Rafael Alberti: Poetic Evolution and Major Works
Rafael Alberti experimented with diverse approaches and trends, both in thematic treatment and the incorporation of new poetic forms.
Themes and Poetic Style
For Alberti, poetry was a unique form of communication, allowing him to convey life experiences by focusing on specific themes and motifs:
- Nostalgia: Present in his verses for the lost paradise (Cádiz and his homeland).
- Anguish: Arising from the loss of paradise and the need for a new quest.
- Social Commitment: The country’s situation led him to shift from individual concerns to themes contemplating Spanish reality.
His poetry acquired different features across various periods, yet maintained certain constants: vivid imagery, musicality, and rich connotation persisted. The metrics varied. His poetry evolved in several distinct directions:
Evolution of Poetic Directions
- Neopopularism: Poetry inspired by the resources and forms of traditional verse. Notable works include Marinero en tierra, La Amante, and El Alba del Alhelí.
- Baroque and Avant-garde: In Cal y Canto, the influence of Góngora and the avant-garde is evident. This is also seen in Yo era un tonto y lo que he visto me ha hecho dos tontos.
- Surrealist Poetry: Appears in Sobre los ángeles.
- Social Poetry: This period includes works like Un fantasma recorre Europa and De un momento a otro. These works represent a turn toward social concerns, raising the role of the poet in society.
- Poetry of Exile: Social concerns remained alive during his exile, a trend reflected in books such as Entre el clavel y la espada and El poeta en la calle.
Analysis of Key Works
Marinero en tierra explores two main themes: the Sierra de Guadarrama and nostalgia for the Sea of Cádiz. Light is emphasized as an element of vitality. The sea symbolizes a dream object, the mother, the lost paradise of childhood, and a deeply felt reality. In contrast, the city of exile represents a world of indifference. The sea embodies adventure; the city, the mundane.
The presence of pictorial images is highly notable. The rhythm is notable for its imitation of traditional poetic forms and resources. In 1929, a poetic turnaround occurred with Cal y Canto, which showcases avant-garde aesthetics, Góngora’s influence, and surrealist language. The aesthetic and ideological crisis of those years is reflected in Sobre los ángeles, Alberti’s only completely surreal book. It depicts a dark and anguished world inhabited by strange angels, representing the poet’s anxieties, expressed through chaotic dream imagery (a world of dreams).
In the years preceding the Civil War, a new phase of his poetry emerged, continuing throughout the conflict: a combative and revolutionary poetry serving his political ideals. Notable works from this period include El poeta en la calle and Entre el clavel y la espada. His exile initiated another phase where themes from the past reappeared, now imbued with nostalgia. Books from this period, such as Retornos de lo vivo lejano and A la pintura, pay tribute to art. Roma, peligro para caminantes is a product of his human and cultural experience in the city.