Thematic Analysis of Miguel Hernández’s Poetry and Style
Structure and Chronology of Miguel Hernández’s Poetry
The collection of poems by Miguel Hernández is composed of 165 poems divided into 14 books, arranged in chronological order and thematically related. These books include:
- Poetry Loose I
- Perito en lunas (Expert on Moons)
- Moons Cycle Environment Expert [This phrase refers to the context of Perito en lunas]
- Poems published in Gallo Crisis and Silves
- Poems belonging to the cycle Violated Silva
- Silva Violated
- Your Fingerprint Image
- The Ray That Does Not Stop
- Uncollected Poems III
- Viento del pueblo (Wind of the People)
- Loose Poems IV
- El hombre acecha (The Man Stalks)
- Cancionero y romancero de ausencias (Songbook and Ballads of Absences)
- Other poems of the cycle
As noted, the poems of the Poetic Anthology of Miguel Hernández follow a thematic and chronological order, recounting events that shaped his life: his land (Proficient in Moons), the Civil War and the Republican front stage (Viento del pueblo), his love affair with Josefina, and the birth and death of his eldest son Manuel Ramón (Cancionero y romancero de ausencias).
Most Used Verse Forms
The most frequently used verses by the poet are:
- Quartet: (e.g., “Aging”)
- Triplet: (e.g., “Teruel, Winter – pure”)
- Nibble: (e.g., “Laborers,” “Aceituneros”)
- Serventesio: (e.g., “Hands,” “Song of the Soldier Husband,” “Song of Independence,” “Russia”)
- Octaves: (e.g., Proficient in Moons)
- Sonnet: (e.g., “That Goes”)
- Tenth: (e.g., “Ruy-lord and Blackbird”)
- Verse: (e.g., “Song of Antiavionista”)
Literary Style and Devices
The poems of Miguel Hernández, though simple, are full of literary devices of all kinds. The most prominent are:
- Repetitions: cogedme, cogedme / let me permit me, goes fast / quick passes, Scream! Scream!
- Antithesis: the life / of death, so close, and sometimes / that we are far, is kissing in a lifetime’s kiss of death throughout
- Alliteration: your door, the heart, kissing, some, silence clothing for bodies, the doors.
- Parallelism: and afternoon / evening and, among the flowers you left / I’m among the flowers, just look / listen enough, to choose good hand / good choices stone
- Simile: Two injured as shots strong, vigilant as wives, full of anxiety as a port
- Personification: trains possessed of a wandering passion, deep voice and hand machines
- Metaphor: a carnivore sweet wing knife murderer snake multiple domes.
- Anadiplosis: (e.g., your legs relentless, implacable your mouth)
- Polysyndeton: (e.g., and argue … and argue … and your mouth implacable … and to my solitude …)
Major Themes and Evolution of Hernández’s Work
Although there are many love poems, dedicated both to his wife and his son, few poems exist that are beyond any mention of his fight for the liberty and the Republic. Miguel Hernández covers a variety of topics, such as nature and sex. For example, Perito en lunas only has themes of war in its last poem (“War of Summer”).
Viento del pueblo is a book full of positivism regarding victory and encouraged his comrades to keep fighting. However, his latest works—El hombre acecha (The Man Stalks) and Cancionero y romancero de ausencias (Songbook and Ballads of Absences)—are sad. In these, his longing for his wife and son is evident, and poems from the front suggest a hint of pessimism.
He no longer sings with enthusiasm, cheering his comrades, but his poems adopt a slower pace and describe the pain of the soldiers, achieving perfection in the poem The Train of the Wounded.
Miguel Hernández frequently used the classical theme of tempus fugit (time flees), especially in the poems referring to Manuel Ramón: “The sun rose and the child were born one day flowers / are the daily / suns, flowers, new children, awoke from be child never wake up.”
He continually uses elements of nature to describe the female figure (e.g., the lemon for breasts) and animals such as the deer (in “Song of the Soldier Husband”). The belly is often used to refer to his son, but still heading to Josefina [meaning, while still addressing Josefina].
His poems often speak of death, as it was very close in his surroundings. His son Manuel Ramón died very young, perhaps because of poor feeding, and he saw many of his friends die in the war.