Spanish literature

Miguel de Cervantes and his work Don Quixote' are the highest exponents of this literature.

The Spanish literature is that developed in the Spanish language in Spain. Classical and late Spanish-American literature, Judeo-Spanish literature, and Arabic-Spanish literature, written respectively in Latin, Hebrew, and Arabic, could not be included in this category. It covers from the first poetic expressions preserved in the vernacular (the jarchas) to the present, more than a thousand years of history. It is a branch of Romance literature and has given rise to another important branch, Spanish-American literature.

Spanish literature is included within literature in Spanish, which includes literature in Castilian and Spanish from all Spanish-speaking countries. On the other hand, it is also included in the literature of Spain, along with those of the other languages spoken in the country.

History of Spanish Literature

Medieval times

Only from the XIII century and in an exclusively geographical sense is it possible to speak of Spanish literature written. Up to this period, the coexistence of a poetry of oral transmission in the Romance language, both lyrical and epic, together with some cultured scriptural uses whose language of expression and transmission was Latin was supposed.

Until the 1950s, it was customary to consider that the beginning of Spanish literature occurred with an epic work: the Cantar de Mio Cid (XII), a work that was generally transmitted orally by minstrels. Literary historiography did not take into account data provided by chronicles prior to the definitive textual fixation of said epic. These data refer to the oral tradition both in its oldest lyrical version and to the romances, both forms of expression that were part of the popular heritage. In 1948, Samuel Miklos Stern, a Hungarian researcher, discovered in ancient manuscripts preserved in Cairo, some lyrical stanzas in the Aljamiada Romance language, called jarchas. Currently, it is assumed that these do not reflect a Castilian romance, but the Mozarabic romance.

Page 72 of the Emilian Codex 60. The glosa is appreciated on the margins.

• Emilian Gloss (sixteenth century)X): The first text written in Spanish Romanesque forms. It's not really literary. He appeared in a manuscript of San Millán de la Cogolla. The text reads as follows:

Cone ayutorio de nuestra owner Cristo, owner Salvatore, qual owner yet ena honore a qual owner tienet ela mandatione cono Patre, cono Spiritu Sancto, enos siéculos de los siéculos. Fácanos Deus onmipotes such serbicio fere that denante ela sua face gaudioso seyamus.

'With the help of our Lord, Don Christ, Lord Saviour, who is in the honor and Lord who has command with the Father, with the Holy Spirit, in the centuries. Make us an omnipotent God to do such a service that before his joyful face we are.'

It has been pointed out that this text could be interpreted, due to its characteristics, more like the Riojan variety of the Navarrese-Aragonese romance.

• The jarchas (sixteenth century)XI): Brief lyric compositions of a loving character, written in vulgar Arabic, or in the Romance language of Christians living in al-Andalus (Mozarabes). Example of jarcha:

Vayse meu mib corachón.

Now, Rab, will you turn me back?
So bad meu doler li-l-habib!

'Enfermo yed, how long will you heal?

Let go of my heart.

Oh, God, will it turn to me?
So bad my pain for the beloved!

Sick is, when will he heal?

Chronologically, the first to emerge is the Mester de Minstrel, made up of epic songs that imitate the French chansons at first and then react with a well-differentiated national theme grouping into several cycles, of which the most important are those related to El Cid, the Seven Infantes of Lara and the one related to Bernardo del Carpio. Compared to the French epic, the Spanish epic has some very marked differential features:

• Greater realism, in front of the supernatural and fantastic elements that appear in the French epic.
• Greater vitality: the medieval arguments and stories of the Spanish epic will then live in the classical theater of the Golden Age and in the Romancero old and new to present in oral or even written form.
• It uses an easier and free rhyme, the sounder, in front of the French epic, written in consonant rhyme.
• The verse of the Spanish epic is anisosilábico (irregular, of different measure, with the predominance of the Alexandrian or 14 syllables with versa pause or cessure almost always after the seventh syllable), while that of the French epic is regular, isosilábico.

In this mester we could also group the traditional oral literature of the jarchas in the Mozarabic language, the cantigas de amigo in Galician Portuguese and the troubadour literature that some Catalan troubadours began to write in the Provençal language. As for Castilian lyric in this century hardly anything has been preserved, except for some remains of Christmas carols.

According to Ramón Menéndez Pidal, the Cantar del Mío Cid was composed around the year 1145, forty-six years after the death of the Cid; Antonio Ubieto Arteta, however, has corrected that initial hypothesis and has dated the composition of the work around the year 1207. The author is unknown, although he must have had some legal knowledge and was perhaps related to the sepulchral cult established around the tomb. del Cid in the monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña; Menéndez Pidal thinks, because of the distribution of the place names found in the Cantar, that they could be two authors related to San Esteban de Gormaz and Medinaceli; the manuscript was copied by a certain Per Abbat, Pedro Abad.

