A Timely Taste of Spain

 

Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo

Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo (1864 – 1936) was a Spanish essayist, novelist, poet, playwright, philosopher, professor of Greek, and later rector at the University of Salamanca. He was prolific in many genres, including poetry, essays, and drama, but he is best remembered for his philosophical treatise The Tragic Sense of Life (1912). 

His novels include Paz en la guerra (Peace in War) (1897), Niebla (Mist) (1914), Vida de Don Quijote y Sancho (1914), and Abel Sánchez (1917).

If you would like to become familiar with some of Unamuno's thought, I recommend the book Essays, Paradoxes, Soliloquies.

Unamuno's works often are poetic, and they ring with sincere apologies for the tragic sense of life. Yet they retain hope, even as Quijote's hope for triumph over his foes never left him. Quijote's dying words to Sancho Panza were "Bring me my sword."

Because Unamuno's thought leaves wiggle room to explore, his readers may freely wander unexplored paths and discover unfamiliar literary places. We are allowed to live with uncomfortable contradictions. This space is shrinking in our polarized world. Our time is not unlike the eve of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). All the more reason to become familiar with the thought of Miguel de Unamuno!

In October 1936 Unamuno denounced General Francisco Franco’s Falangists. This resulted in his removal as rector of Salamanca University. He was placed under house arrest, and he died of a heart attack two months later.

Related reading: Love the Work of Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo