Generation of ’27: Spanish Literary Movement, Authors & Themes

Posted on Feb 2, 2025 in Latin

The Generation of ’27

The Generation of ’27 groups a number of writers who blend Spanish literary tradition with avant-garde trends. The year 1927 marks the 300th anniversary of Góngora’s death, a key figure for this group. Prominent authors include: Pedro Salinas, Jorge Guillén, Gerardo Diego, Vicente Aleixandre, Federico García Lorca, Dámaso Alonso, Luis Cernuda, Rafael Alberti, Emilio Prados, Manuel Altolaguirre, and Miguel Hernández.

Key Characteristics

  • Birth dates close in time.
  • Reference to Góngora.
  • Friendship among members.
  • Common meeting places, like the student residence where they met Dalí and Buñuel.
  • Collaboration in publications such as Revista de Occidente and La Gaceta Literaria.
  • Gerardo Diego included them in an anthology.

Aesthetic and Literary Influences

  • Similar aesthetic tastes, emphasizing aesthetic purity and human nature.
  • Mix of religious and popular literary influences from Juan Ramón Jiménez, Gómez de la Serna, Unamuno, Machado, Rubén Darío, Bécquer, Góngora, Manrique, Garcilaso de la Vega, San Juan de la Cruz, and Quevedo.
  • Special interest in popular traditions, such as ballads and songbooks.
  • Renewal of poetry through vocabulary, usage, metaphor reinvention, free verse, and rhyme scheme recovery.
  • Influence from foreign writers and European trends, especially Surrealism.

Themes

  • The city and the idea of progress, with symbols like New York and Moscow.
  • Nature, brought closer to the city and everyday life.
  • Love, linked to human nature and the individual.
  • Social issues, especially during and after the Civil War.

Stages

Initial (until 1929): Influenced by popular and traditional poetry, admiration for the classics, and pure poetry in the style of Juan Ramón Jiménez.

Before the Civil War: Heavily influenced by Surrealism, incorporating images and metaphors.

After the Civil War: The war led to the generation’s dispersal through exile or death (Lorca), with poetry reflecting existential anguish.

Key Authors and Works

Pedro Salinas

Omens, Insurance Chance, The Voice You Love Due, and Reason, The Referred.

Jorge Guillén

Cántico, a collection of his poetry spanning over thirty years, expressing the joy of being alive.

Gerardo Diego

Human Verses and Manual Foam.

Vicente Aleixandre

Swords Like Lips, Destruction or Love, and Shadow of Paradise.

Rafael Alberti

An emblematic figure in political and cultural life during the Civil War, he later emigrated. His work is divided into four phases:

  • Popular Poetry: Sailor on Land, The Mistress, and The Dawn of the Wallflower.
  • Surrealist Poetry: Cal and Singing.
  • Social and War Poetry: The Poet in the Street and Include the Carnation and the Sword.
  • Poetry in Exile: Return of the Living Far.

Federico García Lorca

His work explores themes of death and love as unavoidable frustration, often leading to tragedy. His work is divided into three stages:

  • First Stage: Book of Poems and Songs.
  • Second Stage: Poet in New York.
  • Third Stage: Divan del Tamarit, Lament for Ignacio Sánchez Mejías, and Sonnets of Dark Love (published posthumously).

Luis Cernuda

Notable works include Forbidden Pleasures, Where Oblivion Dwells, and Reality and Desire.

Miguel Hernández

Sijé Elegy, Wind of the People, and Ballads Songbook, including Nanas of the Onion.