and Galatea) and his unfinished masterpiece,
Soledades (1627; Solitudes)

Spanish Baroque and the Golden Age

(Late 16th through 17th Centuries)

Golden Age Drama

All plays were written in verse.
three successful playwrights of the
period
Lope de Vega
Tirso de Molina
Pedro Caldern de la Barca

Lope de Vega
the most prolific of the
Golden Age playwrights
took his themes and
forms from popular and
traditional literature

Golden Age
Drama

famous long poem: El arte nuevo

de hacer comedias en este tiempo
(1609; The New Art of Writing
Comedies in this Time)

play: El caballero de Olmedo

(1615?1626?; The Knight of
Olmedo)
featured subtle opposition of
love and death, sword and
bullet, Renaissance ideals and
baroque reality

Golden Age
Drama

Tirso de Molina
known for his religious
and historical plays
most famous work: El burlador de
Seville y el convidado de piedra
(1630; The Trickster of Seville and
the Stone Guest)
gives life to the legendary lover
and seducer, Don Juan Tenorio
Pedro Caldern de la Barca
most famous work: La vida es
sueo (1635; Life is a Dream)
depicts life as a dream from which
we awaken only after death
allegorical play: El gran teatro del
mundo (1649; The Great Theater of
the World)
represents the world as a stage

Political and Cultural Realignment

(18th and 19th Centuries)

Philip V of the French royal family of Bourbon

began a century-long rule of Bourbon kings in Spain
united Spain and France politically, militarily, and culturally
introduced the ideals of the Age of Enlightenment
emphasized belief in the inherent goodness of humankind and
in the capacity of human reason
Age of Enlightenment thought: based on the
teachings of French philosophers such as
Denis Diderot and Voltaire
Human aspirations should be centered not
on the next life, but rather on ways of
improving this life.

Political and Cultural Realignment

(18th and 19th Centuries)

Age of Enlightenment thought: based on the teachings of French

philosophers such as Denis Diderot and Voltaire
Human aspirations should be centered not on the next life, but rather
on ways of improving this life.
literary works of the 18th century: outlined critical and philosophical
arguments regarding what literature should be in relation to the ideas of
the Enlightenment
Benedictine monk Benito Geronimo Feijo y
Montenegro
attempted to direct Spain back to a position
of intellectual leadership in Europe
best known works: Teatro crtico (1726-1739; A
Critique of the Theater) and Cartas eruditas (17421760; Scholarly Letters)

Political and Cultural Realignment

(18th and 19th Centuries)

mid-1700s: renewed interest in the forms and themes of

classical Greece and Rome launched a movement known as
neoclassicism
principal work: Potica (1737; Poetics) by Ignacio de Luzn
Luzan admired yet strongly criticized the works of the great
writers of the Golden Age for undisciplined, disordered, and
extravagant writing, and for what he thought was a certain
lack of moral sense.
believed that literature must teach as
it entertains

Political and Cultural Realignment

(18th and 19th Centuries)

Romanticism
The armies of French emperor Napoleon I swept across Europe at the
beginning of the 19th century, and they took control of Spain.
1814: The Spanish monarchy was restored after the fall of Napoleon I.
19th century: Political clashes continued between forces of liberalism,
identified with French thinking, and those of conservatism, marked by
traditional Spanish support for the monarchy.
a movement in literature and the arts captured this atmosphere of
crisis and change --- romanticism
The Romantics praised imagination over reason,
emotions over logic, and intuition over science.
The Romantics often rejected the present and
looked to an idealized history for their subjects and
for the answers to problems of their times.

Political and Cultural Realignment

(18th and 19th Centuries)

Romanticism
In Spain, costumbristas were writers who described regional customs,
dress, and language with a new feeling for the picturesque.
Romantic writers had to deal with the following:
love did not always triumph
women were human and not perfect
nature did not always reflect the emotional state of human beings
the individual was often defeated by a blind or ignorant society
Gustavo Adolfo Bcquer: the most important romantic writer in
Spain
best known work: a collection of lyric poems called Rimas
(Rhymes, 1860-1861)

Political and Cultural Realignment

(18th and 19th Centuries)

Romanticism
Jos Zorrilla: known as the creator of the most famous play in
the Hispanic world, Don Juan Tenorio (1844; Don Juan the Rake)
reflects Zorrillas own periods belief in human emotion and
an ideal of womanhood
Don Juan is ultimately saved from eternal damnation by
the love of a woman.

