Generation of ’27: Spanish Poetry

Posted on Sep 25, 2024 in Latin

Pedro Salinas

Life: Born in Madrid in 1891. Salinas taught at various universities, including Seville, where he mentored Luis Cernuda. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, he was in the U.S., where he remained until his death in 1951.

Poetic Career: His work is divided into three stages:

  • Pure Poetry: Following in the footsteps of Juan Ramón Jiménez, works like Presagios (1923), Seguro azar (1929), and Fábula (1931) show influences of Futurism, exploring themes like typewriters, telephones, and film.
  • Love Poetry: La voz a ti debida (1933) and Razón de amor (1936) established Salinas as a prominent love poet. Love imbues his existence with meaning.
  • Poetry of Exile: Shifting from love, he re-engages with society. Works like El contemplado (1946), Todo más claro (1949), and Confianza (1955) depict a struggle between faith and anxiety.

Metrics and Style: Salinas favored free verse and short, non-traditional strophic structures. His style is marked by simple vocabulary, colloquial phrases, and short verses.

Jorge Guillén

Life: Born in Valladolid in 1893. A lifelong friend of Salinas, Guillén earned a PhD with a thesis on Góngora. He lectured at the Sorbonne and taught at universities in Murcia, Oxford, and Seville. Imprisoned during the Spanish Civil War, he escaped to the U.S. in 1938, where he taught Spanish literature. He received the Cervantes Prize in 1976 and died in Málaga in 1984.

Style and Metrics: Guillén’s style aligns with pure poetry. Careful typography and poem organization create a sense of precision. Intellect and technique dominate, expressing emotions in a stark manner. He uses short verses and stanzas, often decasyllabic, with concise syntax and a focus on nouns.

Poetic Career: His work forms a unified whole titled Aire nuestro, comprising five books: Cántico (1950), Clamor (1967), Homenaje (1967), …Y otros poemas (1973), and Final (1981).

Gerardo Diego

Life: Born in Santander in 1896 and died in Madrid in 1987. A key figure in avant-garde movements like Creationism, he compiled the Antología de la poesía española contemporánea (1932) and received the Cervantes Prize in 1979.

Work: His work can be classified into two categories:

  • Traditional Poetry: Works like Romancero de la novia (1918) and Versos humanos (1925) explore themes of religion, love, and landscapes using traditional verse forms like ballads, sonnets, and décima stanzas, drawing inspiration from Modernism and Juan Ramón Jiménez.
  • Avant-Garde Poetry: Imagen (1922) and Manual de espumas (1924) exemplify his Creationist phase, featuring striking and irrational imagery.

Vicente Aleixandre

Life: Born in Seville in 1898 and died in Madrid in 1984. Aleixandre spent his childhood in Málaga. Illness from 1925 onward confined him to rest, during which he began writing poetry. He received the Nobel Prize in 1977.

Poetic Career: Aleixandre viewed poetry as communication. His career includes:

Surrealist Poetry: In works like Espadas como labios (1932) and La destrucción o el amor (1935), he uses surrealism to express the union of man and nature. Love is a destructive force leading to a more authentic life.

Poetry of Solidarity: Shifting from surrealism, he explores personal concerns and solidarity in works like Historia del corazón (1954).

Meditative Poetry: In Poemas de la consumación (1968), he reflects on life’s meaning, retaining images and symbols from his surrealist phase.

Aleixandre’s poetry is often pessimistic and complex due to its visionary imagery. He uses both long and short verses.

Dámaso Alonso

Life: Born and died in Madrid (1898-1990). A renowned philologist and Góngora scholar, he directed the Royal Spanish Academy and received the Cervantes Prize in 1978.

Poetic Career: His early work, like Poemas puros: Poemillas de la ciudad (1921), shows Modernist and Juan Ramón Jiménez influences. Hijos de la ira (1944) marks his post-war poetry. Later works like Hombre y Dios (1955) explore his relationship with the Creator.

Federico García Lorca

Life and Personality: Born in Fuente Vaqueros (Granada) in 1898. Lorca founded the university theater group “La Barraca.” He was executed in 1936. His personality was both vital and optimistic, yet also pessimistic and anxious.

