Pérez de Ayala, Ramón [key], 1880?–1962, Spanish writer. He was educated at Jesuit schools, which he satirized in the novel A.M.D.G. (1910). His early realistic novels, among them The Fox's Paw (1912, tr. 1924), reveal ties with the Generation of '98. After 1916 his novels became increasingly mature and lyrical; his characters became symbolic representatives of general human problems. To this period belongs his masterpiece, Belarmino y Apolonio (1921), a droll and profound story of two Oviedo cobblers. La paz del sendero [the peace of the path] (1903), El sendero innumerable (1916), and El sendero andante (1921), his major poetic works, show the influence of French symbolism. He also wrote satiric essays and dramatic criticism.
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