• Mester de Juglaria
• Song of My Cidof unknown author, although the manuscript is signed by Per Abbat (Pedro Abad)
• Auto de los Reyes Magos

13th century

• Mester de Clerecía, rises by opposition to the Mester of Jugmentary. His top representative is Gonzalo de Berceo.
• Lyric galaico-portuguesa, presents three types of cantigas: of friend, of love and of scarnio or to curse.
• Ramon Llull, philosopher, poet, mystical, theologian and Majorcan missionary of the centuryXIII, he is considered the creator of the Catalan literature Cuta, a language in which he wrote about philosophy; medicine; physics; geometry; astronomy; astronomy; grammar; theology; religious and social morals; education; story, novel and mystical in both prose and verse, as well as religious lyric poetry of Provencal influence. He is the first novelist in prose, mystical author and writer in scientific language in a neolatin language.
• Alfonso X el Sabio, promoter of the Castilian language, excellent poet in Galaico-Portuguese and promoter of the Toledo School of Translators.

14th century

• Don Juan Manuel
• Juan Ruiz, arcipreste de Hita
• Old Romancer
• Lirica culta castellana

15th century

The Celestine.

During the XV century, the so-called Pre-Renaissance arose, literary production increased exponentially and the most outstanding poets of this century are Juan de Mena, Íñigo López de Mendoza (Marquis of Santillana) and Jorge Manrique, who with his work Songs on the death of his father perfectly reflected the Christian acceptance of death.

• The Celestine: The Spanish literature of the Middle Ages concludes with this work of Fernando de Rojas.

The Renaissance

The historical period that follows the Middle Ages in Europe is known as the Renaissance, comprising the entire 16th century although its precedents are found in the XIV and XV and its influences are noticeable in the XVII.

It began in Italy and spread throughout Europe favored by the invention of the printing press.

Renaissance writers adopted as models to be imitated the writers of classical antiquity, and the great Italians of the XIVth century Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio. This movement was influenced by the humanists who studied the culture of Greece and Rome, including Erasmus of Rotterdam, Antonio de Nebrija and Juan Luis Vives.

During the Middle Ages art was a means to honor God. In the Renaissance the center of the world is man, poets sing of human love, nature, warfare, and also deal with philosophical and political issues.

Poetry during the reign of Charles V

Juan Boscán, influenced by Italian artists and encouraged by Navagero, introduces new forms, writing many high-quality poems.

His friend Garcilaso de la Veja is the definitive adapter of Italian forms, using hendecasyllabic verse and the typical resources of Italian poetry: sonnet, tercet, song, lyre, internal rhyme, single verses.

A series of poets followed in the footsteps forming the Petrarquista School whose most important representatives are:

• Hernando de Acuña: Author of beautiful sonnets.
• Gutierre de Cetina: Author of the madrigal Dark eyes
• Francisco de Figueroa

Lyrical poetry in the time of Felipe II

There are two trends:

• The Sevillana School: It is characterized by rhetorical ornaments and treat subjects of human and patriotic love. Fernando de Herrera is his top representative.
• The Salmantina School: His founder is Fray Luis de León, characterized by sobriety and concision of style. It is inspired by Greek-Latin themes and the Bible.

Asceticism and mysticism

The appearance of this genre in Spain seems to be influenced by earlier foreign mystics such as Kempis, Tauler, Ruysbrock, etc. Among the first ascetic writers is Blessed Juan de Ávila (1500-1569).

The most important ascetic writers are:

• Fray Luis de Granada: He was a member of the Dominic Order. Great speaker on religious issues. His most important works, considered treaties of doctrine, are Guide to sinners, Book of prayer and meditationand, the most remarkable, Introduction to the symbol of faith.
• Santa Teresa: Teresa of Cepeda and Ahumada. He was born in Avila. At the age of 19 he entered the Carmelite Order that later reformed, creating the Order of the Discalced Carmelites. He founded 17 convents in twelve years. In his literary work he uses a country language of the countryside of Ávila but of deep and fervorous. Among his most important works are The Book of Your Lifespiritual autobiography Way of perfectionwhere it indicates the means to achieve it, The Book of Foundations, The inner castleor The dwellings.
• San Juan de la Cruz: Juan de Yepes Álvarez. He was born in Fontiveros (Ávila), a disciple of Saint Teresa. He carried out the reform of the Order of Discalced Carmelites, and founded several convents. Unlike St. Theresa, St. John is a humanist and dominates the language. His poetic work, very scarce, is reduced to Rise of Mount Carmel, Spiritual Cantic, Dark night of the soul, Call for living love. And also some poems of a religious character, among which are Even though it's night and After a loving lance. His most important work is Spiritual Canticwritten in garcilasist liras, inspired by the Song of the Songs.
• San Ignacio de Loyola: Iñigo López de Recalde, founder of the Society of Jesus. He was wounded in the defense of Pamplona. During his convalescence the reading of the books Life of Christ written by Ludolfo de Saxony and Flos Sanctorum They influenced their spirit deeply. His only literary work is Spiritual Exercisesin which he expresses his Christian ideology.

