Catalan Poetry: Analysis of 8 Essential Works
Ode to Guynemer
Maria-Josep Jospin (1920)
Ode to Guynemer tells the story of a young aviator, Frank, whose plane was shot down in action during the First World War. With the use of different stanzas, the author explains Guynemer’s heroism. Making use of metaphors, the author states that although he was mortally wounded, he still accompanies Guynemer to the glory of eternity, the world of celestial bodies. The author also gives us another glimpse into the importance of acting with valor.
I Miss All of Them
Joan Salvat-Papasseit (1921)
In I Miss All of Them, two worlds merge, the imagined alternative of art and personal illustrations. The author intimately describes the disease that slowly consumes him until death. The poem is characterized by the use of truncated verses, without punctuation marks. Some verses have 10 and 12 syllables, but others are perfectly truncated decasyllables and alexandrines.
Majorca During the Civil War
Bartomeu Rosselló-Pòrcel (1938)
Written in Barcelona in September 1937, when Majorca was in the hands of the fascists, the poem expresses the nostalgia of the author for his homeland. The landscape of Majorca is personified. In the first part, using 8-syllable verses, the immutable landscape of Majorca is exposed, stating that it is just as beautiful as it was in the past. From verse 11, the landscape becomes a symbol of war and its consequences, generating a series of reflections on time, permanence, destruction, memory, and the future of Majorca and the poet. The first 8 verses are octosyllabic, the 9th and 13th are alexandrines, and the rest are decasyllabic. There is no rhyme.
The Balanguera
Joan Alcover (1854-1926)
The Balanguera is a female cousin who knows all about the lives of people, or at least everything important. She knows the past, the present, and the future of Majorca. Hope is placed in the future, but the reality of death is also present. The Balanguera also feels tenderness for the homeland. Finally, it is said that youth is the future of the homeland and that the continuity of the people, the language, and the traditions of the country will be maintained. The poem has stanzas of five or six octosyllabic verses, with a refrain of two octosyllabic verses.
Calligram 2
Joan Salvat-Papasseit (1923)
The blue part at the bottom represents the sea, the black part at the top is a ship. It is a collage, and the French text appears in Catalan. It is a dialogue between a girl and the poet. The girl is a French nurse who declares her love to the poet, and he explains that he wants to kiss her and how much he loves her. The metrics are in uppercase when the girl speaks, and in lowercase when the sailor speaks.
Come, Green Sea
Josep Maria de Sagarra (1894-1961)
A traditional poem in which the color green is captured in different ways throughout the day and the seasons of the year, successfully painting the blue seaside landscape. The vines come to life, and slowly the scenery captures life, feelings, and the spirit of the poet. The poem has seven stanzas of five heptasyllabic verses.
Canticle Trial in the Temple
Salvador Espriu
In the first verses, the author expressly states his desire to go further north. In verse 8, he states that this desire has been turned into reality and makes assumptions about what he would have said if he had left his land. Verse 14 states that he will never make that trip because “I believe in a month / desperate pain / that my poor / dirty, sad, unhappy home.” The poem has twenty verses of irregular meter without rhyme.
Poem
Joan Brossa (1919-1998)
This poem is based on the idea of fitting the word “poem” in a large font with the butt of a pistol. The intended effect is initially only visual. However, if guns fired bullets and hurt those who played with them, the poet would like something similar to happen with this poem. All poems have a basic idea expressed by two different techniques: typography and drawing.
Eleanor
Miquel Martí i Pol (1929-2003)
This poem tells the story of a girl who starts working at the factory at the age of fourteen and will continue verbatim all the steps of many girls who have preceded her. It will also be identical for those who replace her. And so it goes with her daughter, who also goes to work shortly after celebrating her fourteenth birthday. The poem is polymetric without rhyme.