The Generation of ’27: A Deep Dive into Spanish Poetry
Modernism
Distinguishing Features
- Searching for the musicality of artistic perfection.
- Prose-like verse and abundant use of rhetorical figures.
- Full of sensuality and colorful descriptions.
- Escapism.
- Rebellion against bourgeois society.
Poetry
Rubén Darío
- Musicality and preciousness.
- Blue Profane Prose, Songs of Life and Hope.
Juan Ramón Jiménez
- Search for absolute beauty.
- Three stages in his work:
- “Poetry modernist gardens far, Arias sad.
- Pure poetry: Diary of a Newly Married Poet.
- Poetry: Animal Background, God Desired Deseante.
Manuel Machado
- Decadence and the influence of flamenco.
- Soul, The Bad Poem.
Valle-Inclán
- Humor and mystery.
- Key Lyrics.
Prose
Rubén Darío
- Legends.
- Azul.
Ramón del Valle-Inclán
- Affairs.
- Irony.
- Sonatas and Tirano Banderas.
Theater
Ramón del Valle-Inclán
- Mythical world.
- Galician environment.
- Eagle Blasón.
Generation of ’98
Poetry
Antonio Machado
- The “careful simplicity.
- Solitudes and Campos de Castilla.
Prose
Miguel de Unamuno
- The Nivola.
- Niebla.
Azorín
- Mixture of novels and essays.
- Castilla.
Pío Baroja
- The novel open.
- The Tree of Knowledge and Zalacaín, the Adventurer.
Theater
Ramón del Valle-Inclán
- The Scarecrow.
- Divinas Palabras and Luces de Bohemia.
Generation of ’27
The Generation of ’27 is considered the most important group of poets in the history of 20th-century Spanish poetry. This generation arose in the 1920s, rejecting the prevailing poetic trends. With university educations, greater affluence, and progressive, liberal attitudes, they sought to modernize poetry. Key figures include Salt, Guillem, Gerardo Diego, Dámaso Alonso, Vicente Aleixandre, Luis Cernuda, Federico García Lorca, and Rafael Alberti.
The Generation of ’27 emerged from a 1927 cultural event honoring Luis de Góngora, whom they saw as an exemplar of art for art’s sake. This movement was characterized by:
- Similar birthdates (1891-1902) among its members.
- Shared intellectual backgrounds.
- Close personal relationships.
- Participation in collective activities, celebrations, and magazines.
- A defining generational event: an economic boom that fostered intellectual and artistic growth.
- The presence of ideological guides like Juan Ramón Jiménez and José Ortega y Gasset.
- Shared anxieties and experiences.
- A distinct generational language, emphasizing metaphor and aesthetics. They saw poetry as self-validating, unlike the previous generation’s view of poetry as a vehicle for social commentary.
- Rejection of Modernism without sacrificing innovation. They embraced cultural elements from both traditional and avant-garde sources.
Stages of the Generation of ’27
- 1922-1928: Dominated by pure poetry and admiration for Juan Ramón Jiménez. This period is marked by a suppression of sentimentality, a search for beauty, rigorous poetic construction, and a tendency towards short poems.
- 1928-1936: Cohesion begins to break down as some poets seek new forms of expression, influenced by Surrealism. The Spanish Civil War and subsequent exile brought an end to the Generation of ’27.
Key Figures and Works
Dámaso Alonso
- Poemillas of the City, The Wind and the Verse (influenced by Antonio Machado and Juan Ramón Jiménez).
- Dark News, Children of Wrath (major works of uprooted poetry belonging to the 1940s). These works mark his second, Surrealist stage.
- Man and God, Joy of View and Doubt, and Love About Being Supremo.
Pedro Salinas
Considered the poet of love par excellence, exploring all its forms: painful, intimate, and triumphant. His work can be divided into three stages:
- Initial stage: Marked by the influence of Juan Ramón Jiménez, with works like Omens, Secure Chance, and Fable and Love Sign.
- Plenitude stage: Characterized by the La Voz a Ti trilogy (Due, Love, and Reason Over the Lamento). For Salinas, the beloved is the source of his passionate stories.
- Exile stage: Comprises works like The Set, All But Clear, and Other Poems Confianza.
Jorge Guillén
, Gerardo Diego, Damaso Alonso, Vicente Aleixandre, Federico Garcia Lorca, Rafael Alberti, Luis crenuda, among others.
+ Cultural Context: very favorable 1.influencia poetics of previous generation / 2. dissemination in Spain of the vanguards europeas/3.convivencia in student residence, cultural center that allowed them to make friends and exchange ideas/4.proliferacion of literary magazines.
+ Influences: pure poetry, canguardias, baroque, folk poetry and surrealism. merge the new with the old.
+ Stages: three periods: youth 1.etapa: humanizada/2.etapa pure poetry of poetry: politico/3.exilio Rehumanize and commitment during the frankismo