SPAIN
201
SPAIN
of Seville : the leaders among them were Lista, Arjona,
Reinoso, and Blanco (known as Blanco White in Eng-
land, whither he wont later as an apostate priest).
Under the despotic rule of Fernando VII many
Liberals had fled the land. Going to England and
France they had there become acquainted with the
Romantic movement already on foot in those regions,
and, when the death of the tjTant in 1S33 permitted
their return, they preached the Romantic evangel to
their countr\^nen, some of whom, even though they
had stayed at home, had already learned somewhat
of the Romantic method. With his "Conjuraci6n de
Venecia" (l.S:?-f) Martinez de la Rosa (1787-1862)
shows Romantic tcnd(Mi(ies already appearing upon
the boards, although in mo.st of his pieces (Edipo, etc.)
he remains a classicist. Manuel Cabanyes (1808-33)
and Monroy (1837-61) two of the greatest poets of
this period, also remained classicists even amidst the
Romantic tendencies. The Romantic triumph was
really achieved by the Duque de Rivas (1791-186,5),
who won the victory all along the line for it, in his
play, "Don .4lvaro" (1835), his narrative poem,
"El moro exp6.sito" (1833) and his IjTical "Faro de
Malta ". The greatest poets of the Spanish Romantic
movement are Espronceda (1.809—12), in whom the re-
volt against cla.ssic tradition is comi)lete, aiul Zorrilla
(1817-93). The former is noted for his "Diablo
mundo", a treatment of the Faust theme, his "Estu-
diante de .Salamanca", reviving the Don .Juan story,
and a series of anarchical IvTics: the latter di.splays
the RomanticLst's liking for the things of the Midclle
Ages in his "Leyendas" and has provided one of the
most famous and popular of modern Spanish plays in
his "Don Juan Tenorio".
Towards the middle of the nineteenth century Romanticism began to wear away and to yield in Spain, as elsewhere, to a new movement of Realism. Even during the Romantic ferment the dramatist Bret6n do los Herreros (1790-1873) had remained un- affected and .sought f.ame simply as a painter of man- ners, while the Cuban playwright and poetess, Ger- trudis de Avellaneda (1814-73), oscillated between Classicism and Rom.anticism. In the plays of Tam- ayo y Baus (1829-98) and Abelardo L6pez de Ayala (1829-79) Reali.":m and psychology take the upper hand: both a.ssail the Positivism and Materialism of the time. In both the UtIcs and the prose of Gustavo Adolfo Bc'cquer (1837-70) there comes to view the mournful subjectivity of the Teutonic north whence his ancestors had come. The essay, written with .a particular attention to the customs and manners of the day, had flourished in the first half and about the middle of the centurv. Mariano .lose de Larra (l'"i- garo, 1809-37), Estebancz Calder6n (1799-1.S07) and IVIcsonero Romanos (1803-82) with their character sketches and their pictures of daily happenings had paved the waj' for the novel of manners, which became an actuality in the stories WTitten by Fern.1n Caballero (pseudonym for Cecilia Bohl de Faber; 1796-1877). Her .stories ("La Gaviota"; "Clemeneia"; etc.) are, so to speak, mer.al geographies of Southern Spain. The growth of the novel h.a.s been the particular pride of Spanish literature of the nineteenth century: it continues to be a grat ifying spectacle still. The novel of manners, started by the authoressFerndn Caballero, hius been treated with skill by Jo.stf Maria de Pereda (1834-95), Luis Coloma (b. 1851), Maria Pardo Bazdn (born 1851), Antonio de Trueba (1819-89), Pedro Antonio de Alarc6n (1833-91), and the humourist Vital Aza (b. 1851). The historical novel has been cultivated with success by F. Navarro Villostada (1818-1895) in his ".Vmaya" and by Luis Coloma in his "Reina Martir" and "Jeromln". Am6s Esca- lante (1831-1902) has .also attempted this branch of fiction. Most of the.se show more or less of an in- clination to indulge in naturalistic methods of the French order without, however, descending to the
extremes of the Zolaesque method. While these
story-tellers belong to the realistic category, Juan
Valera (1824-1905) has been consistently an idealistic.
