The literary trends Are movements in the specific field of literature that share characteristics, whether of form (style), background (thematic) and that coexist in a certain period of history.
These literary currents emerge as a response to the political, economic and social reality of the time in which they occur and, for the most part, coincide with similar styles and currents in other branches of art, communing with the prevailing ideologies and philosophical thoughts of that period .
Many of these movements, especially those that have appeared in the last centuries, have been superimposed in the line of space time, coexisting with more or less relevance.
The given names and the duration of their influence, have been determined a posteriori by scholars of the subject, or they have been chosen by their original propellers.
Main Literary Currents of History
Classicism
The period that goes from century V a.C. Until the fifth century AD. Is known as classicism, the root of all universal literature. It is characterized mainly by seeking the balance between background and form. Within the Classic Period, Greek literature And the Latin.
Greek Literature
It is believed that literature was born in Ancient Greece about 1000 years ago. C., but the pieces more known date of century V a.C. Henceforth, culminating approximately in the fifth century of our era.
It was based on telling real facts that the narrators once lived, as well as stories about the gods. In this period Homer with the epic stories of"The Iliad"and"The Odyssey", Sophocles with the drama of"Electra", Virgilio with"The Aeneid"and Gilgamesh in the poetry.
Roman or Latin Literature
It began in Century III a. And ended in the fourth century of our era. The Romans absorbed all the literary knowledge of the Greeks and spread it by the vast Roman Empire.
The rhetoric of Cicero was emphasized, that became model of oratory in all Europe; Lucretius in the lyrical genre and Plautus in the drama.
Middle Ages
From the second half of the fifth century until the end of the fourteenth century, the world was characterized by a long and slow period plagued by internal wars, disputes to conquer territories and the famous Christian crusades.
The arts in general, and literature in particular, suffered and suffered their share of obscurantism; The works were circumscribed to the religious theme and to the profane (like the courtly love), in contrast.
Humanism
Only by the end of the fourteenth century did a Intellectual movement Which broke with the scholasticism and promoted the study of classical literature and science, seeking to give a more rational meaning to life.
They emphasized authors like Juan Ruiz with"The Book of the Good Love"and great anonymous pieces like"El Mío Cid"and"The Song of the Nibelungs".
Renaissance
The literature (and the art ) Renaissance originated in the city of Florence in Italy, and developed between the fifteenth century and until the late seventeenth century approximately.
Faced with the lethargy of almost ten centuries, this was a real explosion that was characterized by the rise of the arts and Importance of man As the central theme.
They highlighted Dante Alighieri with"The Divine Comedy", Garcilaso de la Vega with his"Églogas"and Bocaccio with"The Decameron".
Baroqueism
In the seventeenth century the world was in an economic and social crisis, whose negative and pessimistic view was reflected in the arts.
The literature Of this period Highlighted throughout Europe but mainly in Spain, which wrote about religion and the pursuit of dreams.
Baltasar Graciano, Luis de Góngora and Francisco de Rojas stood out, as well as Francisco de Quevedo, author of"Poderoso Caballero es Don Dinero"and Lope de Vega with his famous"Fuenteovejuna".
You may be interested 15 Poems of the Baroque Short of Great Authors .
Mannerism
Baroque and Mannerism shared the historical path, using similar resources and literary elements.
It antagonizes the sensual and spiritualistic style of an era characterized by skepticism and concerned with pleasure and beauty.
Within the Mannerism could be located authors of the stature of William Shakespeare , Author of"Hamlet", or Miguel de Cervantes with his immortal"Don Quixote de La Mancha".
Neoclassicism
It begins in the eighteenth century and represents a return back to rescue the classical Greek and Roman values and thus find balance and serenity.
Is called "Century of Lights" , In which Voltaire with"Oedipus", Juan Meléndez Valdez with"Las Enamoradas Anacreónticas"and Leandro Fernández de Moratín with"El Sí de las Niñas", were important exponents.
You may be interested 5 Poems of the Neoclassicism of Great Authors .
Romanticism
It originated in Germany in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and was characterized by the abandonment of the frivolous and purist thoughts of the previous period, to give way to feelings, imagination and creativity as Axis of literature .
He was profusely developed in Germany, France and England, with Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe as poet, playwright and novelist, as well as José de Espronceda with"Pirate Song", Jorge Isaacs with"María"and José Zorrilla with the famous"Don Juan Tenorio ".
You may be interested The 23 Main Authors of Romanticism and their Works .
Realism
It began in France in the second half of the 19th century and spread throughout the European continent. I had as characteristic Main the dispossession of the sentimentality of the current that preceded it.
This was achieved by making a literature based on the observation and objective description of social reality and daily life.
It was the answer to the social situation of the time, characterized by the consolidation of the bourgeoisie and industrialization.
