Spanish literature

Spanish literature,

Iberian Literature before Spanish

Literature flourished on the Iberian Peninsula long before the evolution of the modern Spanish language. The Latin writers Seneca, Lucan, Martial, and Quintilian are among those who were born or who lived in Spain before the separation of the Romance languagesRomance languages,
group of languages belonging to the Italic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see Italic languages). Also called Romanic, they are spoken by about 670 million people in many parts of the world, but chiefly in Europe and the Western Hemisphere.
..... Click the link for more information. . Twentieth-century research has uncovered texts of the 10th and 11th cent. written by Muslims and Jews living in Spain.

Early Works in Castilian Spanish

The famous early classic of Spanish literature, the sober and unornamented epic poem Cantar de Mío Cid (12th cent.), deals with the life and deeds of the national hero, Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, called the CidCid
or Cid Campeador
[Span.,=lord conqueror], d. 1099, Spanish soldier and national hero, whose real name was Rodrigo (or Ruy) Díaz de Vivar. Under Ferdinand I and Sancho II of Castile he distinguished himself while fighting against the Moors, but Alfonso VI
..... Click the link for more information.  Campeador. In the 13th cent. many other epic poems as well as the oldest popular lyrics appeared in the different provinces of the Iberian Peninsula. The first Spanish poet whose name is known is the priest Gonzalo de BerceoBerceo, Gonzalo de
, c.1198–1265?, earliest known Spanish medieval poet. He was a religious in a Benedictine monastery who wrote prolifically on saints and other figures important in the history of the church.
..... Click the link for more information. . Under the patronage of King Alfonso XAlfonso X
(Alfonso the Wise), 1221–84, Spanish king of Castile and León (1252–84); son and successor of Ferdinand III, whose conquests of the Moors he continued, notably by taking Cádiz (1262).
..... Click the link for more information.  (1221–84), himself a writer, Castilian prose was developed and many Arabic and Hebrew works were translated into Castilian.

In the 14th cent. the most important writers were López de AyalaLópez de Ayala, Pedro
, 1332–1407, Spanish statesman, poet, and chronicler. As a royal official in Castile, he served Peter the Cruel, Henry II, John I, and Henry III, rising to become chancellor of Castile (1398–1407).
..... Click the link for more information. , whose poem Rimado de palacio satirized the customs of the age; Fán Pérez de Guzmán, author of the historical Generaciones y semblanzas; the prince Don Juan ManuelJuan Manuel, Infante de Castile
, 1282–1349?, Spanish nobleman, soldier, and writer; nephew of Alfonso X (called the Wise). Juan Manuel was a wealthy and powerful prince. His masterpiece is the Libro del Conde Lucanor (1323–35, tr.
..... Click the link for more information. , nephew of King Alfonso X, whose Libro de los exemplos del conde Lucanor et de Patronio was the first book of short stories in Spanish; and the satirical poet Juan RuizRuiz, Juan
, 1283?–1350?, Spanish poet, musician, and archpriest of Hita. Ruiz suffered 13 years in prison, during which time he revised his masterpiece, El Libro de buen amor (c.1330, tr. The Book of Good Love, 1933).
..... Click the link for more information. .

During the reign of John II of Castile in the first half of the 15th cent., two important poets were Juan de MenaMena, Juan de
, 1411–56, Spanish poet and scholar. Influenced by the Italian school, he modeled his chief work Laberinto de Fortuna (1444) upon Dante. This 300-stanza allegorical poem was the major Spanish harbinger of the Renaissance.
..... Click the link for more information.  and the marqués de SantillanaSantillana, Iñigo López de Mendoza, marqués de
, 1398–1458, Spanish poet and literary patron. Influenced by Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio, his work marks the transition between medieval and Renaissance Spanish literature.
..... Click the link for more information. , both of whom wrote under Italian influence. The Italian poetic forms were to be of great importance in aiding Spanish verse to grow beyond folk art and pseudo-Provençal, but they were not assimilated into Spanish letters for another century. The outstanding prose work of the period was the novel La Celestina (1499), attributed to Fernando de RojasRojas, Fernando de
, 1465?–1541?, Spanish writer. Scanty records show him to have practiced law at Salamanca. He wrote La Celestina, published anonymously in 1499.
..... Click the link for more information. .