Golden Age: The Baroque

Portrait of Luis de GóngoraFor Diego Velázquez.

• Miguel de Cervantes
• Mateo Alemán
• Alonso de Ercilla
• Francisco de Quevedo
• Luis de Góngora
• Baltasar Gracián
• Lope de Vega
• Tirso de Molina
• Pedro Calderón de la Barca
• María de Zayas
• Cristobalina Fernández de Alarcón

The 18th century: The Enlightenment and Neoclassicism

The 19th century: Romanticism and Realism

Spanish Literature in the XIX century can be divided into several stages:

1. Until 1830. In this period the stylistic tendencies of the centuryXVIII still prevail, although some pre-Romantic writers, such as Rousseau or Goethe, begin to emerge.
2. 1830–1850. Apogee of literature romantic.
3. 1850–1870. The movement of the Realism.
4. 1870–1898. Maximum splendor of Realism, taken to its extreme by Naturalism.

In 1898, with the disaster of 98, the XX century begins with respect to the field literary.

Romanticism

José de Espronceda.

Tired of the scrupulous rigor of enlightened writers, such as JOSÉ MANUEL, Romanticism in Spain emerged in the 1830s and under the influence of European pre-romantic writers, such as Goethe or Rousseau. Romantic authors rebel against everything established by Neoclassicism, they are attracted by the mysterious and try to escape from the world around them, disgusted by the bourgeois and apathetic society in which they lived.

At this time, conservatives tried to preserve their privileges, while liberals fought to abolish them. In Europe, industry is strongly developed and culturally growing, while Spain seemed to isolate itself more and more, giving the image of a backward country.

The first manifestations of Romanticism in Spain were in Andalusia, one of its greatest exponents being the writer Cecilia Böhl de Faber y Larrea, better known by her pseudonym, Fernán Caballero. It was precisely his father Juan Nicolás Böhl de Faber who published in the Diario Mercantil of Cádiz a series of articles defending the theater of the Golden Age, and in Catalonia, through the newspaper El Europeo, following the model of Böhl and defending a moderate and traditionalist Romanticism. One of the main introducers of pre-romanticism was Manuel José Quintana.

Poetry

In poetry, poets express with euphoria and passion everything they feel. The main themes are passionate love, social demands, the poet's Self and nature, set in dark and mysterious places.

The most prominent representative of Romanticism poetry is José de Espronceda (1808-1842), although other poets such as Carolina Coronado (1823-1911), Juan Arolas (1805-1873), the Galician Nicomedes Pastor Díaz (1811-1863), Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda (1814-1873) and Pablo Piferrer (1818-1848).

Song of the pirate is a poem written by José de Espronceda and published for the first time in the magazine El Artista in 1835.

The author is taking the meaning of the poem with a clear theme of social denunciation and emphasizes freedom, the characteristic of romanticism in this poem is that the poet rebels against everything that opposes his personal self and all political limitations, it is symbolic because it does not speak directly of the author but makes a parallel with a pirate. He defends the freedom that forms the basis of romantic thought. The whole poem is related to the sea, which is the wide landscape and represents freedom.

Theater

Angel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas.

Neoclassical theater failed to penetrate the tastes of the Spanish. At the beginning of the XIX century, works from the Golden Age were still applauded. the rule of the three units (action, place and time) and mixing the comic with the dramatic. However, those works attracted people outside of Spain, precisely because they did not adhere to the ideal that the neoclassicalists defended.

Romanticism triumphs in the Spanish theater with The Conjuration of Venice, by Francisco Martínez de la Rosa; El Trovador, by Antonio García Gutiérrez; Ali-Beck. Original tragedy in five acts by María Rosa de Gálvez; Lovers of Teruel, by Juan Eugenio Hartzenbusch; but the key year is 1835, when Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino, by the Duke of Rivas (1791–1865) premiered. It is also worth mentioning the important work Don Juan Tenorio (1844) by José Zorrilla and Muérete y verás by Bretón de los Herreros. The most cultivated is the drama. All the works contain lyrical, dramatic and fictional elements. Freedom dominates in the theater in all aspects.