However high his principles, his "Comendador Men-
doza" and "Pepita Jimenez" by no means evidence
high moral spirit in their author.
Not less than the development of fiction has been the advance of oratory, history, and belles-lettres in modern Spain, and to such an extent that since the Golden Age there has been neithei- such an abundance nor .such excellence. With such men as Donoso y Cortes (1809-53), Aparisi y Guijarro (181.5-72), Cdndido Nocedal (1821-85), and Ram6n Nocedal (1842-1907), political oratory h;is been raised to a high standard maintained at present by La-Cierva, Vasquez Mella, Maura, and Senanlo. As sacred orators those deserving mention are: Jose Vinuesa (1848-1903), Juan Maria Sold, (b. 18.53), and the Piarist Calasanz Rabaza. In the field of religious lit- erature lasting fame has been acquired by Donoso Cortes, author of an "Ensayo sobre el Catolicismo, el Liberalismo y el Sociahsmo", Jaime Balmes (1810- 48), whose " Protestant ismo comparado con el Cato- licismo " possesses all the charm of literary st vie, Fran- cisco Mateos-Gago (1827-1890), .\dolfo de Claravana, Manuel Orti y Lara and D. F. Sardd y Salvany. Tomds Camara, .\ntonio Cornelias y Cluet and Jos6 Mendive, in works as complete and sound in their learning and philosophy as thej' are cumulative in argiunents, have refuted the doctrines of Mr. William Drajiper introduced into Spain by the irreligious philosopher Salmer6n. Historical and critical re- search hiis been carried on bv such writers as Antonio Cavaniller (1805-1864), ^iodesto and Vicente La Fuente, who respectively have written the most com- prehensive "Historia de Espaiia" and "Historia eclesidstica de Espaiia". Foremost in areha;ology were Aureliano Fernandez Guerra (181(5-94), Jos6 M.arla Quadrado (1819-96), Pedro de Madrazo (1816- 98), Pablo Piferrer (1818-48), who have been suc- ceedetl by Eduardo de Hinojosa, Antonio Paz y Melia, Fidel Fita, and many others whose discoveries have brought light to bear on many obscure facts in the history of Spain. Literary research has been ex- tended by the most capable men, such as by Laverde Ruiz (1840-90) to whom a great part of the present literary movement in Spain is to be attributed, J. Amador de los Rios (1818-78), author of a masterly "Historia de la literatura espafiola", .also M. Mild y Fontanals, L. A. Cueto, Gonzalez Pedroso, Alfonso Duran, and Adolfo do Castro have won a high name in criticism by their v.aluablo works on literary inves- tigation. Of living critics particular mention should be made of M. Menendez y Pelayo, Manviel Serrano y Sanz, and Ram6n Menendez y Piflal, who combine literary graces with the methods of true scientific research. Juan Mir y Noguora (b. 1840) is one of the most prolific and remarkable writers of the present day. During the second half of the nineteenth cen- turv, high rank among the KtIc poets was attained by Vicente W. Quer.al (18.36^1889), J. Coll y Vetri (d. 1876), Federico Balart (1835-1903), Ram de Viu (d. 1907), Jos6 Selgas (1824-82), knowm as the poet of the flowers as J. M. Gabriel y Galdn (1870-1905) is the poet of the fields. Nuiiez de Arce (1834-1903) is also a lyricist of inspiration and author of the best historical drama of the period ("El Ilaz de lena", dealing with the Don Carlos tradition).
The literature of Spain has been greatly enriched by the modern Renaissance of the Catalan literature. The Renaissance period includes Mussen Jacinto Verdaguer (1843-1902), author of "Idilis y cants mistics", "Patria", "Canigo", and "Allantida", and perhaps the greatest poet of moflern Spain; Francisco Casaa y Amig6, Jaime Colell, .Joan Maragall (1,860- 1912), Rubi6 y Ors, author of "Lo Gaiter del Llobre- gat", and M. Costa y Llobera, who has written both