The Renaissance and the Golden Age of Spanish Literature

The first known novel of chivalry, Amadis of GaulAmadis of Gaul
, Fr. Amadis de Gaule , famous prose romance of chivalry, first composed in Spain or Portugal and probably based on French sources. Entirely fictional, it dates from the 13th or 14th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. , was printed in Zaragoza in 1508 and served as a model for the novels of chivalry that became (16th cent.) the most popular genre in Spain, together with the anonymous ballads (romances) that were sung and recited everywhere. Meanwhile the spirit of the Renaissance had been invading Spanish letters, and Spain had also become a dominant European power. In the reign of Emperor Charles V, the first picaresque novel, Lazarillo de Tormes, was published (1554); the identity of its author has remained a mystery.

The latter part of the 16th cent. and most of the 17th cent. made up the great era of Spanish literature, known as the Golden Age. At the start of this period the poet Garcilaso de la VegaGarcilaso de la Vega
, 1503?–1536, lyric poet of the Spanish Golden Age, b. Toledo. Garcilaso, the embodiment of the cultured and gifted courtier, was chiefly responsible for the renovation of Spanish poetry.
..... Click the link for more information. , stimulated by the work of Juan Boscán AlmogáverBoscán Almogáver, Juan
, c.1495–1542, Spanish poet. A Catalan aristocrat, Boscán was a literary figure at the court of Ferdinand V. He introduced Italian poetic forms into Spanish poetry, thus revolutionizing its traditional system of metrics.
..... Click the link for more information. , succeeded in mastering the meter and essence of Italian verse and in acclimating it to the Spanish spirit, thus revolutionizing Spanish poetry. The chief prose monument of the Golden Age, and one of the masterpieces of world literature, is the novel Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes SaavedraCervantes Saavedra, Miguel de
, 1547–1616, Spanish novelist, dramatist, and poet, author of Don Quixote de la Mancha, b. Alcalá de Henares. Life

Little is known of Cervantes's youth.
..... Click the link for more information. . The picaresque novel flourished; notable examples are those of Mateo AlemánAlemán, Mateo
, 1547–1614?, Spanish novelist, b. Seville. Alemán studied medicine and practiced accounting. He led a turbulent life, was sent to jail twice for his debts, and at the age of 60 found refuge in Mexico.
..... Click the link for more information.  and Francisco de QuevedoQuevedo y Villegas, Francisco de
, 1580–1645, Spanish satirist, novelist, and wit, b. Madrid. In 1611 he fled to Italy after a duel and became involved in revolutionary plottings. When Philip IV ascended the Spanish throne, Quevedo narrowly avoided a long prison term.
..... Click the link for more information. . Baltasar GraciánGracián, Baltasar
, 1601–58, Spanish Jesuit philosopher and writer. A scholar, satirist, and epigrammatist, Gracián frequently ran afoul of Jesuit authority.
..... Click the link for more information.  was a leading didactic prose writer.

