Generation of ’27: Key Features and Prominent Authors

Posted on Feb 21, 2025 in Latin

The Generation of 1927

The Generation of ’27 refers to a group of writers who emerged onto the literary scene between 1920 and 1930. Prominent members included Pedro Salinas, Jorge Guillén, Gerardo Diego, Vicente Aleixandre, Federico García Lorca, Rafael Alberti, Luis Cernuda, Emilio Prados, and Manuel Altolaguirre. The name originates from the tribute organized in 1927 to commemorate the tercentenary of Góngora, held at the Ateneo de Sevilla.

Key Features of the Generation of ’27

  • Similar Training: Most members had university backgrounds, with some serving as literature professors and profound literary critics.
  • Personal Contacts: They maintained connections through student residences and the Center of Historical Studies.
  • Collaboration in Magazines: They collaborated in numerous magazines published by group members, such as Litoral (Coastline), Caballo Verde para la Poesía (Green Horse for Poetry), Carmen, and Mediodía (Noon).
  • Respect for Tradition: They respected both classical and popular traditions, admiring classic authors, especially Góngora and Garcilaso.
  • Influence of Ortega y Gasset: They were influenced by the thought of Ortega y Gasset, particularly his book “The Dehumanization of Art,” as well as Ramón Gómez de la Serna and his Greguerías.
  • Shared Concept of Poetry: They agreed on the concept of poetry as an art form and a transcendent, indestructible reality.
  • Short Time Span: The active period of the group was relatively short, with Salinas born in 1892 and Alberti in 1902.

Rafael Alberti (1902)

Born in Puerto de Santa María (Cádiz), Alberti’s poetry reflects several trends:

  • Neopopularismo: This was the most constant trend in his poetic career, exemplified by his book Marinero en tierra (Sailor on Land, 1925), which refined popular tradition. It was written in short stanzas, with dialogues and parallel structures.
  • Gongorism: Evident in Cal y Canto (1929), where the Gongorine technique (lexical worship, mythological allusions, complex syntax) is fused with avant-garde influences (lexicon of modern life and visionary images).
  • Surrealism: Found in Sobre los Ángeles (Concerning the Angels, 1927-29), featuring harrowing images expressed in free verse.

Luis Cernuda (1902-1963)

Born in Seville, Cernuda’s poetic works reflect the following trends:

  • Pure Poetry: Seen in Perfil del aire (Profile of the Air, 1924-27), with loneliness as the main theme, written in short lines and stanzas.
  • Classical Tradition: More in line with Garcilaso than Góngora, as seen in Égloga, Elegía, Oda (Idyll, Elegy, and Ode, 1927-28).
  • Surrealism: Present in Los placeres prohibidos (Forbidden Pleasures, 1929-31), where he expresses his intimate problems.

The cornerstone of Cernuda’s poetry revolves around the impossibility of fulfilling his desire for personal fulfillment. His style, after a passage through avant-garde fashion, avoids rhyme and brilliant language, preferring a confidential, conversational tone.

Coordinates:

  • Copulative (y, e, ni): Add meaning
  • Disjunctive (o, u): Alternative
  • Adversative (pero, mas, sino, sin embargo, aunque): Nuance about something
  • Explanatory (es decir, o sea): Clarification
  • Distributive (ya… ya, bien… bien, unos… otros): Alternative

Subordinated:

Substantive
  • Subject-Genitive-CN-apposition-CD
  • Supplement-Attribute-PVO
  • CI-C.AGEN.
Adjectives:
  • Relative: relative pronoun (el cual, que, quien, quienes), relative adverbs (donde, cuando, como), related determinants (cuyo, cuya, cuyos, cuyas).
  • From participle: specified (to reduce background extension dl) explanatory (between commas and more general).