1. FRENCH INFLUENCE ON THE LITERATURE OF SPAIN.--The death of Charles II.,
in 1700, was followed by the War of the Succession between the houses of
Hapsburg and Bourbon, which lasted thirteen years. It was terminated by
the treaty of Utrecht and the accession of Philip V., the grandson of
Louis XIV. Under his reign the influence of France became apparent in the
customs of the country. The Academy of Madrid was soon established in
imitation of that of Paris, with the object of establishing and
cultivating the purity of the Castilian language. The first work published
by this association was a Dictionary, which has continued in successive
editions to be the proper standard of the language. At this time French
began to be spoken in the elegant society of the court and the capital,
translations from the French were multiplied, and at last, a poetical
system, founded on the critical doctrine of Boileau, prevalent in France,
was formally introduced into the country by Luzan, in his "Art of Poetry,"
which from its first appearance (1737) exercised a controlling authority
at the court, and over the few writers of reputation then to be found in
the country. Though the works of Luzan offered a remedy for the bad taste
which had accompanied and in no small degree hastened the decline of the
national taste, they did not lay a foundation for advancement in
literature. The national mind had become dwarfed for want of its
appropriate nourishment; the moral and physical sciences that had been
advancing for a hundred years throughout Europe, were forbidden to cross
the Pyrenees. The scholastic philosophy was still maintained as the
highest form of intellectual culture; the system of Copernicus was looked
upon as contrary to the inspired record; while the philosophy of Bacon and
the very existence of mathematical science were generally unknown even to
the graduates of universities. It seemed as if the faculties of thinking
and reasoning were becoming extinct in Spain.
2. THE DAWN OF SPANISH LITERATURE IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.--The first
effort for intellectual emancipation was made by a monk, Benito Feyjoo
(1676-1764), who, having made himself acquainted with the truths brought
to light by Galileo, Bacon, Newton, Leibnitz, and Pascal, devoted his life
to the labor of diffusing them among his countrymen. The opposition raised
against him only drew to his works the attention he desired. Even the
Inquisition summoned him in vain, for it was impossible to question that
he was a sincere and devout Catholic, and he had been careful not to
interfere with any of the abuses sanctioned by the church. Before his
death he had the pleasure of seeing that an impulse in the right direction
had been imparted to the national mind.
One of the striking indications of advancement was an attack upon the
style of popular preaching, which was now in a state of scandalous
degradation. The assailant was Isîa (1703-1781), a Jesuit, whose "History
of Friar Gerund" is a satirical romance, slightly resembling Don Quixote
in its plan, describing one of those bombastic orators of the age. It was
from the first successful in its object of destroying the evil at which it
aimed, and preachers of the class of Friar Gerund soon found themselves
without an audience.
The policy of Charles III. (1759-1788) was highly favorable to the
progress of literature. He abridged the power of the Inquisition, and
forbade the condemnation of any book till its writer or publisher had been
heard in its defense; he invited the suggestion of improved plans of
study, made arrangements for popular education, and raised the tone of
instruction in the institutions of learning. Finally, perceiving the
Jesuits to be the most active opponents of these reforms, he expelled them
from every part of his dominions, breaking up their schools, and
confiscating their revenues. During his reign, intellectual life and
health were infused into the country, and its powers, which had been so
long wasting away, were revived and renewed.
Among the writers of this age are Moratin the elder (1737-1780), whose
poems are marked by purity of language and harmony of versification; and
Yriarte (1750-1791), who was most successful in fables, which he applied,
to the correction of the faults and follies of literary men. To this
period may also be referred the school of Salamanca, whose object was to
combine in literature the power and richness of the old writers of the
time of the Philips with the severer taste then prevailing on the
continent. Melendez (1754-1817), who was the founder of this school,
devoted his muse to the joys and sorrows of rustic love, and the leisure
and amusements of country life. Nothing can surpass some of his
descriptions in the graceful delineation of tender feeling, and his verse
is considered in sweetness and native strength, to be such a return to the
tones of Garcilasso, as had not been heard in Spain for more than a
century. Gonzalez (d. 1794), who, with happy success, imitated Luis de
Leon, Jovellanos (1744-1811), who exerted great influence on the literary
and political condition of his country, and Quintana (b. 1772), whose
poems are distinguished by their noble and patriotic tone, are considered
among the principal representatives of the school of Salamanca.
The most considerable movement of the eighteenth century in Spain, is that
relating to the theatre, which it was earnestly attempted to subject to
the rules then prevailing on the French stage. The Spanish theatre, in
fact, was now at its lowest ebb, and wholly in the hands of the populace.
The plays acted for public amusement were still represented as they had
been in the seventeenth century,--in open court-yards, in the daytime,
without any pretense of scenery or of dramatic ingenuity. Soon after,
through the influence of Isabella, the second wife of Philip V.,
improvements were made in the external arrangements and architecture of
the theatres; yet, owing to the exclusive favor shown to the opera by the
Italian queens, the old spirit continued to prevail.