Political and Cultural Realignment

(18th and 19th Centuries)

Realism and Naturalism

second half of the 19th century: Two philosophies reacted to the
exaltation and emotional and idealistic excesses of romanticism:
positivism and determinism.
positivism: focus on the place of the individual within society
determinism: stress on the importance of outside forces and
events over which the individual has little or no control
reinforced by the theories of British scientist Charles
Darwin and Austrian physician Sigmund Freud
late 19th century: Spanish writers attempted to describe human
behavior and surroundings, or to represent figures and objects
exactly as they act or appear in life --- known as realism.

Political and Cultural Realignment

(18th and 19th Centuries)

Realism and Naturalism

Realism
aspired to be objective and to present all sides, positive and
negative, of reality and characters
goal: to reproduce exterior and interior reality in order to show
the life of the individual in relation to society and the environment
Benito Prez Galds: the most prolific and important realist
novelist of Spanish literature
wrote 46 volumes of Spanish history with the general title
Episodios nacionales (1873-1879, 1898-1912; National
Episodes)
often called the national conscience of Spain for his honest
observations and his realistic look at society and its ills

Political and Cultural Realignment

(18th and 19th Centuries)

Realism and Naturalism

Naturalism
emphasized that heredity and environment determine the
characters (in literature) and the actions and fates of these
characters
Emilia Pardo Bazn: introduced the principles of naturalism to
the Spanish literary world in her essay La cuestin palpitante
(1883; The Burning Question)
most famous novel: Los pazos de Ulloa (1886; The House of
Ulloa)
other naturalist authors: Leopoldo Alas y Urea and Vicente
Blasco Ibez

Upheaval (Late 19

th

Century and 20th Century)

end of the 19th century: marked by defeat in the SpanishAmerican War (1898)
Spain was on the verge of economic and spiritual
bankruptcy.
Spain was forced to cede the last of its colonies to the
United States of America.

Upheaval (Late 19

th

Century and 20th Century)

The Generation of 1898

a literary movement comprised of a group of Spanish intellectuals
who called for reform and renewal
centered at the Institucin Libre de Enseanza (The Institute of Free
Education)
established by Spanish educator Francisco Giner de los Ros in 1876
aim: to graduate students who would feel responsible for the state
of their country
influenced by Spanish diplomat and philosopher Angel Ganivet and
Nicaraguan poet Rubn Daro
principal writers: Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo, Jacinto Benavente y
Martnez, Ramn Mara del Valle-Incln, Antonio Machado y Ruiz,
Azorn (pen name of Jos Martnez Ruiz), and Po Baroja y Nessi

Upheaval (Late 19

th

Century and 20th Century)

The Generation of 1898

Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo: typified the critical and
searching spirit of the Generation of 1898
Jacinto Benavente y Martnez: the most distinguished dramatist
of the Generation of 1898
Ramn Mara del Valle-Incln: the most inventive modern
writer of the Generation of 1898
introduced a literary genre called esperpento that used
distorted characters to ridicule Spanish institutions
Antonio Machado y Ruiz: typified the less critical and political
vein of the Generation of 1898

Upheaval (Late 19

th

Century and 20th Century)

Transition to the 20th Century

The Generation of 1898 continued to discuss the decline of Spain

in the early 1900s and was joined by a slightly younger group of
early-20th century writers.
led by essayist and philosopher Jos Ortega y
Gasset and poet Juan Ramn Jimnez
other notable writers: Ramn Prez de Ayala, Gabriel Mir,
Ramn Gmez de la Serna (the leading advocate of literary
expressionism in Spain), Eugenio d'Ors, Salvador de Madariaga y
Rojo, Gregorio Maran, and Ramn Menndez

Upheaval (Late 19

th

Century and 20th Century)

New Influences
Spanish literature after the Generation of 1898 can be divided
roughly into two categories.
literature that came before the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)
and literature that came after
Violence and chaos in Europe influenced the group of
writers that grew up during the first two decades of the 20th
century.
movements that reflected the cultural, political, and social
upheaval in Europe
Futurism gloried in modern inventions and the necessity of
machines.

Upheaval (Late 19

th

Century and 20th Century)

New Influences
movements that reflected the cultural, political, and social
upheaval in Europe
Dadaism embraced extraordinary, irrational, and
contradictory themes to explain the horrors of World War I.
Surrealism looked for the truth beyond material reality, in the
imagination and in the irrational.
Creationism declared the poet totally free to create works
independent of moral or social preoccupations.
Ultraism was founded by a group of poets in Spain who
wanted to break with what they felt was the sentimentalism
and lyricism of the past.