The Golden Age also produced many superb playwrights. Lope de Vega CarpioLope de Vega Carpio, Félix
, 1562–1635, Spanish dramatic poet, founder of the Spanish drama, b. Madrid. Lope, born a peasant, was orphaned at an early age. He wrote the first of his nearly 1,800 plays at 12, and by 25 he was an established playwright and a
..... Click the link for more information. , one of the most prolific authors of all time, wrote a multitude of dramas, comedies, and religious plays. Tirso de MolinaTirso de Molina
, pseud. of Fray Gabriel Téllez
, 1584?–1648, outstanding dramatist of the Spanish Golden Age, b. Madrid. His fame rests on El burlador de Sevilla (1630; tr.
..... Click the link for more information. , Guillén de Castro y BellvísCastro y Bellvís, Guillén de
, 1569–1631, Spanish dramatist, best known of the Valencian group of playwrights of the Golden Age. Three of his plays dramatize episodes from Don Quixote.
..... Click the link for more information. , and Juan Ruiz de AlarcónAlarcón, Juan Ruiz de
, 1581?–1639, Spanish dramatic poet, one of the great literary figures of the Spanish Golden Age, b. Mexico. After practicing law in Spain (1600–1608) and Mexico, he returned (1613) to Spain, where he obtained a minor government post.
..... Click the link for more information.  were also outstanding playwrights. Calderón de la BarcaCalderón de la Barca, Pedro
, 1600–1681, Spanish dramatist, last important figure of the Spanish Golden Age, b. Madrid. Educated at a Jesuit school and the Univ. of Salamanca, he turned from theology to poetry and became a court poet in 1622.
..... Click the link for more information.  was the last and probably the best dramatist of the epoch.

Also part of the Golden Age were the great Spanish mystics St. TheresaTheresa or Teresa, Saint
(Theresa of Ávila) , 1515–82, Spanish Carmelite nun, Doctor of the Church, one of the principal saints of the Roman Catholic Church, one of the greatest mystics, and a leading
..... Click the link for more information.  of Ávila, author of an inspired spiritual autobiography, and her disciple St. John of the CrossJohn of the Cross, Saint,
Span. Juan de la Cruz, 1542–91, Spanish mystic and poet, Doctor of the Church. His name was originally Juan de Yepes. He was a founder of the Discalced Carmelites and a close friend of St.
..... Click the link for more information. , one of Spain's finest lyric poets. Fray Luis Ponce de LeónLeón, Luis Ponce de
, 1527?–1591, Spanish mystic and poet, an Augustinian monk. Fray Luis held various theological chairs at the Univ. of Salamanca. A noted Hebraist, he translated the Song of Songs and the Book of Job.
..... Click the link for more information.  wrote exquisite pastorals and Fernando de HerreraHerrera, Fernando de
, 1534–97, Spanish poet. One of the outstanding poets of the 16th cent. and the leader of the Seville school, he earned the name Herrera el Divino.
..... Click the link for more information.  left stirring odes, but the most influential poet of the period was Luis de Góngora y ArgoteGóngora y Argote, Luis de
, 1561–1627, poet of the Spanish Golden Age, b. Cordova. Of a cultured family, he studied in Salamanca and became a prebendary (1585?) and later a priest (1617). In his youth he was carefree and pleasure loving.
..... Click the link for more information. , whose precious, ornate verse was the most extreme expression of the baroque in Spanish literature; a cultivated, affected style known as Gongorism dominated Spanish letters in the latter half of the 17th cent.

The Eighteenth Century

In the 18th cent. French neoclassicism exerted a powerful—and inhibiting—influence on Spanish literature. The Poética of Ignacio de LuzánLuzán, Ignacio de
, 1702–54, Spanish scholar and critic. He studied the classics and the humanities in Italy. From 1747 to 1749 he was secretary at the Spanish embassy in Paris.
..... Click the link for more information.  reflected the academic principles of the epoch. An important essayist was Benito Gerónimo Feyjóo y MontenegroFeyjóo y Montenegro, Benito Gerónimo
, 1676–1764, Spanish Benedictine scholar and critic, abbot at Oviedo, Asturias. Feyjóo led in bringing the Enlightenment to Spain.
..... Click the link for more information. , a Benedictine who helped to usher the Enlightenment into Spain.

