Spanish Literary Movements and Poets
Modernism in Spanish Literature
Modernism: An art movement that led to a renewal in the musical aspects of lyrical language and ornamentals. Rubén Darío (1867-1916) is considered a precursor. Notable phonetic contrasts and colorful, plastic meanings of words are used, often as symbols and pictures (e.g., the abandoned garden, fall). Synesthesia is often used. It is considered a minor art.
Antonio Machado
Machado: Does not use many literary resources but expresses feelings very well. Solitudes (1903) is an early work, influenced by Bécquer and Darío, belonging to Modernism for its melancholic tone and use of motifs like the garden and the fountain. In his second stage as a writer, associated with the Generation of ’98, landscapes and a skeptical mood dominated.
Novecento and Early Avant-Garde
Novecento: Early twentieth-century avant-garde movements developed throughout Europe (Cubism, Futurism). This movement sought beauty and formal perfection, utilizing archaisms. The authors defended their ideals freely. Key figures include Juan Ramón Jiménez and J. Ramón Sender.
Juan Ramón Jiménez: Poetry and Evolution
Juan Ramón Jiménez: Sought truth to achieve eternity. For him, accuracy is beauty. Poetry is a source of knowledge, used to capture things. Juan Ramón Jiménez’s poetry is pantheistic, accurate, and precise. His poetry evolved through two periods. The first ends at the beginning of the second in 1916. He wrote the Diary of a Newly Married Poet, recounting his honeymoon in the USA. Themes include love and the reality of things. Another notable work was Magic Poems and Suffering, a bizarre title that highlights Juan Ramón’s personal writing style, who always wrote “j” before “e, i”.
Generation of ’27
The main representatives of the group are Pedro Salinas, Jorge Guillén, Federico García Lorca, Rafael Alberti, Miguel Hernández, and Luis Cernuda. The event that united them and gave them their name was a tribute to Luis de Góngora in 1927 in Seville, marking the tercentenary of his death. The influence of Juan Ramón Jiménez is notable. Everyone felt the need to find a poetic language that better expressed the topics covered. They felt a special interest in the great affairs of Man, like love, death, and fate, as well as popular songs full of roots.
Pedro Salinas (1891-1951)
The central theme of his work is love. His most important work, The Voice Due to You, is a long poem in which the poet seeks the beloved beyond the real world, beyond the loved one. The real world and the beloved are denied by the poet to create the ideal image of women. The loved one becomes a pure concept. He also wrote other books of poems such as Envisioned, Reason of Love, and Trust.
Federico García Lorca (1898-1936)
Characterized by the exuberance of stunning images and the authentic humanity of the subjects. Poet in New York stands out, written in a surrealist language, showing disgust at the dehumanized great city. He was a person of popular customs, and this is reflected in his work, as he felt frustration towards society, which is also reflected in his works.
Miguel Hernández (1910-1942)
The Ray That Does Not Cease conceives love as a torture with a tragic sense. He chose Ramón Sijé, to whom he dedicated it after his death. Songbook and Ballads of Absences is a collection of poems written in jail, with a new language marking the beginning of a change in style that was cut short by his untimely death.
Rafael Alberti (1902-1999)
Published Sailor on Land in 1925, which reflects nostalgia for his homeland, recalled from Madrid; it is neopopularist. In 1928, his work featured On the Angels, where he breaks with traditional poetic language and uses surrealist techniques.
Spanish Post-War Poetry
Poets who accepted the new political and social situation were called “rooted,” while those who did not accept the new situation were called “uprooted.” The uprooted sought to express new ideals, such as Blas de Otero. In the 1970s, a number of trends appeared, but for the first time, they were gathered together in Nine Novísimos Spanish Poets.
Latin American Poetry
Once the avant-garde developed, there was Modernism (César Vallejo) and another, more popular and simple current (Gabriela Mistral).