barroco, modernismo, neobarroco

Rubén Darío is the first Spanish-language writer who vindicates Luis de Góngora’s works fully and unambiguously. His proposal is put forward in Cantos de vida y esperanza by means of the sonnet triptych “Trébol” and the opening poem "Yo soy aquel que ayer no más decía", where he acknowledges the great influence of Góngora and Paul Verlaine. With a basis on this dialogue initiated by Darío, from early on critics have remarked the affinities between Modernism and Baroque. Still, underneath these affinities clearly there are significant differences, which I aim to develop in this paper along three comparative axes: politics, religion and language. Following this comparison, I posit that Modernism, through Darío, removes Baroque from its historical siting and places it among the artist’s modern dilemmas and contradictions when faced with society, thus establishing the fundamental lines of what will later emerge as Neobaroque.