Miguel Hernández: Poet of Nature and Spanish Literature’s Evolution
Miguel Hernández: A Return to Nature
Early Life and Influences
Miguel Hernández, deeply rooted in the agricultural landscape of Orihuela, found inspiration in nature. His upbringing shaped his poetic vision, evident in works like “Pastoral.” Educated in Modernism, he portrayed scenes of gardens, pastures, and crops with sentimental depth. This connection between feelings and nature is central to his work.
From Modernism to Nature
Hernández’s poetic journey began with Perito en lunas, showcasing an intellectual and aesthetic exploration of emotions. He embraced poetic games, unknowingly paving the way for a return to nature in poetry. His work celebrates flora and fauna—sheep, bulls, bees—to express passionate love. In El rayo que no cesa, love transforms into tormented passion, amplified by metaphors of the natural world.
Style and Themes
Hernández experimented with form, employing sharp, metallic sonnets that contrasted with his natural themes. Metaphorical knives, both real and hurtful, appear, ultimately yielding to simple imagery like “yellow on time.” In “My name is mud,” man is degraded, reduced to the earth. Elegies for Ramón Sijé and the baker of Orihuela are crafted with tangible elements rather than mere words. He explored the four Presocratic elements: water (vital and powerful), fire (sun, volcano, lightning), earth (origin and oblivion), and wind (enthusiasm and destruction).
War, Nature, and Humanity
In Viento del pueblo, fire, lightning, and thunder symbolize love, anger, and the heroism of a people on the brink of war. This tragedy spans land, air, and water. El hombre acecha reveals pessimism and despair, marked by the disappearance of lightning. Man becomes a lurking beast, separated from the earth. In Cancionero y romancero de ausencias, the absence of water signifies cloudiness and hatred. Water, with its destructive power, erases life, love, and death. The sea becomes a confidante. The war’s end brings a return to vivid life, revitalizing the countryside and nature. Hernández perceives nature as alive and intentional: stones threaten, the moon affects veins, the spring offers sin. He unites man and nature, seeing human perfection as inseparable from the natural world. Man is earth, and earth is synonymous with life.
Spanish Literature in the 20th Century
The Generation of ’98 and Reform
The 19th century concluded with the Spanish-American War disaster, prompting calls for reform. Modernism emerged, focusing on aesthetic renewal and a rejection of vulgar reality. Key features include the cult of beauty, refined tone, intimate expression, exotic settings, and renewed metrics. Hernández’s early work aligns with this trend. The Generation of ’98 sought broader reform. Figures like Ortega y Gasset and Marañón, associated with Novecentismo, pursued pure art and intellectual construction in novels and essays.
The Avant-Garde and the Generation of ’27
Between 1914 and 1930, the avant-garde pushed for radical renewal. Ultraism and Surrealism, championed by Ramón Gómez de la Serna, influenced the Generation of ’27. These poets evolved from pure poetry through surrealism to a more human and engaged style. They revisited Bécquer and recognized Juan Ramón Jiménez as a master. They also recovered traditional Spanish themes and metrics. By 1930, poetry addressed social problems, and a social novel of complaint emerged, culminating in the Civil War.
Post-Civil War Literature
The 1940s saw attempts to break free from the war’s tragedy. Confusion and evasion marked this era. Realism dominated the 1950s, emphasizing content and public connection. Experimentalism prevailed from the early 1960s to the mid-1970s, linking back to the avant-garde. With democracy’s arrival, literature returned to conventional forms, with Julio Llamazares as a prominent figure. Hernández excelled in Civil War lyricism, his poetry infused with intense emotion.