Stendhal with works such as"Red and Black", Honorato de Balzac, Alexander Dumas -"The Lady of the Camelias"-, Leon Tolstoy, Anton Chéjov, Gustave Flaubert -"Madame Bovary"- Benito Pérez Galdós and Fedor Dostoyevsky with his Most emblematic work"Crime and Punishment", were its main exponents.
You may be interested 7 Very Representative Poems of Realism .
Impressionism
He was born in France in the second half of the nineteenth century as a reaction to realism. It aimed to generate literary pieces stripped of intellectuality and reflection, giving greater importance to the author's first"impression"on the object or subject to be written. The Goncourt brothers were his forerunners.
You may be interested The 7 Most Impressive Features of Impressionism .
Naturalism
Towards the end of the 19th century, realism gave way to naturalism , Where realism redoubled its bet, highlighting the ugly, the unpleasant and the most negative and desolate face of reality.
Naturalism sought to explain human behavior by observing and describing the social environment.
Émile Zola is considered the father of naturalism, but also emphasized Blasco Ibáñez and Emilia Pardo Bazán.
Modernism
It emerged in the late nineteenth century and had its decline in the early twentieth century. It was the only literary stream that originated in America and then spread through Europe and not the other way around, as it used to.
HE Characterized For its manifest repulsion towards everything daily and for the search of beauty and the perfection of forms.
He modernism Disdained everything previously established by realism. Writers Icon of Modernism Were Rubén Darío -"Azul"-, Amado Nervo, José Martí and Ramón del Valle Inclán, poet, writer and playwright.
Avant-garde
The Vanguard Emerged in the twentieth century, specifically between World War I and World War II, as an attempt to transform literature by denying the past and emphasizing originality, even above reality.
Obeying the historical moment that was going through, the awakening of a new consciousness was necessary after the spiritual crisis experienced.
Vanguardism exalts surprise, uses extra-literary resources and explores the irrational. André Breton, Gabriel García Márquez -"One Hundred Years of Solitude". Carlos Fuentes, Rafael Cadenas, César Vallejo, Pablo Neruda And Hector Mendoza were some of the Leading representatives In this stream.
The avant-garde brought together all the currents that emerged around World War I, such as Dadaism, Cubism and Surrealism, among others.
Surrealism
It arose in 1916 thanks to André Bretón. It was characterized by stripping of all reason or aesthetic precept literary creation, which resulted in a purely pure work, without any rational or moral control.
You may be interested The 10 Most Influential Representatives of Surrealism in History .
Dadaism
This current Emerges at the beginning of the twentieth century as a mockery and criticism of the bourgeoisie and the established order; For it uses incomprehensible and absurd resources. Hugo Ball and Tristán Tzara were his most representative authors.
Futurism
Also from the beginning of the 20th century, he was born in Italy and tried to break with everything that has happened, introducing movement and fluidity as preponderant elements. Filippo Tomasso was his great exponent.
You may be interested The 8 Most Important Features of Futurism .
Expressionism
He was born in Germany in 1918 thanks to Georg Trakl. It was characterized by a very personal and subjective view of reality, giving greater importance to feelings and perception than to objective description.
You may be interested 8 Expressionist Poems of Great Authors .
Post Avant-garde
It emerges after World War II, influenced by Marxist thought. It rejects all idealism and seeks by all means to return to reality pure and raw, retaining the freedom of avant-garde composition, but with a more formal structure.
From a deep interior of the writer, folk poetry emerges, social and political. Ernesto Cardenal and Nicanor Parra are faithful exponents of this current.
Post Modernism
It was born in the postwar period, in the second half of the 20th century. In fact, under this term were grouped all the currents that arose in those decades and that had like point in common the rupture with the modernism and the realism.
The end was the renunciation of optimism and reason, and the denial of objective reality, for which he used fragmented structures, circular arguments and unsightly and even unethical elements.
Contemporary Literature
In this twenty-first century, humanity's unease about social inequality and the harmful effects of modernity and progress is evident. Literature in these days is deeply social, raises questions and seeks experimentation.
It is the current literature, is still in full development. In the future some scholar will name him.
References
- Literary trends. Recovered from monografias.com.
- Literary trends. Retrieved from bxscience.edu.
- Literary trends. Recovered from literature-itesm.blogspot.com.ar.
- Literary Movements. Retrieved from bookmarkingstories.com.
- Postmodern literature. Retrieved from language.laguia2000.com.
- Medieval Literature. Retrieved from es.wikipedia.org.
- Literature of Impressionism. Retrieved from es.wikipedia.org.
- Post-Vanguardism: Overcoming ruptures. Retrieved from elbibliote.com.
- Osvaldo Ulloa Sánchez. Surrealism: Only Marvelous is Beautiful. Recovered from poesias.cl.
- Jorge Coronel (2014). The literary avant-gardes in the First World War. Retrieved from abc.com.py.