Three authors stood out as notable exceptions in the midst of a general decline in literary creativity: Leandro Fernández de MoratínFernández de Moratín, Leandro
, 1760–1828, Spanish dramatist and poet. A supporter of Joseph Bonaparte, he lived in exile in France after Bonaparte fell. Molière, whose works he translated, was his literary model.
..... Click the link for more information. , a writer of plays in the neoclassic vein; Ramón de la CruzCruz, Ramón de la
, 1731–94, Spanish dramatist. He wrote tragedies and adapted French and Italian plays, but he owes his fame to his sainetes, some 450 masterly one-act comedies that depict the life of the middle and lower classes.
..... Click the link for more information. , author of popular playlets called sainetes; and the poet Juan Meléndez ValdésMeléndez Valdés, Juan
, 1754–1817, Spanish neoclassic poet. He studied classics and law and later taught humanities at Salamanca. After much political vacillation during the rise and fall of the Bonapartes, he was forced to flee to France.
..... Click the link for more information. . While Manuel QuintanaQuintana, Manuel José
, 1772–1857, Spanish poet. He held high government posts and was tutor to Queen Isabella II. One of the last Spaniards to exemplify classical style, he is best known for his patriotic odes, among them El Panteón del Escorial
..... Click the link for more information. 's patriotic verse was neoclassical in form, it anticipated romanticism in its emotion.

The Nineteenth Century and Romanticism

During the first years of the 19th cent. the rigors of the Napoleonic occupation virtually snuffed out intellectual creativity in Spain. Then in 1833, with the death of Fernando VII, romanticism swept the country like a grass fire; its ascendancy was dramatic but superficial. Much of the work of the leading romantic authors—Ángel de Saavedra, duque de RivasRivas, Ángel de Saavedra, duque de
, 1791–1865, Spanish romantic poet and dramatist. A liberal, Rivas was condemned to death and fled in 1823 to England. After the death of Ferdinand VII he returned to Spain, having inherited his title and fortune.
..... Click the link for more information. , José de EsproncedaEspronceda, José de
, 1808–42, Spanish romantic poet. Involved in radical intrigue from the age of 14, he suffered imprisonment and was twice exiled. His Poesías (1840) brought him lasting fame.
..... Click the link for more information. , and José Zorrilla y MoralZorrilla y Moral, José
, 1817–93, Spanish poet and dramatist. His works and life epitomized the brief period of Spanish romanticism. One of the most honored of Spanish writers, he was nevertheless continually impoverished.
..... Click the link for more information. —echoed French and English models, but Mariano José de LarraLarra, Mariano José de
, 1809–37, Spanish satirist, b. Madrid. Using several pseudonyms, Larra wrote a series of satirical articles on Spanish politics and customs. These were published in his own periodical, Pobrecito hablador (1832–33).
..... Click the link for more information.  displayed originality in his admirable satirical sketches.

Two gifted post-romantic poets were Rosalía de CastroCastro, Rosalía de
, 1837–85, Spanish poet and novelist. Castro's book of verse Cantares gallegos (1863) was the first important poetry in Galician since the 13th cent.; it reflected the lyrical appeal of Galician folk songs.
..... Click the link for more information.  (writing in Galician) and Gustavo Adolfo BécquerBécquer, Gustavo Adolfo
, 1836–70, Spanish poet and writer of romantic tales. Bécquer's work is considered to be among the best 19th-century lyric poetry.
..... Click the link for more information. . Larra's sketches were outstanding examples of costumbrismo—the literary depiction of local color, customs, and types—a genre that in Spain led to and was intimately associated with naturalism and realism.

