Spanish Enlightenment literature is the literature of Spain written during the Age of Enlightenment.
During the 18th century a new spirit was born (it is in essence a continuation of the Renaissance) which swept away the older values of the Baroque and which receives the name of "Enlightenment". This movement laid its foundations in a critical spirit, in the predominance of reason and experience, philosophy and science were the most valued sources of knowledge. The period is also known as the "century of lights" or the "century of reason". In short, human happiness was pursued by means of culture and progress. The new winds that caused that art and literature were oriented towards a new classicism (Neoclassicism). The expression of feeling was avoided, norms and academic rules were followed, and balance and harmony were valued. At the end of century a reaction against so much rigidity arose, a return to the world of the feelings taking its place; this movement is known as "Pre-romanticism".
Read more about Spanish Enlightenment Literature: Historical Context, The Enlightenment in Europe, The Spanish Language in The 18th Century, Stages of The Literature of The 18th Century, Prose, Lyric, Theater, Preromanticism, See Also, Bibliography
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“The struggle of literature is in fact a struggle to escape from the confines of language; it stretches out from the utmost limits of what can be said; what stirs literature is the call and attraction of what is not in the dictionary.”
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