LITERARY AVANT-GARDES: WHAT THEY WERE AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS - LITERATURE - 2025

The literary avant-gardes comprise all those literary movements that emerged in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century, and which represented novel ways of conceiving not only literature, but art in general. In the early years of the 20th century, the environment on the European continent was turbulent.

Modernism, a movement towards the modification of traditional beliefs, dominated the cultural and intellectual life of that time. Thus, this period was characterized by a total rejection of the romanticism and positivism of the previous century. Instead, the desire and the search for the new predominated, for the far removed from the old models.

Vicente Huidobro, creator of creationism, one of the most outstanding literary avant-gardes

In this context, modernism was expressed in movements collectively called artistic isms, among which Futurism, Fauvism, Dadaism, Post-Impressionism and others stand out. They are different from each other, but they all show concern about alienation, fragmentation and the loss of shared values ​​and meanings.

Furthermore, these literary avant-gardes also have ambiguity, relativity, and subjectivity in common, along with linguistic experimentation and formal experiments in messy chronology, and shifting points of view.

What were the literary avant-gardes?

Arieldentism

Arieldestism was an emerging movement in literature and philosophy in the early 20th century. This posited that there was no divine force governing the lives of human beings.

In this way, man was responsible for his ethical decisions and his behaviors. This new point of view influenced the poetic approach to issues such as suffering, death and the end of the individual.

In the light of this new perspective, these themes were completely separate from individual religions and cosmogonic conceptions.

Creationism

It was a literary avant-garde movement that occurred in France in 1916. The main exponent and creator of the trend was the Chilean writer Vicente Huidobro (1893-1948).

Unlike other avant-garde currents, creationism did not seek to nullify the rational element in poetic production.

Dadaism

Begun in 1916 in Zurich, Switzerland, Dadaism is one of the best known literary avant-gardes. It was powered by artists who escaped WWI.

This group of artists had become disillusioned with the European politics, social norms, and cultural ideals of the time, pointing to them as the culprits for leading nations to battle with each other.

They also advocated an anarchist and anti-bourgeois style that broke with all Europeanized ideas. In order to reverse conventional ideas and logic, they used irony, humor, and nonsensical themes and images.

Expressionism

Expressionism was an avant-garde movement that occurred initially in poetry and painting, and originated in Germany in the early 20th century.

In literature, expressionism dominated in Germany during and immediately after the First World War. His typical overriding feature was presenting the world with a subjective perspective for emotional effects.

Futurism

Futurism began in Italy at the beginning of the 20th century. This artistic movement was very significant in the visual arts and in poetry.

In 1909 the Italian poet and publisher Filippo Tommaso Marinetti coined the word futurism to signify his break with the art of the past. His proposal exalted violence and conflict to arouse controversy.

Imaginism

This was a form of literary creativity that was generated from the year 1928. The promoters of this style were Chilean writers, including Ángel Cruchaga, Salvador Reyes, Hernán del Solar and Luis Enrique Délano, among others.

This literary style arises from the need to overturn the Chilean literary style of that time which, in the opinion of the insurgent group, was too Creole.

In this sense, the entire Imagist group agreed that the mere descriptive relationship of criollismo should be replaced with content loaded with sensoriality.

Surrealism

The theoretical developments of Einstein, Darwin, Freud, and Marx, among others, profoundly changed Western culture. These changes took different forms in 20th century literature.

In this way, the emergence of the literary avant-gardes of the 20th century was given way, which meant a radical break from Victorianism and which, despite their variety, shared some characteristics.

Fragmented structure

Previously, literature tended to be structured in linear and chronological order. Writers in the 20th century experimented with other types of structures.

Among other strategies, they interrupted the story or skipped between time periods. Many of these writers even tried to imitate the subjective feeling of how human beings experience time.

Fragmented perspective

Before the 20th century, readers had the reliability of an objective narrator in fiction. However, writers in the literary avant-gardes believed that this impaired the reliability of stories in general.

Thus, the 20th century saw the birth of the ironic narrator, who could not be trusted with the facts of the narrative. Narrators biased towards a particular character or the exchange of narrators are then observed.

Urban environments

As more people moved to cities in Europe and America, novelists began to use urban settings as backdrops for the stories they told.

Writing from marginality

Through the literary avant-gardes, marginalized people who previously received little recognition for their contributions to literature were given a voice.

Thus, ethnic groups began to form powerful literary movements. These previously marginalized groups had the opportunity to celebrate their own identities and tell their personal stories.

For example, writers in the postcolonial literary movement wrote stories on behalf of subjugated peoples who had experienced colonization by Western powers.

References

1. Bleiberg, G; Ihrie, M. and Pérez, J. (1993). Dictionary of the Literature of the Iberian Peninsula. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group.
2. Poplawski, P. (Editor) (2003). Encyclopedia of Literary Modernism. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group.
3. Coodin, D. (2017, April 17). Characteristics of 20th Century Literature. Taken from penandthepad.com.
4. Bleiberg, G; Ihrie, M. and Pérez, J. (1993). Dictionary of the Literature of the Iberian Peninsula. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group.
5. Poplawski, P. (Editor) (2003). Encyclopedia of Literary Modernism. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group.
6. Coodin, D. (2017, April 17). Characteristics of 20th Century Literature. Taken from penandthepad.com.
7. Fawcett, K. (2016, July 14). Dada, the Early 20th Century Avant-Garde Art Movement, Turns 100 Today. Taken from mentalfloss.com
8. Chilean memory. (S7F). Creationism. Taken from memoriachilena.cl.
9. Martínez Garnelo, A. (2010). Literature I. Mexico: Cengage Learning Editores.
10. Chilean memory. (S7F). Imaginism. Taken from memoriachilena.cl.
11. Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2017, January 02). Expressionism. Taken from britannica.com.
12. White, JJ (2016, November 30). Futurism. Taken from britannica.com.