Late-Nineteenth- and Early-Twentieth-Century Movements

The towering figure of Benito Pérez GaldósPérez Galdós, Benito
, 1843–1920, Spanish novelist and dramatist, b. Canary Islands. At 20 he went to Madrid, where he spent most of his adult life. For his masterly treatment of the vast panorama of Spanish society, he has been called the greatest Spanish
..... Click the link for more information.  dominated the realistic novel during the second half of the 19th cent., but Pedro Antonio de AlarcónAlarcón, Pedro Antonio de
, 1833–91, Spanish writer, politician, and diplomat. He wrote several novels, including El sombrero de tres picos (1874, tr.
..... Click the link for more information. , José María de PeredaPereda, José María de
, 1833–1906, Spanish novelist. His stories are laid chiefly in his native Santander. An aristocrat by birth, he wrote sympathetically of the peasants but satirically of the bourgeoisie.
..... Click the link for more information. , Armando Palacio ValdésPalacio Valdés, Armando
, 1853–1938, Spanish novelist and critic. He began his career with critical writings, but his reputation rests on his realistic novels, characterized by an optimistic view of life.
..... Click the link for more information. , Juan Valera y Alcalá GalianoValera y Alcalá Galiano, Juan
, 1824–1905, Spanish writer and diplomat. Of a leading liberal family, Valera was a diplomat until 1858, and he later became a senator and an ambassador. Among his major works are Cartas americanas (4 vol.
..... Click the link for more information. , and Emilia Pardo BazánPardo Bazán, Emilia, condesa de
, 1852–1921, Spanish novelist and critic. Her biography of St. Francis of Assisi appeared the same year as her controversial "La cuestión palpitante" (1883), an essay on Zola's naturalism.
..... Click the link for more information.  also wrote notable fiction. Realism continued to have leading exponents well into the 20th cent., notably Vicente Blasco IbáñezBlasco Ibáñez, Vicente
1867–1928, Spanish novelist and politician, b. Valencia. Outspoken against the monarchy, Blasco Ibáñez published a radical republican journal, El pueblo, and was imprisoned 30 times for political activism.
..... Click the link for more information. , but at the turn of the century the intellectual and literary life of Spain underwent a deep transformation. With the loss of its colonial empire and the disastrous effects of the Carlist wars, Spain was economically and culturally bankrupt.

At the end of the century the writers of the Generation of '98Generation of '98,
Spanish literary and cultural movement in the first two decades of the 20th cent. It was so named by Azorín (see Martínez Ruiz, José) in 1913 to designate a group of young writers who, in the face of defeat (1898) in the Spanish-American
..... Click the link for more information. , stimulated by French and German influences and by Rubén DaríoDarío, Rubén
, 1867–1916, Nicaraguan poet, originally named Félix Rubén García Sarmiento. A child prodigy, he gained a thorough knowledge of Spanish and French cultures through reading; it was then widened during many years abroad in both
..... Click the link for more information.  and the modernismomodernismo
, movement in Spanish literature that had its beginning in Latin America. It was paramount in the last decade of the 19th cent. and the first decade of the 20th cent.

Modernismo derived from French symbolism and the Parnassian school.
..... Click the link for more information.  movement in Spanish America, set out to reevaluate and revitalize the cultural life of Spain. Ángel Ganivet, a precursor, had foreshadowed their work in his Idearium español. Miguel de UnamunoUnamuno, Miguel de
, 1864–1936, Spanish philosophical writer, of Basque descent, b. Bilbao. The chief Spanish philosopher of his time, he was professor of Greek at the Univ. of Salamanca and later rector there.
..... Click the link for more information. , as essayist, poet, novelist, and educator, emphasized the quixotic aspect of Spanish values and exerted great influence on Spanish youth. Azorín (see Martínez RuizMartínez Ruiz, José
, 1873?–1967, Spanish writer. He often used the pseudonym Azorín. A political radical in the 1890s, he moved steadily to the right.
..... Click the link for more information. ) created memorable impressionistic sketches. Ramón del Valle InclánValle Inclán, Ramón del
, 1866–1936, Spanish writer, a member of the Generation of '98. Valle Inclán was deeply influenced by foreign literary trends, especially by modernismo.
..... Click the link for more information.  brought a poetic sense of the fantastic and the bizarre to his novels and plays. Pío Baroja y NessiBaroja y Nessi, Pío
, 1879–1956, Spanish novelist from the Basque Country, member of the group of writers known as the Generation of '98. He left medicine to devote himself to literature and came to be the most popular Spanish novelist of the 20th cent.
..... Click the link for more information.  infused his novels with a fierce independence of spirit that rejected all traditional values and sought to arouse people to action.