Late Romanticism

Already in the second half of the XIX century, tastes for the historical and legendary passed into the background, and poetry became sentimental and intimate. The poets are influenced by German poetry, especially that of Heinrich Heine.

Poetry, unlike the novel and the theater, continues to be romantic (the novel and the theater will follow the realistic trend). Focus your attention on how emotional the poem can possess. Rhetoric is reduced and lyricism is increased, with love and passion for the world of beauty as main themes. New metric forms and new rhythms are sought. The homogeneity enjoyed by Romanticism is transformed into plurality in poetic ideas.

The most representative poets of this period are Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Augusto Ferrán and Rosalía de Castro, although they no longer triumphed in that Restoration society, utilitarian and not very idealistic. Writers who dealt with issues of contemporary society, such as Ramón de Campoamor and Gaspar Núñez de Arce, were more admired, despite the fact that today they do not have much critical relevance.

Realism

In Spain, Realism caught on very easily, since there was a precedent in picaresque novels and in Don Quixote. It reached its peak in the second half of the XIX century (Juan Valera, Pereda y Galdós), although without reaching the point of strictness of the canons established by the Balzac school.

• In Galdós, and later in Clarin, Pardo Bazán and Blasco Ibáñez, there are clear naturalistic influences, but without the scientific and experimental foundations that Zola wanted to print in his works. They only share the spirit of struggle against conservative ideology and, on many occasions, their subversive behavior.
• The realistic novel generally reflects regional environments, such as Pereda in Cantabria, Juan Valera in Andalusia, Clarin in Asturias, etc. Benito Pérez Galdós is an exception, as he prefers to be set in the urban area of Madrid.

We must also highlight the rise of the soap opera, with authors such as Manuel Fernández and González.

Benito Pérez Galdós.

Naturalism in Spain, as in France, also had its detractors and great controversies were created. Among the opponents are Pedro Antonio de Alarcón and José María de Pereda, who came to describe it as "immoral". Its most fierce defenders were Benito Pérez Galdós and Emilia Pardo Bazán. The hardest controversy took place from 1883, following the publication of The throbbing question by Pardo Bazán.

Generation of '68

This generation is made up of a series of writers considered a new national class. The period of maximum coincidence as a generation took place in the eighties. This generation is made up of: Pedro Antonio de Alarcón, José María de Pereda, Benito Pérez Galdós, Juan Valera, Leopoldo Alas Clarín, Emilia Pardo Bazán and Armando Palacio Valdés.

The defining characteristics of this group are class consciousness and optimism (which later turned to pessimism, due to the 1868 revolution). On an individual level, each one presents their own style. Of all the authors in this group, Alarcón is the only one who presents some traits inherited from romanticism, especially the more romantic costumbrismo. This influence can be seen clearly in Amatory Tales (1881), National Histories (1881) and Incredible Narratives (1881).

Poetry

It is true that around the second half of the XIX century the novel evolved rapidly towards Realism, but this did not happen with the lyric and the theater, whose transformation was less violent and still continued impregnated with romanticism until the end of the century.

This late-night romanticism is more apparent than real; on occasions it lacks substance and without the lyrical exaltation to which the romanticist of pro indulged. This is due to society, since it was the moment of the bourgeoisie that would consolidate the Restoration of 1875. Said society, which was laying the foundations of capitalism and taking the first steps of industrialization in the country, left no room for people who admired the selfless art.

The most representative writers are Gaspar Núñez de Arce and Ramón de Campoamor, sometimes attached to Romanticism as opponents of the movement, since in this late romanticism there were still small vestiges with Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer and Rosalía de Castro.

Theater

Spanish realist theater describes an arc from the most conservative and uncritical positions to the most progressive and acid: from the high comedy of Adelardo López de Ayala and Ventura de la Vega, to the ethically restless theater of Benito Pérez Galdós and the steely criticism of Enrique Gaspar y Rimbau, playwright for minorities. Together with these authors, interest in costumbrismo was resumed, which reflected the most conservative bourgeois public through genres such as zarzuela or small genre, farce or hourly theater. It was essentially a theater of evasion, which tried not to pose problems of conscience to the bourgeois. Along with this, an attempt was made to revitalize the old conservative values of honor with the initiatives to revive the romantic historical drama by Manuel Tamayo y Baus or by the neo-romanticism of the mathematician José Echegaray.

Modernism

• Modernism

Generation of '98 and the 20th century

• Generation of 98
• Generation of 1914
• Generation of 27
• Generation of 36
• Generation of 50
• Spanish post-war Novel

Nobel laureates