Evolution of 20th-Century Spanish Poetry: From Hernandez to the Present
1. Poetry of Miguel Hernandez (1910-1942)
1.1 Early Works
Hernandez bridges the Generation of ’27 and the Generation of ’36. His early work, like Perito en Lunas, uses metaphors from everyday life.
1.2 Plenitude
This period emphasizes themes of love, life, and death, primarily through sonnets.
1.3 Committed Poetry
With the onset of war, Hernandez’s poetry becomes politically charged, focusing on social concerns.
1.4 Poetry from Prison
His later poems, written in prison, express longing for his son and wife, reflecting on the consequences of war.
2. Poetry of Exile (1939-1975)
The Civil War and subsequent dictatorship led to the exile of many Spanish poets, including Pedro Salinas, Rafael Alberti, and Luis Cernuda. Their works often reflect the struggle of exile and longing for Spain.
2.1 Pedro Salinas
Salinas’s work explores the conflict between faith and reality.
2.2 Rafael Alberti
Alberti’s exile poetry ranges from political commitment to reflections on beauty and longing for home.
2.3 Luis Cernuda
Cernuda’s Las Nubes reflects the experience of exile and the loss of his homeland.
3. Poetry of the 1940s: Neoclassicism, Existentialism, and Avant-Garde
3.1 Neoclassicism
Journals like Escorial and Garcilaso featured poets like Leopoldo Panero and Luis Rosales, who explored themes of love, religion, and empire.
3.2 Existentialism
Dámaso Alonso’s Hijos de la Ira delves into themes of man, God, death, and injustice. Vicente Aleixandre’s Sombra del Paraíso reflects on the loss of paradise, often linked to childhood memories.
3.3 Avant-Garde
Postismo, a movement demanding more than the avant-garde, sought surprise and innovation. The Cántico group from Córdoba used rich language and focused on love.
4. Poetry of the 1950s: Social Poetry
Social realism gained strength, with key works like Blas de Otero’s Pido la Paz y la Palabra and Gabriel Celaya’s Cantos Íberos. These poets addressed social problems and expressed solidarity with the suffering.
4.1 Themes
The focus was on Spain from a political perspective.
4.2 Style
Social poetry aimed for accessibility through clear language and a conversational tone.
5. Poetry of the 1960s: Poetry of Knowledge
Social poetry continued into the 1960s, alongside poets like Ángel González, Jaime Gil de Biedma, and José Ángel Valente. These poets shared a focus on humanism, personal experience, and a rejection of prose.
6. Poetry of the 1970s: The Novísimos
The Novísimos, including José María Álvarez, Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, and Ana María Moix, were influenced by film, music, and other cultural elements. They sought to renew poetic language, drawing inspiration from various sources, including Surrealism.
6.1 Influences
The Novísimos drew on Hispanic poets, the Generation of ’27, English and French poetry, music, and film.
6.2 Themes
Their themes ranged from personal experiences like childhood and love to public, political, and aesthetic concerns.
6.3 Style
Their primary goal was to renew poetic language, often drawing on Surrealism.
7. Poetry from the 1980s to the Present: Latest Trends
The late 1970s saw a shift with the emergence of the ’80s generation, characterized by urban realism, narrative, irony, and disenchantment.
7.1 Poetry of Experience
This trend focuses on everyday events, urban reality, and the passage of time, exemplified by Luis García Montero’s work.
7.2 Neo-Surrealism
This movement maintains a connection to the Generation of ’27 and post-war Surrealists.
7.3 Neo-Romanticism
Themes include night, death, and the importance of song.
7.4 Poetry of Silence
Many poems are written in free verse, as seen in the work of Jaime Siles.
7.5 Epic Poetry
This trend retrieves nature and recalls an idyllic past.
7.6 Sensualist Poetry
This style explores eroticism, the body, and sometimes homosexuality.