Miguel Hernández: Life, Work, and Legacy of a Spanish Poet
Miguel Hernández: A Literary Luminary
Miguel Hernández Gilabert, born in Orihuela, Alicante, on October 30, 1910, was a poet and playwright of great relevance in 20th-century Spanish literature. He belonged to the famous Generation of ’27.
Early Life and Literary Beginnings
He was the second son in a large and humble family. At 15, he started to work because of the precarious family finances. Despite his work in the field, he did not abandon reading; in fact, the hours in the field favored passionate reading of any book that fell into his hands. Over time, he joined the cultural life of Orihuela, participating in the “gathering of poets from the oven,” writing early poems, and achieving his first publications.
Madrid and the Spanish Civil War
In the 1930s, he moved to Madrid, where he worked as a collaborator of José María Cossío on “Bulls” and associated with poets like Pablo Neruda, Rafael Alberti, and Luis Cernuda. When Spain was struck down by the tragedy of the Civil War (1936-1939), Miguel Hernández participated in the conflict, driven by two of his own qualities: loyalty and generosity.
War, Loss, and Imprisonment
During the early years, Miguel Hernández was booming. He attended literary events, actively participated in the International Congress of Anti-Fascist Writers, and went on an official visit to the Soviet Union. The illusion was soon broken. The increasingly bitter war and violent acts of war were breaking Republican Spain, while the death of his son completely demoralized the poet. These adversities were reflected in some of his works, marked by tragedy. In 1939, Hernández tried to flee to Portugal. He was returned to the Civil Guard and began his ordeal of prisons, which Miguel himself called “tourism” in Spanish prisons.
Final Years and Death
Released, he returned to Orihuela, where only twelve days later he was arrested again and transferred to the Conde de Toreno prison in Madrid. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. There, he fell ill and slowly deteriorated. Finally, he died on January 28, 1942, at the age of 31, due to tuberculosis in the prison infirmary of Alicante.
Elegy to Ramón Sijé: A Deep Dive into Grief
This poem is dedicated to the memory of his friend Ramón Sijé. It is set in a time of grief and guilt for being unable to say goodbye to his friend. It’s a passionate poem in which feelings are raw. A poem written to make clear the weight carried by Miguel within him, a poem so that no one forgets the love that united the two friends, although Ramón’s death might give the sense that the relationship between the two had cooled. The main theme is the pain, sadness, and rebellion felt by the author.
Structure and Form
This elegy is formed from chained hendecasyllable triplets (ABA BCB CDC…) except for the last stanza, which has four lines.
Analysis
Regarding the internal structure, the poem can be divided into three parts: meditation, the lament of those who survived, and praise.
Meditation
The stage of “meditation” is the part where Hernández reflects and remembers the times spent with his friend. It occupies the first four triplets. The rural field and agriculture are highlighted, as they were very present in the lives of both. Words used as examples to support this theory are gardener, poppy, fertilize…
In the first seven stanzas, Miguel Hernández accepts Ramón’s death and is aware of the seriousness of this fact, as well as its inevitability. It’s where Miguel is most concerned. He does not judge anyone or anything, just expresses his emotions intensely.
He uses a metaphor to say that his friend is buried, presenting it as something good for the land, that it is “manured.” It hurts him so much, and he tries to see the positive side of the offense, also returning to the subject of the field.
In verses eight and nine, the author expresses his sorrow harshly through a hyperbole, “it hurts to breathe,” citing the inability to even speak.
In the fourth trio, there is an anaphora but it can also be seen as parallelism: “A hard smack, blow, ice cream / invisible ax murderer, / has a brutal shove you down.” In this trio, Hernández shows how he felt the death: sudden, relentless, “invisible,” like lightning, “a brutal shove.”
Lament of Survivors
The second part is the “lament of survivors” and may range from the fifth to the eleventh stanza. It is the stage where Miguel Hernández is expressed more emotionally because he talks about his own feelings at the loss of a loved one, speaking in the first person: “No extension is bigger than my hurt… Ando on stubble of the dead…”
In verse fifteen, the author shows his sympathy: “and I feel your death more than my life.”
In verse twenty-one, he refers to Sijé’s premature death: “…early you’re rolling on the floor.”
In the ninth triplet, the author’s wrath is evident, using the words up, storm, stone, lightning, ax, loud, thirsty, and hungry disaster.
Praise
The third part is “praise,” in which the author praises the deceased and subtly highlights some of his qualities: “bird beekeeper… your soul will rejoice in the shade of my eyebrows…”
He changes the furious tone to a pleasant one and refers to the beautiful memory that his companion leaves: “flowers… angelic waxes… farmers… love, winged souls of roses…” The great importance of the almond is also mentioned, as Hernández and Sijé walked the almond lands.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this poem is a clear example of an elegy, showing the feelings after the death of a loved one and how to praise the deceased.