The linguistic characterisation of Galdós’s characters in his last play, Santa Juana de Castilla

Abstract

In this work I propose to examine the linguistic characterisation of the characters in Galdós’s last play, Santa Juana de Castilla (Saint Joanna of Castile, 1918). The analysis will show that in addition to the use of archaic language, the purpose of which may be to evoke the era, the linguistic style of the play is characterised by the use of colloquial forms or those that replicate spontaneous oral conversation. The oral and the colloquial contribute to the modernity of the work and also seem to be a kind of implicit criticism of the melodramatic elements of the drama. The linguistic style seen in the work is coherent with its interpretation as a reflection on the history of Spain and its future, and as a final synthesis of Galdosian thought. The analysis also reveals that Galdós upheld his intention to revitalise literary language through the spoken word until the very end.