Antonio Machado’s Poetic Language and Style
Antonio Machado’s Poetic Language
The Lexicon
Machado’s poetry often evokes feelings of old age, melancholy, and the inevitable decay of all things. This sense of decline is captured in words like “Seire,” reflecting the deterioration of both objects and humans.
- Anxiety and boredom, especially the ennui of youth, are recurring themes.
- Somber and dull tones, with colors representing the anxiety and monotony of life, are prevalent.
- Machado’s poetic universe isn’t solely defined by despair; it also includes a lively sensitivity to daylight in its various shades and moments, presenting him as a poet of both shadow and light.
- A fundamental theme is the reflection on time, employing a specific but limited vocabulary.
Perception of Time and Reality
Machado perceives the flow of time and alternates between dream and reality. He shows an interest in the supernatural, delving into a spiritual world.
Communion with Surroundings
Machado expresses a desire for intimate communion with his surroundings, evident in three aspects:
- The frequent humanization of things.
- The use of diminutives, possibly an unconscious inheritance from Andalusian speech.
- The use of exclamations, a distinctive feature of his poetry.
Machado also favors rare or archaic words, revealing his love for the past.
Stylistic Procedures
Machado employs various stylistic procedures to elevate his poems and avoid monotony:
- Repetition of words to create an effect of obsession (e.g., “field, field, field”), imitate movement (e.g., “fly, fly”), or reflect a strong emotion (e.g., “oh! cold, cold, cold!”).
- Use of colloquialisms and familiar language.
- Incorporation of symbols that become integral to his imaginary universe, such as water, fire, and air.
Meter and Structure
Machado’s poetry showcases an extraordinary variety of meters and stanzas, resulting in intensely harmonious poems.
- He uses nine varieties of lines, with the octosyllabic and hendecasyllable being his favorites. He does not practice free verse.
- Regarding stanzas, Machado cultivates the sonnet, the quartet, and the quatrain. He also draws inspiration from Modernism and popular tradition, emulating the romance form.
His work is characterized by complexity, diversity, depth, and originality.
Centers of Influence
Machado’s early work was influenced by Modernism, particularly the teachings of Rubén Darío, although he later sought a different path. His Modernism retains a romantic intimacy reminiscent of Bécquer and Rosalía.
He also associated with the Generation of ’98, admiring figures like Unamuno despite their ideological differences.
Literary Influences
- He valued anonymous popular poetry and traditional romance as pure forms of temporal expression.
- He considered poets of the Golden Age, such as Fray Luis de León and St. John of the Cross, as models for their use of metaphor.
- He praised Lope de Vega for his freshness and grace.
- He saw Bécquer as an example of a great lyric poet.
- He criticized the Baroque period for its lack of intuition and disregard for nature.