Mallorcan Poets: Alcover and Costa i Llobera
Antoni Maria Alcover (Palma 1854-1926)
In his literary career, decisive influence came from personal and family circumstances that were tragic. After the death of his first wife and, later, two of his sons, the Catalan language became the only instrument to express his pain. Poetry became a way of representing the memory of his loved ones. Misfortune made two of his children die on the same evening, one in Barcelona and one in Mallorca. Depressed by grief, he abandoned poetry.
Alcover wrote poems in Spanish and Catalan, but the desire to be known in literary circles of Madrid made him opt for the first language initially.
The verses of this stage are characterized by emptiness, repetition of topics, and the imitation of models.
When he reached the “tragic hour,” he clung to poetry and the Catalan language as the only means available to express his feelings. It was then revealed that he was one of the greatest poets of the Catalan language.
His work in Catalan is brief. Cap al Tard includes two books and some Poemes Escrits. It is characterized by a symbolic interpretation and humanized landscape, unlike Costa, whose landscapes are animated and integrated with human figures. In Alcover’s work, the tree appears as a symbol of permanence despite the passage of time.
Cap al Tard
Cap al Tard, his best book, is the fruit of his appreciation for Catalan. As the title expresses, it came late, in the maturity of his life. Each poem is independent and has its own life, grouped into five sections:
- Cançons de la Serra: Represents an idealized landscape. In some poems, the Mallorcan Sierra symbolizes his homeland.
- Elegies: The poet faces the irreparable disgrace of the absence of loved ones. In addition, pain serves as inspiration and has personally enriched him.
- Endreces: Poems dedicated in tribute to the intellectuals who attended his literary gatherings.
- Jovenívoles: Compositions that take place during his youth.
- Vàries: This part contains poems that were outside the other sections.
Poemes Bíblics
Poemes Bíblics, unlike Cap al Tard, is a compilation of smaller units with a tone that is more uniform.
His literary theory is collected in “Humanization of Art,” where he exposes his work, essentially an art of human emotion, and a flight of art that reaches people. Honesty, reality, and clarity are the basis of his literary aesthetics.
Miquel Costa i Llobera (1854-1922)
Work
Costa’s work is brief. He is considered one of the best poets of all time.
In his work, landscape and religious sentiment dominate, closely linked. Meanwhile, he conceives the world as a reflection of God and is always a real landscape: Mallorca, Pollença, and Formentor above all.
Style
We must emphasize the formal perfection of his poetry and the richness and accuracy of his language.
Stages
- Youth Stage: This stage is where we find one of his most romantic and brightest known poems, “El Pi de Formentor.” It belongs to the work Poesies and combines his two favorite themes: God and nature.
- Maturity Stage: In this stage, romantic rhyme is replaced by classical rhythm. In part, the work Horacianes, which becomes the model of classical Noucentistes.