The drama, whose only notable exponent in the late 19th cent. had been José EchegarayEchegaray, José
, 1832–1916, Spanish dramatist, mathematician, physicist, economist, and politician. He taught science, practiced engineering, and devoted his later life to economics and politics, holding several cabinet posts.
..... Click the link for more information. , was revitalized in the early 20th cent. by Jacinto GrauGrau, Jacinto
, 1877–1958, Spanish dramatist, b. Barcelona. Participating in Spain's early-20th-century literary renaissance, Grau slowly gained recognition for his strikingly original plays.
..... Click the link for more information. , Gregorio Martínez SierraMartínez Sierra, Gregorio
, 1881–1947, Spanish dramatist, novelist, and poet. His masterpiece is Canción de cuna (1911, tr. The Cradle Song, 1917), but he is also known for his tale El amor brujo,
..... Click the link for more information. , and especially by Jacinto Benavente y MartínezBenavente y Martínez, Jacinto
, 1866–1954, Spanish dramatist, b. Madrid. He was awarded the 1922 Nobel Prize in Literature. His best-known play is Los intereses creados (1907, tr.
..... Click the link for more information. . A major role in the Spanish cultural revival was played by the great educator Francisco Giner de los RíosGiner de los Ríos, Francisco
, 1839–1915, Spanish educator and philosopher. He founded the Institución Libre de Enseñanza, a school that sought to develop a spirit of inquiry in its students; it did much to reform teaching methods in Spain and to shape
..... Click the link for more information. .

After World War I the intellectual currents set in motion by the Generation of '98 merged with other forces in the European avant-garde to create a mainstream that fertilized Spanish cultural life until the outbreak of the civil war. Criticism, which had flourished at the turn of the century under the erudite Marcelino Menéndez y PelayoMenéndez y Pelayo, Marcelino
, 1856–1912, Spanish literary historian and critic. His vast contribution to Spanish scholarship includes Historia de los heterodoxos españoles (1880–82), a panoramic history of Spain;
..... Click the link for more information. , reached new heights in the works of the distinguished medievalist Ramón Menéndez PidalMenéndez Pidal, Ramón
, 1869–1968, Spanish scholar and philologist. Menéndez Pidal was a noted authority on Spanish epic literature and the Spanish language, and was also a major modern historian.
..... Click the link for more information. . The humorist Ramón Gómez de la SernaGómez de la Serna, Ramón
, 1888–1963, Spanish novelist, biographer, and critic, b. Madrid. One of the most prolific and imaginative of modern Spanish writers, Gómez de la Serna was a precursor of surrealism.
..... Click the link for more information.  wrote his inimitable greguerías.