Poetic Career:

  • Andalusian and Popular Poetry: Canciones (1927) and Romancero gitano (1928) showcase his connection to Andalusian themes and Romani culture.
  • Surrealist Poetry: Poeta en Nueva York (1929-1930), written during his time in America, critiques industrial civilization.
  • Later Works: Llanto por Ignacio Sánchez Mejías (1935) is an elegy for a bullfighter. Diván del Tamarit (1936) shows Arabic influences, and Sonetos del amor oscuro (1935-1936) explores erotic love.

Rafael Alberti

Life: Born in El Puerto de Santa María in 1902. Alberti abandoned painting and turned to literature. He went into exile during the Spanish Civil War, living in Buenos Aires and Rome before returning to Spain in 1977. He died in 1999.

Poetic Career: His poetry reflects a longing for his past. He blended traditional Spanish forms with avant-garde influences.

  • Neo-Traditional Poetry: Marinero en tierra (1924) exemplifies his early work, drawing on traditional literature.
  • Learned Poetry: Cal y canto (1926-1927) shows Baroque influences.
  • Avant-Garde Poetry: Sobre los ángeles (1927-1928) is a surrealist exploration of his inner world.
  • Committed Poetry: Works like Con los zapatos puestos tengo que morir (1930) reflect his political engagement during the Spanish Civil War.
  • Poetry of Exile: Works like Entre el clavel y la espada (1941) express longing for his homeland.

Luis Cernuda

Life and Personality: Born in Seville in 1902. Cernuda was a student of Salinas. He lived in Madrid and Toulouse, and later in exile in England, the U.S., and Mexico. He was known for his loneliness, pessimism, and rebelliousness.

Poetic Career: His poetry, collected in La realidad y el deseo, expresses his discontent with the world’s limitations on his desires. He explores themes of pain, love, and isolation.

  • Surrealist Poetry: Works like Un río, un amor (1929) and Donde habite el olvido (1932-1933) use surrealism to express his inner world and rebelliousness.
  • Exile Poetry: Las nubes (1937-1940) reflects on his lost homeland.
  • Intimate Poetry: Desolación de la quimera (1956-1962) explores his inner world with a bitter tone.

Cernuda used long verses and simple language.

Manuel Altolaguirre

Life and Work: Altolaguirre (Málaga, 1905 – Burgos, 1959) was a spiritual poet influenced by San Juan de la Cruz, Garcilaso, Juan Ramón Jiménez, and Salinas. His works include Las islas invitadas (1926) and Poemas de la consumación (1931). He also wrote memoirs, literary criticism, translations, and plays.

Emilio Prados

Life: Born in Málaga in 1899. Prados lived in Mexico from 1939 until his death in 1962.

Poetic Career:

  • Early Poetry (1920-1928): Influenced by popular forms and Juan Ramón Jiménez.
  • Surrealist Phase (1932-1935): Works like La voz cautiva.
  • Political Poetry (1933-1937): Lloros en la sangre reflects the Spanish Civil War.
  • Poetry of Exile (1940-1956): Explores existential themes and longing for his homeland.

Epigone of the Generation of ’27: Miguel Hernández

Often classified as a follower of the Generation of ’27 or a member of the Generation of ’36, Hernández’s evolution reflects the changing poetic landscape. He was a self-taught poet who became friends with poets of the Generation of ’27 and Pablo Neruda. A staunch Republican, he died in prison in 1942.

Themes

Hernández’s poetry revolves around nature’s cycles:

  • Life and Love: Symbolized by home and family.
  • Death: Sometimes represented by the bull.
  • Political Commitment: A focus on social justice.

Stages

  • Early Work: Perito en lunas (1934) shows Góngora’s influence. El rayo que no cesa (1936) marks his maturity.
  • War Period: Viento del pueblo (1937) reflects his political commitment. El hombre acecha (1939) expresses his dismay at the war’s tragedy.
  • Prison Poems: Cancionero y romancero de ausencias (1938-1941) explores themes of absence and loss, including his child, wife, and freedom. He expresses pain and hunger but maintains hope in love.