In the middle of the eighteenth century a reform of the comedy and tragedy
was undertaken by Montiano and others, who introduced the French style in
dramatic compositions, and from that time an active contest went on
between the innovators and the followers of the old drama. The latter was
attacked, in 1762, by Moratin the elder, who wrote against it, and
especially against the _autos sacramentales_, showing that such wild,
coarse, and blasphemous exhibitions, as they generally were, ought not to
be tolerated in a civilized and religious community. So far as the _autos_
were concerned, Moratin was successful; they were prohibited in 1768, and
since that time, in the larger cities, they have not been heard.
The most successful writer for the stage was Ramon de la Cruz (1731-1799),
the author of about three hundred dramatic compositions, founded on the
manners of the middle and lower classes. They are entirely national in
their tone, and abound in wit and in faithful delineations of character.
While a number of writers pandered to the bad taste of low and vulgar
audiences, a formidable antagonist appeared in the person of Moratin the
younger (1760-1828), son of that poet who first produced, on the Spanish
stage, an original drama written according to the French doctrines.
Notwithstanding the taste of the public, he determined to tread in the
footsteps of his father. Though his comedies have failed to educate a
school strong enough to drive out the bad imitations of the old masters,
they have yet been able to keep their own place.
The eighteenth century was a period of revolution and change with the
Spanish theatre. While the old national drama was not restored to its
ancient rights, the drama founded on the doctrines taught by Luzan, and
practiced by the Moratins, had only a limited success. The audiences did
as much to degrade it as was done by the poets they patronized and the
actors they applauded. On the one side, extravagant and absurd dramas in
great numbers, full of low buffoonery, were offered; on the other, meagre,
sentimental comedies, and stiff, cold translations from the French, were
forced, in almost equal numbers, upon the actors, by the voices of those
from whose authority or support they could not entirely emancipate
themselves.
3. SPANISH LITERATURE IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.--The new life and health
infused into literature in the age of Charles III. was checked by the
French revolutionary wars in She reign of Charles IV., and afterwards by
the restoration of civil despotism and the Inquisition, brought again into
the country by the return of the Bourbon dynasty in 1814. Amidst the
violence and confusion of the reign of Ferdinand VII. (1814-1833), elegant
letters could hardly hope to find shelter or resting-place. Nearly every
poet and prose writer, known as such at the end of the reign of Charles
IV., became involved in the fierce political changes of the time,--changes
so various and so opposite, that those who escaped from the consequences
of one, were often, on that very account, sure to suffer in the next that
followed. Indeed, the reign of Ferdinand VII. was an interregnum in all
elegant culture, such as no modern nation has yet seen,--not even Spain
herself during the War of the Succession. This state of things continued
through the long civil war which arose soon after the death of that king,
and, indeed, it is not yet entirely abated. But in despite of the troubled
condition of the country, even while Ferdinand was living, a movement was
begun, the first traces of which are to be found among the emigrated
Spaniards, who cheered with letters their exile in England and France, and
whose subsequent progress from the time when the death of their unfaithful
monarch permitted them to return home, is distinctly perceptible in their
own country.
The two principal writers of the first half of the century are the
satirist José de Larra (d. 1837), and the poet Espronceda (d. 1842); both
were brilliant writers, and both died young. Zorrilla (b. 1817), has great
wealth of imagination, and Fernan Caballero is a gifted woman whose
stories have been often translated. Antonio de Trueba is a writer of
popular songs and short stories not without merit, Campoamor (b. 1817) and
Bequer represent the poetry of twenty years ago. The short lyrics of the
first named are remarkable for their delicacy and finesse. Bequer, who
died at the age of thirty, left behind him poems which have already
exercised a wide influence in his own country and in Spanish America; they
tell a story of passionate love, despair, and death. Perez Galdos, a
writer of fiction, attacks the problem of modern life and thought, and
represents with vivid and often bitter fidelity the conflicting interests
and passions of Spanish life. Valera, the present minister from Spain to
the United States, is the author of the most famous Spanish novel of the
day, "Pepita Jimenez," a work of great artistic perfection, and his skill
and grace are still more evident in his critical essays. Castelar has
gained a European celebrity as an orator and a political and miscellaneous
writer. The works of these authors, and of many others not named, show
clearly that Spain is making vigorous efforts to bring herself, socially
and intellectually, into line with the rest of Europe.
Of the Spanish colonies Cuba has produced some writers of enduring renown.
The most distinguished for poetic fame is Gertrude de Avelleneda; Heredia
and Placido may also be mentioned. In Venezuela, Baralt is known as a
historian, poet, and classical writer; Olmedo as a poet of Bolivia, and
Caro a writer of the United States of Colombia.