Upheaval (Late 19

th

Century and 20th Century)

The Generation of 1927

a group of poets that adopted some of the new ideas and
freedoms of expression of the new European movements
maintained and valued themes and forms taken not only from
traditional Spanish lyric poetry but also from popular culture
took its name from the 300th anniversary of the death of Luis
de Gngora, the great Golden Age poet
groups model: Gngoras refinement of style, delicacy of
imagery, and richness of vocabulary
most important poets: Federico Garca Lorca, Jorge Guilln,
Pedro Salinas, Rafael Alberti, and Gerardo Diego.

Upheaval (Late 19

th

Century and 20th Century)

The Generation of 1927

Federico Garca Lorca: the most universally recognized writer of
the group
poetry and plays: combined lyric and dramatic elements with
a sense of tragedy and ritual
most important books of poetry: Primer romancero gitano
(1928; Gypsy Ballads, 1951), Poeta en Nueva York (1940; Poet
in New York, 1940), and Poema del cante jondo (1931; Deep
Song, 1980)
important plays: Bodas de sangre (1933; Blood Wedding,
1939), Yerma (1935; translated, 1941), and La casa de
Bernarda Alba (1936; The House of Bernard Alba, 1936)

Upheaval (Late 19

th

Century and 20th Century)

The Spanish Civil War

Many writers had allied themselves with the
Frente Popular, or the Republican Forces and
found life either too dangerous or too
repressive under Francisco Franco.
themes: abuse of power, hypocrisy, and betrayal of trust by
the Catholic Church and the government
Many writers remained in Spain despite censorship.
Nobel Prize in literature awardees Camilo Jos
Cela (1989) and Vicente Aleixandre y Merlo
(1977)

Francisco Franco (1892-1975)

Spanish military leader who rose to
power during the Spanish Civil War
(1936-1939) and went on to rule Spain
as dictator from 1939 until 1975
for his defenders: modern Spain's most
distinguished statesman
for his critics: an opponent of
democracy and a despotic ruler of Spain
for nearly 40 years

Upheaval (Late 19

th

Century and 20th Century)

Censorship and Exile

After the Spanish Civil War, Spanish Literature focused on
existence as grotesque, brutal, and full of horror and violence.
A new group of writers emerged.
focused on the psychological aspects of the postwar
situation
began to deal with the consequences of the civil war in
their work
female writers: Carmen Laforet, Ana Mara Matute, Elena
Quiroga, Carmen Martn Gaite, and Mercedes Salisachs
male writers: Miguel Delibes, Juan Goytisolo, Ignacio
Aldecoa, Rafael Snchez Ferlosio, Juan Benet, and Juan Mars

Upheaval (Late 19

th

Century and 20th Century)

Drama and Essays

Censorship and dire economic conditions almost succeeded in
killing Spanish drama immediately after the civil war.
Two important dramatists continued writing and they differed
in terms of their means of dealing with the brutality and
violence of their times.
Alejandro Casona
Antonio Buero Vallejo

Drama and
Essays

Alejandro Casona
1932: formed a theater
group that traveled
throughout Spain to take
the classic works of
Spanish theater to
remote areas
most famous work: La dama del
alba (1944; The Lady of the Dawn,
1949)
Antonio Buero Vallejo
1932: stayed in Spain and
criticized Spanish society
more directly
plays: En la ardiente oscuridad
(1946; In the Burning Darkness,
1985) and Historia de una escalera
(Story of a Staircase, 1947)

Upheaval (Late 19

th

Century and 20th Century)

Novels and Short Stories after the Civil War

1975: Francos death prompted Spanish writers in all genres to
address their new freedom.
began to analyze how Spain would move toward a modern
society under the liberalizing influence of King Juan Carlos
late 1970s: a generation of Spanish women entered the literary
world with a language of their own and with their particular
concerns
Esther Tusquets: El mismo mar de todos los veranos (1978;
The Same Sea as Every Summer, 1990), El amor es un juego
solitario (1979; Love Is a Solitary Game, 1985), and Varada tras
el ltimo naufragio (1980; Stranded, 1991)

Upheaval (Late 19

th

Century and 20th Century)

Novels and Short Stories after the Civil War

Paloma Pedrero: El color de agosto (The Color of August,
1989) and La llamada de Lauren (Lauren's Call, 1985)
1980s and 1990s: a group of female writers had become Spains
most prominent literary force
Rosa Mara Pereda, Rosa Montero, Ana Mara Moix, Jos
Mara Guelbenzu, Carme Riera, and Soledad Purtolas

Sources:
Garcia, C. U., Rosales, P. G., & Dimalanta, O. A.
(2001). An anthology of continental literature (13th
century 20th century). Manila: UST Publishing
House.
Microsoft Encarta 2006 [DVD]. Redmond, WA:
Microsoft Corporation, 2005.