Generation of ’27: Key Authors and Literary Contributions
The Generation of ’27: A Literary Overview
The Generation of ’27 was a group of writers who rose to prominence in the Spanish cultural scene around 1927. This was marked by a tribute to the poet Luis de Góngora on the tercentenary of his death, held at the Ateneo de Sevilla, with the participation of most of those considered members of the group. From 1920 to 1936, the authors of the Generation of ’27 lived and worked together, maintaining close friendships. However, the outbreak of the Civil War led some into exile, while others remained in Spain.
The Generation of ’27 represents a blend of traditional poetic forms with the new trends of the avant-garde. They were influenced by authors such as Ortega y Gasset, the Noucentistes, Ramón Gómez de la Serna, and Juan Ramón Jiménez, as well as Romantics like Bécquer and classical figures such as Cervantes and Góngora. Their poetry is characterized by a balance between:
- The intellectual and the sentimental
- Mysticism and a pagan conception of the lyric
- Writing for both the majority and the minority
- Spanish tradition and universal themes
- Literary renovation
The Generation of ’27 can be defined as liberal, progressive, and university-educated. The most important themes they explored were the city, nature, love, and social commitment. With the exception of Gerardo Diego, they shared a religious concern. In terms of metrics, they used sonnets, ballads, and carols alongside free verse and blank verse.
Key Authors of the Generation of ’27
The most important authors were:
Pedro Salinas
Pedro Salinas is considered the foremost representative of pure poetry. In his initial stage, he wrote Omens and Insurance Chance. The love cycle includes You, The Voice to You, and Love. During his mature stage, he wrote works that were more contemplative, clear, and showed more confidence.
Dámaso Alonso
Dámaso Alonso: Notable works include Poems of Pure Poetry, City Poemillas, Children of Wrath, and Man and God.
Miguel Hernández
Miguel Hernández: Significant works include Lightning Does Not Stop, Wind of the People, and Ballads of Absences.
Jorge Guillén
Jorge Guillén: He conceived his poetry as a single, unified work called Air Ours, which he continued to develop throughout his life. It consists of three books: Canticle, a hymn to the joy of living; Cry, a cry of protest against injustices; and Tribute, a collection of poems in which the author pays tribute to other authors and friends.
Gerardo Diego
Gerardo Diego: He combined two very different trends: avant-garde poetry in the line of creationism, as seen in books such as Image, and traditional nature poetry, following the model of classical authors, as in his work Soria. His anthology included many poems from various authors of the generation.
Federico García Lorca
Federico García Lorca initially cultivated a popular style of poetry, where tradition and modernity merged, as in Gypsy Ballads. He then delved into surrealism with Poet in New York. In his later years, he dedicated himself to the theater, founding the group “La Barraca,” which toured the towns of Spain, performing classical and modern works to bring theater to the people. Notable tragedies include Blood Wedding, Yerma, and The House of Bernarda Alba.
Vicente Aleixandre
Vicente Aleixandre expresses his worldview through his poetry. In the first stage, Area, passionate about the land, stands out. The second stage highlights History of the Heart and Poems of Consummation.
Rafael Alberti
Rafael Alberti wrote Sailor on Land and About Angels during his early maturity. In his stage of social and political poetry, he composed To See You and See You and A Specter is Haunting Europe. In his final stage, the poetry of exile, he wrote Among the Carnation and the Sword.
Luis Cernuda
Luis Cernuda had three periods in his poetry: the Seville period (Perfil del Aire), the Madrid stage (The Reality and Desire), and the exile period (Ocnos).