Recent literature. There can be no question that Spain is taking a place of considerable importance in the current literature of Europe, and this in the fields of drama, poetry, and fiction alike. Conflict between the old and the new is exercising Spain more perhaps than any other country of Europe. There is a very striking difference between the Spanish works of the last generation and those of today. The publishers' lists each season in Spain contain works of great merit, and the number seems to be constantly increasing. The Spanish drama has not been deeply influenced by the Realism and Naturalism of other countries. However, great advances have been made; the new drama is finely adapted to the presentday needs of Spain. José Echegaray (1833-1916) ushered in the newer type of play. He achieved extraordinary success in "El Gran Galeoto." It presents a remarkable study. The principal figure does not appear at any time on the stage, but is felt as a vital force affecting for evil the entire progress of the action. Over fifty plays were written by Echegaray. A great many dramas have also been produced by Pérez Galdós, of which "The Duchess of San Quentin" is perhaps the most representative. He has a serious purpose, and his thought is lofty and highly idealistic. Jacinto Benavente is a phenomenon of the day. He has written almost one hundred plays-witty, satirical, brilliant, the work of a real dramatic artist. He has entered very successfully even the field of the allegorical drama. A volume of his plays in English has recently appeared.2 The comedies of the brothers Alvarez Quintero are full of color and present many interesting types. Martínez Sierra has produced plays and lyric dramas. He portrays the best of modern Spanish life. He is an idealist and has sometimes been compared to Maeterlinck. The Modernist movement in Spanish poetry had its beginning, it is interesting to note, in the work of Rubén Darío, the Nicaraguan poet. Sierra, already mentioned, is noted for his poetry as well as for his plays; so is Eduardo Marquina, who has achieved success 1 This and other plays are included in the volume of translations entitled "Masterpieces of Modern Spanish Drama.” 2 Published by Charles Scribner's Sons. in poetry, lyric drama, and tragedy alike. Salvator Rueda and Juan Jiménez are two other popular poets. The latter, in addition to a number of melancholy lyrics of rare beauty, has written forceful prose. Francisco Villaespesa, the author of many exquisite sonnets, has great lyric power and beauty of style. In his elegies he expresses in a wonderful way the sense of the desolation that comes from bereavement. The list of Spanish poets is a long one-we have mentioned only a few representative names. In closing our sketch of recent Spanish literature we give a suggestion of what has been accomplished recently in the field of fiction. Armando Palacio Valdés, representing the new Realistic school, has won a great reputation. His story "José," presenting the life of a fishing-village, has been widely translated into the languages of Europe. Another realistic writer is that remarkable woman Emilia Pardo Bazán, who has excelled in other fields perhaps even more than in fiction. Pérez Galdós has already been mentioned. His prose is perhaps more highly esteemed than his plays. "Episodios Nacionales," brilliantly written, are novels treated from the historical point of view. His "Doña Perfecta," a religious novel, has been widely read in English, but is an unpleasant story at best. Ricardo León turns in his novels to an earlier time for his inspiration. In an age of doubt he seeks to revive the impulses of the period of chivalry and faith. Such is the aim of "El Amor de los Amores." Another of his novels has been translated into English under the title "Son of the Hidalgos."1 Valle-Inclán is an interesting figure among present-day novelists and also has won distinction as a litterateur. Pío Baroja is a brilliant and epigrammatic writer. One of his successes is the story of a commonplace young man of large ambitions, recently translated into English under the title "Cæsar or Nothing." His autobiographical volume has also appeared in an English translation "Youth and Egolatry."2 Blasco Ibáñez (1866-1928) is considered by many one of the chief literary men of our day. He was a prolific writer. Perhaps no other story of the World War has had such vogue as "The Four Horse 1 Published by Doubleday, Page & Company. 2 Both of the books cited are published by Alfred A. Knopf. men of the Apocalypse." His other war novel, "Mare Nostrum,” was less successful. Both have striking scenes but are marred by unworthy passages. "The Shadow of the Cathedral" has greater strength than either. It is notable for the impression which it conveys of the cathedral in Toledo and for its frank discussion of the Church question in Spain. The general appraisal of the writings of Blasco Ibáñez and of other recent Spanish novelists cannot be made as yet, but the modern novel clearly owes much to Spain. It is evident that the wit of Cervantes, the imagination of Lope de Vega, and the profound philosophy of Calderón are not lying dormant, but are alive today in the work of many important authors in the land to which they give such distinction. Reference List CHAPMAN. A History of Spain. The Macmillan Company. FITZMAURICE-KELLY. History of Spanish Literature. D. Appleton and Company. FITZMAURICE-KELLY. Chapters on Spanish Literature. G. P. Putnam's Sons. FORD. Main Currents of Spanish Literature. Henry Holt and Company. TICKNOR. History of Spanish Literature (3 vols.). Houghton Mifflin Company. SPENCE. Legends and Romances of Spain. Frederick A. Stokes Company. UNDERHILL. Spanish Literature in the England of the Tudors. The Macmillan Company. Oxford Book of Spanish Verse gives the Spanish text only. Oxford University Press. A few other books are cited in the text of this chapter. Translations: Cambridge Readings in Spanish Literature. Cambridge University Press. The Cid (Ormsby). Don Quixote (several editions available; the Ormsby translation is to be preferred). Calderón (Fitzgerald: Eight Dramas of Calderón). The Macmillan Company. Calderón is included in Foreign Classics for English Readers series. J. B. Lippincott Company; send for list. Masterpieces of Modern Spanish Drama (Clark Ed.). Duffield & Company. Blasco Ibáñez's works. E. P. Dutton & Company. Suggested Topics A study of "The Cid." Spanish and English ballads-a comparison. Spain in her great period. "Amadís de Gaula" and the romances of chivalry. Life of Cervantes. The story of "Don Quixote." A study of the humor of "Don Quixote." Proverbs from "Don Quixote." Lope de Vega and his plays. Calderón and his plays. A study of a modern Spanish novel. A study of a recent Spanish play. CHAPTER VIII. FRENCH LITERATURE ORIGINS OF THE FRENCH PEOPLE AND LANGUAGE Our knowledge of the inhabitants of what we now know as the land of France is very meager until the time of Cæsar. The land was referred to by the Romans as Gaul, and Cæsar mentions three tribes as occupying it at the time of his campaigns—the Belgians, the Celts, and the Aquitanians. They probably had Celtic and Germanic connections. From the time of Cæsar's conquests (5850 B.C.) to the beginning of the break-up of the Roman Empire, Gaul remained a pretty thoroughly Romanized province. At the time of the great movements of the barbarian races in the fifth century of the Christian Era it was the Franks, a Germanic tribe from the lower Rhine region, who secured the strongest foothold in Gaul. We can touch only lightly on the historical events prior to the beginnings of French literature. Among the most important are the extension of the Frankish kingdom under Clovis and his successors in the sixth century, the defeat of the Saracens by Charles Martel at Tours in 732, and the enlightened reign of Charlemagne, together with the extension and transformation of his kingdom into the Holy Roman Empire in the year 800. After his death there followed a period of decline, confusion, and practical anarchy. The Capetian line of kings, with its troublesome group of semiindependent nobles, worked out for itself during the eleventh and twelfth centuries the political and economic order known as the feudal system. The language spoken in the Romanized province of Gaul was a form of Latin similar to that of Rome itself. This, however, in France as in the various other Western lands, became transformed with the passing of the centuries into a kind of debased, or simplified, |