Love and Passion in the Poetry of Miguel Hernandez
Early Life and Influences
Miguel Hernandez’s mother played a vital role in his life, providing unwavering love and support. His first adolescent love was Carmen (nicknamed “Squash”), but this love was unrequited. He also shared a deep friendship with Maria Zambrano, to whom he dedicated The Yellow House. In the dedication of The Ray That Does Not Cease, the poet addresses an unnamed recipient, possibly fulfilling a forgotten promise. According to José Luis Ferris, most of the poems in this collection are dedicated to Maruja Mallo, a significant love interest and muse.
A Complex Web of Relationships
Hernandez dedicated three sonnets to Josefina Manresa, his childhood sweetheart. He also had a passionate relationship with Maruja Mallo, described as the “free and wild hare” in poem 15 and the “ravening beast” in sonnet 28. She was also the initiator of his early sexual experiences. After being abandoned by Mallo, Hernandez sought solace with Maria Cegarra, who seemed less interested in him.
Exploring the Many Facets of Love
Hernandez’s poetry explores a wide spectrum of love: from the initial discovery of love, the pain of rejection, passionate and sensual love, and the joys of married life, to the deep wounds of separation and absence. The Ray That Does Not Cease is a powerful expression of his love, intertwined with the grief and torment of his life, exacerbated by the absence of his beloved.
Love, Crisis, and War
From 1934, Hernandez sought to express a deeper aspect of love with Josefina. However, a crisis emerged when he went to Madrid and met Pablo Neruda and Vicente Aleixandre, leading him to write more explicitly erotic poetry. The Ray That Does Not Cease reflects both Hernandez’s personal crisis and the broader crisis of the Spanish Civil War, marked by separation from Josefina and encounters with Maruja and Maria.
Love’s Torment and the Imagery of the Bull
Love in The Ray That Does Not Cease pierces the poet’s heart. Several sonnets express the anguish of rejection, reminiscent of Petrarchan love poetry. Poems like “A Carnivorous Knife” and “This Ray That Inhabits Me” convey this torment. The “penalty” of love arises from erotic desire clashing with the provincial morals of his girlfriend and their Orihuela environment. Other sonnets celebrate the beloved’s beauty, often focusing on specific features, like her foot. Hernandez portrays himself as a dog surrendering to his lady, completely submissive in her presence. The kiss, a symbol of love, sometimes becomes a source of suffering. In “Last Song,” he dreams of returning home, constantly thinking of his beloved’s mouth and their shared kisses.
The bull becomes a recurring metaphor, representing the poet’s tragic fate. Poems like “The Bull Knows the End of the Run” and “As the Bull Is Born for Mourning” link love and death. The sonnet “Death, All Full of Holes” further emphasizes this connection.
Carnal Love and Loss of Identity
Hernandez’s love is deeply carnal, portraying sex as a psychological necessity. This consuming love leads to a loss of identity, as seen in “My Name Is Mud…”.
Love Beyond the Personal
Hernandez’s love extends beyond romantic relationships to encompass friends and humanity. The Ray That Does Not Cease includes an elegy for Ramón Sijé, and Winds of the People features an elegy for Lorca. In both collections, his love expands from the personal to the universal. The image of the mother emerges, representing light and encouragement, and the child in her womb becomes a reason to fight.
Absence, Obsession, and Imprisonment
The Songs and Ballads of Absences explores the pain of separation from the beloved. Love becomes an obsession, permeating everything. The absence of the beloved causes immense distress. Love sustains him in prison, as expressed in the poem “Flight”. The woman is seen as a life-giver, and in “A Child of Light and Shadow,” he addresses a woman who does not love herself. The child becomes a central focus in many of these songs, culminating in the poignant “Mothers of Onion,” written for his son. At the end of his life, alone, sick, and imprisoned, Hernandez concludes that war is meaningless without love as its foundation.