It was in poetry, however, that Spanish literature produced its greatest achievements. The lyrics of Antonio MachadoMachado, Antonio
, 1875–1939, Spanish poet of the Generation of '98. He spent most of his life in Castile and his best poetry was influenced by its sober and dramatic landscape. His Poesías completas appeared in 1936.
..... Click the link for more information.  and of the great Juan Ramón JiménezJiménez, Juan Ramón
, 1881–1958, Spanish lyric poet, b. Andalusia, studied at the Univ. of Seville. In his youth Jiménez was influenced by the French symbolists; he wrote the romantic Almas de violeta in 1900.
..... Click the link for more information.  are among the finest in the language. José Moreno Villa, Rafael AlbertiAlberti, Rafael
, 1902–99, Spanish poet. After abandoning an earlier career as a painter, Alberti published his first book, Marinero en tierra [sailor on dry land] (1925), which was widely applauded.
..... Click the link for more information. , Vicente AleixandreAleixandre, Vicente
, 1898–1984, Spanish lyric poet. He won the national prize for literature for La destrucción o el amor (1935, tr. 1976) and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1976. His earlier verse, often free in form, is pessimistic and surrealistic.
..... Click the link for more information. , Luis CernudaCernuda, Luis
, 1904–63, Spanish poet. Cernuda fled Spain after the Spanish civil war and taught abroad. His works include La realidad y el deseo [reality and desire] (1936), a collection of his delicate surrealist verse; and Ocnos (1942), a prose lyric.
..... Click the link for more information. , Jorge GuillénGuillén, Jorge
, 1893–1984, Spanish poet. Guillén left Spain after the civil war (1939) and taught Spanish in the United States. His verse is difficult, terse, and lyrical.
..... Click the link for more information. , Dámaso AlonsoAlonso, Dámaso
, 1898–1990, Spanish philologist, lyric poet, and literary critic, b. Madrid. He is known for his literary sensitivity and the precision and rigor of his critical approach.
..... Click the link for more information. , and many others formed a brilliant constellation of poets, but the most engaging figure was that of the poet and dramatist Federico García LorcaGarcía Lorca, Federico
, 1898–1936, Spanish poet and dramatist, b. Fuente Vaqueros. The poetry, passion, and violence of his work and his own tragic and bloody death brought him enduring international acclaim.
..... Click the link for more information. .

Parallel to these developments in poetry was the work of one of Spain's most gifted essayists—José Ortega y GassetOrtega y Gasset, José
, 1883–1955, Spanish essayist and philosopher. He studied in Germany and was influenced by neo-Kantian thought. He called his philosophy the metaphysics of vital reason, and he sought to establish the ultimate reality in which all else was
..... Click the link for more information. . The novelist Ramón Pérez de AyalaPérez de Ayala, Ramón
, 1880?–1962, Spanish writer. He was educated at Jesuit schools, which he satirized in the novel A.M.D.G. (1910). His early realistic novels, among them The Fox's Paw (1912, tr. 1924), reveal ties with the Generation of '98.
..... Click the link for more information.  used his novels as a forum for intellectual discussion, whereas Gabriel Miró FerrerMiró Ferrer, Gabriel
, 1879–1930, Spanish novelist and short-story writer. One of the Generation of '98, he achieved his powerful individual style through unusual combinations of words and cadences. His novels are sensuous in tone, haunting, and evocative.
..... Click the link for more information.  wrote novels that can be considered lyric prose poems, and Benjamín Jarnés produced surrealist novels. The novels of Ramón SenderSender, Ramón José
, 1902–82, Spanish novelist. A journalist, Sender fought on the side of the Loyalists in the Spanish civil war. He left Spain in 1938 and became a U.S. citizen in 1946.
..... Click the link for more information.  marked a return to social criticism.

The Spanish Civil War to the Present

The Spanish civil war (1936–39) truncated the cultural evolution of the country. Many writers went into exile. Salinas, GuillénGuillén, Jorge
, 1893–1984, Spanish poet. Guillén left Spain after the civil war (1939) and taught Spanish in the United States. His verse is difficult, terse, and lyrical.
..... Click the link for more information. , Juan Larrea, and others distinguished themselves abroad. Among the novelists to emerge after the Spanish civil war were Nobel Prize winner Camilo José CelaCela, Camilo José
, 1916–2002, Spanish novelist, short-story writer, and poet, b. Iria Flavia. Among the writers to emerge after the Spanish civil war, he won critical acclaim with the novel La familia de Pascual Duarte (1942, tr.
..... Click the link for more information. , Carman LaforetLaforet, Carmen
(Carmen Laforet Díaz) , 1921–2004, Spanish writer, b. Barcelona. Her first novel, Nada (1945, tr. Andrea 1964), which describes the spiritual desolation of a country emerging from civil war, parallels some of her own experiences.
..... Click the link for more information. , and José María Gironella. Salvador de MadariagaMadariaga, Salvador de
(Salvador de Madariaga y Rojo) , 1886–1978, Spanish author and diplomat. In 1922 Madariaga became head of the disarmament section of the League of Nations.
..... Click the link for more information.  became known as a biographer and historian. In the 1950s and 60s a gradual return to political and literary normality was noticeable.

