20th Century Spanish Poetry: From Existentialism to Social Realism
20th Century Spanish Poetry
Late 20th Century Currents of Thought
In the second half of the twentieth century, Marxism and the Frankfurt School continued to inspire many writers. Existentialism, with thinkers like Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, explored the absurdity of existence and the failures of humanism. In the early 1980s, postmodern thought (Vattimo and Lyotard) emerged, challenging the rationalist project of recent decades. This period also saw the rise of the feminist, ecological, and sexual liberation movements. Structuralism gained prominence as a research method.
Miguel Hernández
Although chronologically part of the Generation of ’36, Miguel Hernández’s work is closely aligned with the Generation of ’27. His first book, Perito en Lunas (1933), reflects his youth and early influences, including Góngora, Bécquer, Darío, Gabriel Miró, and Juan Ramón Jiménez. El Silbo Vulnerado marks his coming-of-age, where he finds his voice rooted in a strong sense of nature. With El Rayo Que No Cesa (1936), he reaches full maturity. This collection features notable sonnets and the elegy Elegía a Ramón Sijé, considered one of the best elegies in the Spanish language. His major themes—love, life, death, and disability—are evident in this book, which also reveals influences from San Juan de la Cruz, Quevedo, Neo-Romanticism, and Surrealism. Viento del Pueblo (1937), subtitled Poetry in the War, expresses his love for Spain and solidarity with the common people. His direct and immediate expression of suffering, fear, hatred, and the brutality of war define this work. His final work, Cancionero y Romancero de Ausencias, published posthumously, contains poems written between 1938 and 1939. These poems explore the fullness of the cosmos through direct diction and a transparent worldview. A profound sadness permeates the verses of this book.
The Generation of ’36
This group of poets includes Luis Rosales, Juan Gil-Albert, and Leopoldo Panero. In 1935, Luis Rosales published a call for a new approach to poetry and life, advocating for stripped-down language and an emphasis on poetic imagery. This group revived the humanism of the vanguardistas, prioritizing it over ideology, leading to their treatment of religious themes. Their focus on intimate subjects and the Spanish Civil War led to a split into two poetic tendencies: poesía arraigada and poesía desarraigada.
Poets of Exile
Juan Gil-Albert combined the beauty of reflective and serene poetry with a commitment to the defense of the Republic. His notable works include Calor (1936) and Fuentes de la constancia (1972). Germán Bleiberg is known for El canto de la noche (1935) and Primavera compartida (1948).
The 1940s
Poesía Arraigada
In the mid-1940s, a group of poets, disillusioned with politics, distanced themselves from the official line. They celebrated the culture and poetry of 16th-century Spain, advocating for a so-called”pure poetr” through magazines like Garcilaso. This style emphasized classical forms like the sonnet and often avoided engaging with contemporary reality. The most important poet of this group was Luis Rosales. His work La casa encendida is a lengthy narrative poem about everyday life, written in a conversational style that doesn’t shy away from surrealist imagery. Leopoldo Panero focused on themes of land, family, and religion in his work La Estancia Vacía (1944). Dionisio Ridruejo wrote about everyday issues and biographical elements in his collections Sonetos a la piedra (1943) and Elegías (1948). Other notable poets in this group include Luis Felipe Vivanco (Continuación de la vida, 1948) and José García Nieto (Tú y yo sobre la tierra, 1944; Circunstancia de la muerte, 1963).
Poesía Desarraigada
This group rejected harmony and serenity, opting instead for social protest. Emerging from the existential anxieties of the postwar period, Dámaso Alonso’s Hijos de la ira (1944) and Vicente Aleixandre’s Sombra del paraíso (1944) marked a turning point. These poets, featured in the magazine Espadaña, embraced free verse, angry expression, and a rejection of the formalism associated with Garcilaso. Their poetry, characterized by realism, a language close to prose, and a focus on the silenced masses, addressed themes of existential rootlessness and the complexities of the surrounding world. Key figures in this group include Victoriano Cremer, Eugenio de Nora, José Luis Hidalgo, Ramón de Garciasol, Carlos Bousoño, José María Valverde, Rafael Morales, Leopoldo de Luis, and Ángela Figuera.
Postismo and Cántico
Apart from the official trends of the 1940s, two other groups emerged: Postismo and Cántico. In the magazine Postismo, poets like Carlos Edmundo de Ory, Eduardo Chicharro, and Silvano Sernesi championed the avant-garde, particularly Surrealism. Carlos Edmundo de Ory became the most prominent figure of this movement. The magazine Cántico, based in Cordoba, brought together poets like Pablo García Baena, Ricardo Molina, and Juan Bernier, who sought to reconnect with the legacy of the Generation of ’27. Their work was characterized by culturalism, formal refinement, precise language, baroque expressiveness, sensual pleasure, and a hedonistic outlook.
Social Poetry
A new wave of poetry emerged, viewing the art form as a tool for ethical and political engagement. This movement, with its roots in the political left, emphasized social critique and used a language accessible to the masses. Influenced by social realism, this movement can be divided into two groups: the poets of the 1940s (Gabriel Celaya, Blas de Otero, and José Hierro) and the Generation of ’50.
Gabriel Celaya
Celaya’s early work, like Las cosas como son (1949), was more personal, dealing with the realities of postwar Spain. His political commitment and criticism of injustice and lack of freedom became more pronounced in later works like Paz y concierto (1953) and Cantos íberos (1955). He famously declared,”Poetry is a weapon loaded with the future” emphasizing the social power of poetry.
Blas de Otero
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