Antonio Machado & Juan Ramón Jiménez: Lives and Poetry
Antonio Machado (1875-1939)
Biography
- Born in Seville into a family with intellectual roots and reformist ideology.
- He spent his youth in Madrid and studied at the Institución Libre de Enseñanza (Free Institution of Education).
- He spent time in Paris, and upon his return, began publishing in modernist journals.
- He moved to Soria in 1907 as a Professor of French, where he met and married Leonor Izquierdo.
- In 1912, his wife fell ill and died. The poet’s immense sadness led him to leave Soria in the following years, residing in Baeza and later Segovia.
- In 1927, he was elected to the Real Academia Española (Royal Spanish Academy) and met Pilar Valderrama, the inspiration for ‘Guiomar’ in a series of love poems.
- He died in exile in Collioure, France, on February 22, 1939.
Poetry
First Stage: Modernist/Symbolist
Key work: Soledades, galerías y otros poemas (published initially as Soledades in 1903, expanded in 1907). This stage can be described as modernist, intimate, and symbolist.
- Machado’s modernist poetry adopts its forms: metrics, lexicon, certain imagery, and a dominance of chromatic and musical aspects.
- The influence of French Symbolist poets, particularly Verlaine, is evident in the symbolism of recurrent motifs.
- The intimacy, rooted in the tradition of Bécquer, is reflected in the melancholy tone. In many poems, the author uses symbols to capture his mood and inner self.
Second Stage: Generation of ’98 Influence
Key work: Campos de Castilla (1912, expanded 1917). This stage aligns most closely with the Generation of ’98. His poetry moves away from intimacy, opening up to society and external reality.
- Themes include the Castilian landscape, Soria, and reflections on Spain.
- In the second edition (1917), Machado added new compositions, including poems in memory of his deceased wife and short poems (Proverbios y cantares) that collect judgments and maxims, announcing the more skeptical and philosophical tone of his third stage.
Third Stage: Philosophical Reflection
Key work: Nuevas canciones (1924). The book reveals the thinker as much as the poet.
- Philosophical poems alternate with lighter, folk-inspired compositions.
- Machado incorporated subsequent poetry into successive editions of his complete works.
- Notable additions include poems dedicated to Guiomar and his Poesías de la guerra (War Poems).
Juan Ramón Jiménez (1881-1958)
Biography
- Born in Moguer, Huelva, in 1881.
- His poetic vocation manifested early and became his life’s focus.
- In 1900, he went to Madrid where, alongside figures like Rubén Darío and Villaespesa, he championed Modernism. However, his father’s death triggered a crisis, leading to periods of psychiatric care and a long retreat in Moguer.
- He returned to Madrid in 1912.
- In 1916, he married Zenobia Camprubí Aymar in New York.
- Due to the Spanish Civil War, they went into exile in America. He taught at various universities, eventually settling in Puerto Rico.
- In 1956, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Tragically, this news coincided with the death of his wife, Zenobia.
- The poet survived her by only two years, dying in Puerto Rico in 1958.
Poetic Trajectory
Jiménez’s work encapsulates the evolution of Spanish poetry from Modernism to newer forms.
Sensitive Period (Influenced by Modernism, Romanticism, Symbolism)
This period includes books reflecting various trends under the influence of Modernism, Romanticism, and Symbolism.
- Notable works: Arias tristes, Jardines lejanos, Elegías, Baladas de primavera, La soledad sonora.
- During this time, he also composed his famous book of poetic prose, Platero y yo (1914).
Intellectual Period (‘Naked’ Poetry)
Beginning with Diario de un poeta recién casado (1917), the modernist lexicon, sensory adjectives, and sonorous rhythms diminish.
- His poetry becomes ‘naked’ (desnuda), stripped of anecdote and unnecessary ornamentation, focusing on conceptual and emotional concentration.
- Poems are often dense and short, frequently using free verse without rhyme.
- A key theme is the sea, symbolizing life, eternity, and solitude.
- He continued refining this style in subsequent books like Eternidades, Piedra y cielo, and Belleza.
Sufficient or True Period (Later Work/Exile)
In his later years, the poet felt orphaned from external ties but remained connected through his inner world: his country (‘paisaje’) and language (‘habla’).
- During his exile, his poetic inquiry continued.
- He cultivated an abstract, dense, and often difficult poetry.
- Key works from this period include En el otro costado and his final major work, Dios deseado y deseante.