Writers whose literary reputations have been established since World War II include the novelists Max AubAub, Max
, 1903–72, Spanish author, b. Paris. He was educated in Spain where he lived until 1942, when he emigrated to Mexico. His style combines realism with fantasy.
..... Click the link for more information. , Miguel DelibesDelibes, Miguel
, 1920–2010, Spanish novelist, short-story writer, and journalist, b. Valladolid. Prolific and widely translated, he is known for his descriptions of provincial and rural life in the Castilian countryside and for his psychological analysis of middle- and
..... Click the link for more information. , Juan GoytisoloGoytisolo, Juan
(Juan Goytisolo Gay) , 1931–2017, Spanish writer, b. Barcelona. Goytisolo is considered among the foremost novelists who wrote in Spanish in the late 20th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. , Ana María MatuteMatute, Ana María
, 1926–2014, Spanish novelist, b. Barcelona. Much of her fiction, which has been translated into more than 20 languages, reflects her searing experiences as a preadolescent during the Spanish civil war.
..... Click the link for more information. , Rafael Sánchez FerlosioSánchez Ferlosio, Rafael
, 1927–, Spanish novelist, b. Rome. He has published two novels. Industrias y andanzas de Alfanhuí [the projects and wanderings of Alfanhuí] (1951) is a work of fantasy about a child's wanderings through Spain.
..... Click the link for more information. , Luís Martín-Santos, and Gonzalo Torrente-Ballester; the poets Manuel AltoaguirreAltoaguirre, Manuel
, 1904–59, Spanish poet, b. Málaga. With his contemporary Emilio Prados he founded the literary journal Litoral. His poetry is distinguished by its grace, sensitivity, and refinement, treating such themes as love, nature, and solitude.
..... Click the link for more information.  and Gerardo DiegoDiego, Gerardo
, 1896–1987, Spanish poet, b. Santander. Although he embraced many new poetic credos, his poetry is classified into two styles. His traditional poetry of real and sentimental experiences includes Soria (1923) and Versos humanos
..... Click the link for more information. ; and the playwrights Antonia Buero Vallejo, Alejandro Casona, and Alfonso SastreSastre, Alfonso
, 1926–, Spanish dramatist, essayist, and critic, b. Madrid. Approaching his work from a Marxist and existentialist point of view, he explores the problems of society's needy and rejected and pleads for justice in a world free of violence and hatred.
..... Click the link for more information. .

Reflecting Western European developments, post-Franco Spanish writing has been marked by a great deal of formal experimentation. Among the important novelists are Juan BenetBenet, Juan
, 1927–93, Spanish novelist and essayist. He earned a degree in civil engineering and worked as a highway engineer before publishing (1961) his first work, Nunca llegarás a nada [you'll never amount to anything].
..... Click the link for more information. , Carmen-Martín-Gaite, Eduardo Mendonza, Soledad Puértolas, Carmen Riera, and Ana Maria Moix. Dramatists include Férnando Arrabel, Antonio Gala, Fermín Cabal, and Alonso de Santos. Among the poets are Ana Rossetti, Antonio Carvajal, Guillermo Carnero, Jaime Silas, and Antonio de Villena.

Bibliography

See A. Flores, ed., Masterpieces of the Spanish Golden Age (1957); S. Resnick and J. Pasmantier, An Anthology of Spanish Literature in English Translation (2 vol., 1958). For histories of Spanish letters see R. E. Chandler and K. Schwartz, A New History of Spanish Literature (1961); G. Brenan, The Literature of the Spanish People (2d ed. 1965); A. Díaz-Plaja, A History of Spanish Literature (1971); M. Schneider and I. Stern, Modern Spanish and Portuguese Literatures (1988); W. S. Merwin, tr. and ed., From the Spanish Morning (1985).