20th and 21st Century Spanish Poetry: Movements and Poets
The Lyrics from the Civil War
Principal Poetic Guidelines
In the 1930s, a style of poetry developed that centered on the human social situation, injustices, and pain. Miguel Hernández is a prominent figure from this period. During the Civil War, poetry was marked by ideological exaltation and combat. In the postwar decades, the lyrical landscape was shaped by the conflict and cultural politics of the Franco regime.
The Forties
After a period of exaltation of the empire, neoclassicism and existentialism dominated creative expression. The poet Garcilaso initially cultivated an elusive poetry, which later evolved into other proposals. In the middle of the decade, a poetic movement emerged that was concerned with the human condition, emphasizing pain and anguish. On the other hand, a lyric style that referenced the avant-garde was also cultivated: the singing group, Postismo, and surrealism.
The Fifties
Social poetry, characterized by its critical nature, simplicity of expression, the presence of narrative, and appellate intent, was predominant.
The Sixties
From the mid-fifties, with the rise of the sixties generation, works began to be produced that were concerned with the individual.
The Seventies
A type of lyrical poetry triumphed that featured linguistic experimentation and a pluralistic cultural aesthetic. The authors, who emerged around 1965, approached avant-garde features.
From 1975 to Present
The picture of recent years is complex and diverse. On the one hand, the production of earlier poets continues, and on the other hand, new authors are being discovered. In the decades of the 80s and 90s, poetry reflecting current experience triumphed. From 1995 to the present, the plurality of proposals stands out.
Poetry of Miguel Hernández
Evolution of his Poetry
- First Stage: We emphasize Perito en lunas, inspired by Góngora and the avant-garde.
- Second Stage: Viento del pueblo stands out, including social poetry texts.
- Last Stage: We emphasize Cancionero y romancero de ausencias.
Main Topics
Grief, love, eroticism, passion, and hatred that stalks among men.
El rayo que no cesa
The focus of this book is the suffering of love. The bull is a prominent symbol. It includes the famous Elegía a Ramón Sijé.
Cancionero y romancero de ausencias
These are his last poems. A world full of anger, stalking, and resentment appears. The importance of the theme of the child is stressed.
Poetry in Exile
The exiled poets followed different paths, but in their productions, the longing for Spain, full of anguish, stands out from an early age. We emphasize Emilio Prado, Manuel Altolaguirre, and León Felipe.
Poetry in the Forties
Neoclassical, heroic, and political poetry are emphasized. An existentialist and avant-garde poetic current emerges.
(1) Neoclassical Poetry
Authors:
- Luis Rosales, with La casa encendida
- Leopoldo Panero, with Escrito a cada instante
- Luis Felipe Vivanco, whose common themes are family and daily life, present in his poems Continuación de la vida
- Dionisio Ridruejo, with En tiempo de soledad, featuring intimate and everyday family poetry
- José García Nieto, who moved towards a neo-romantic intimacy in El campo and Soledad
(2) Existentialist Poetry
Two key works:
- Hijos de la ira, by Dámaso Alonso: a book of protest and inquiry, with everyday language and a distinct vocabulary, repetition, and an abundance of images, expressing violence through free verse.
- Sombra del paraíso, by Vicente Aleixandre: It shows dissatisfaction with human destiny, from a present that longs for a lost paradise. The themes are the painful search for God or his silence, the religious crisis, and the anguish of death.
(3) Avant-garde Poetry
- Postismo: It advocated for an imaginative poetry. It sought surprise through the breakdown of logic, humor, etc.
- The Singing Group: It combined the breakthrough of the Image with the group of 27 and the poetry of experience.
- Surrealism: We emphasize Miguel Labordeta.
The Fifties: Social Poetry
Gabriel Celaya, Blas de Otero, and José Hierro triumphed. Social poetry was marked by concern for reality, its rejection of formalism, everyday language, and a tendency towards prose.
Gabriel Celaya
In his poetry, we can identify four stages. In the second stage, we observe an existential poetry. The third stage corresponds to social poetry: Cantos iberos.
Blas de Otero
Rebellion against injustice and his desire for peace are central themes. Ángel fieramente humano stands out. With Pido la paz y la palabra, he fully embraces social poetry. The identity of Spain and the future become central themes. In his production, we can distinguish several stages. In the fifth, from 1942, he is situated within social poetry: the poet claims the presence of historical reality and solidarity among men.
The Generation of the Sixties
Features:
- Analysis of personal memory and individual experience and history.
- Themes of time, love, and friendship.
- Metapoetry: Some poems reflect on poetry itself, its characteristics, functions, or the limitations of literary language.
- The presence of the religious, related to Spanish or Oriental mystical literature.
José Ángel Valente
In Memoria de la materia, he opens a new cycle in which a predominantly receptive attitude prevails, and he incorporates the language of mysticism. He moves towards a model that conceives the poetic act as unknowable.
Ángel González
His work is produced in three distinct stages.
- In the first stage, Tratado de urbanismo stands out. The unifying theme is the passage of time, which is conditioned by a series of sub-themes, such as love, heartbreak, the absurdity of life, childhood as a lost paradise, and the passage of history.
Jaime Gil de Biedma
The main theme of his work is the passage of time, connected with memory and the analysis of personal experiences. In his poetry collection Compañeros de viaje, he depicts the world of childhood and adolescence, friendship, the city, and also ended love. Recent poems deal with pain and suffering in the history of Spain.
The ‘Novísimos’ of the Sixties
Castellet’s anthology, Nueve novísimos poetas españoles, gives them their name; therefore, the authors of this group are also known as the ’68 generation’ or the ‘Novísimos’.
General characteristics:
- Withdrawal from realism, focus on the poem itself.
- References to culture.
- Presence of popular myths.
- Treatment of poetry itself as a subject of the poetic text.
Poetry from 1975 to Present: Recent Trends
Decades of the 80s and 90s
From 1975 until the beginning of the 80s, the aesthetics of the ’70 or ’68 generation prevailed. At the same time, the poets of the ’60s generation continued their work. Gradually, different trends developed, most notably the realistic or experiential poetry.
In the eighties, the importance of poetic voice and commitment was recovered, along with humor and the inconsequential matters of everyday life.
Figurative or Experiential Poetry: General Characteristics
- Insistence on the fictional character of the poem and individual experiences.
- Credible and realistic aesthetic.
- Simple and accessible style.
Apart from these, there are other trends.
From 1990 to Today
Main features:
- Review and influence of different literary traditions.
- Decrease in the presence of the poetic self and a tendency towards a nihilistic and hopeless view.
- The importance of seeking transcendence.
- Presence of themes and signs of our time.
- Linguistic renewal.