Modernist and Generation of ’27 Poetry: Key Authors and Works

Posted on Jan 18, 2025 in Latin

Modernist Poetry

Modernism was an artistic movement against the utilitarian spirit and the aesthetic of the epoch. It stood for beauty and evasion of real life. Key authors include Rubén Darío, Manuel Machado, and Juan Ramón Jiménez. Modernism was influenced by two French movements:

  • Parnassianism, which represented a worship of art for art’s sake, suggesting ideas and sentiments through formal perfection.
  • Symbolism, which supported the effects of musical language.

Antonio Machado

Born in Seville, Antonio Machado moved to Soria as a French professor and met Leonor, whom he married. Her death at 18 years old left the poet with great bitterness. He later went to Baeza, carrying his princess in her Sorian landscape and memories. His writing was spare and simple, the result of his lived experience.

Soledades, Galerías y Otros Poemas

This collection reflects a profound meditation on time, memory, and melancholy. Thematic elements and recurring symbols throughout his work include:

  • The dream: represents the essence of human life.
  • The afternoon: could represent the fatigue of living, disillusionment, and death.

The external landscape and internal sentiment influence each other mutually.

Poem excerpt:

“I go dreaming paths of the afternoon. Where does the road go? I was walking with my heart. A thorn of passion. The afternoon is darkening.”

The Generation of ’27

The Generation of ’27 was a group of poets seeking new avenues of expression. They notably coincided in 1927 for the celebration of the tercentenary of Góngora’s death. Attracted by his work, they defended him. Juan Muñoz’s immigration and freedom of care influenced the movement. Avant-garde movements also influenced them. The Spanish Civil War caused the group’s disintegration and, in many cases, exile.

A poem for the hearing ear: In the first stage, the poets were concerned about form, arranging their verses to represent a picture or sound. In other cases, drawings and poems are summarized in one book in the magazine Revista Cabal.

Federico García Lorca

Born in Granada, Federico García Lorca excelled in both theater and poetry. He was imprisoned and shot during the Spanish Civil War.

Gypsy Ballads

This work is both Andalusian and universal. It universalizes a Gypsy, an Andalusian Gypsy, into an idealized myth. It shows the root of the person, as we are all different, although we all have a common fund of wishes and dissatisfactions.

Subordinate Clauses: Objective

Relative Pronouns:

  • Que (that, which, who): “La chica que ha venido es periodista.” (The girl who came is a journalist.)
  • Quien (who, whom): “No conozco a las personas de quien me hablas.” (I don’t know the people you’re talking about.)
  • El cual (which, who): “No sé el lugar en el cual se encuentra.” (I don’t know the place where he is.)
  • Cuyo (whose): “Es un pintor cuyas obras son desconocidas.” (He is a painter whose works are unknown.)
  • Cuanto (as much as): “Daniel comió pasteles cuanto pudo.” (Daniel ate as many cakes as he could.)
  • Donde (where): “Procede de un país donde hay mucha pobreza.” (He comes from a country where there is a lot of poverty.)
  • Como (as, how): “Es importante cómo se presenta.” (How it is presented is important.)

The Syntactic Function of Relative Pronouns

Their syntactic function is determined within the subordinate adjective clause. The function is independent of the antecedent. For example: “No me gusta el traje que se ha comprado.” (I don’t like the suit he bought himself.)

Federico García Lorca’s Innovative Theater

Lorca founded the theater company “La Barraca” to travel the country and bring dramatic art to the people, who had never had the opportunity to attend the theater. He intended to transform life into literature, constructing an unreal world from a real event, as occurred with Bodas de Sangre (inspired by a family he knew and a newspaper report). In his theatrical works, he revisited themes that had already preoccupied him as a poet: impossible love, the frustration of women, and the Andalusian universal. The Civil War and his assassination closed the door to other playwrights and theatrical innovation, as proposed by Alberti.

Blood Wedding

This play explores the rivalry between two families (the bride’s and Leonardo’s). The parents of the bride and groom arrange the wedding, highlighting the economic and familial benefits. The bride desperately fights against the feelings that push her towards Leonardo, her former love, who is now married to another woman. The lovers flee into the forest. In a conjunction of the moon and death, knives and springs mark a new fate for the two families: the death of Leonardo and the groom, and loneliness for the women.

Practical Expository Texts: The Contract

Structure:

  • Identification or personal data of the signatories.
  • Conditions expressed in clauses.
  • Place and date.
  • Signatures.

Features:

  • Precise language.
  • Specific lexicon.
  • Use of predetermined formulas.
  • Abundance of substantive adjectives.
  • Use of gerunds and participles.
  • Use of the periphrasis of obligation.
  • Use of the third person.
  • Use of technical terms and acronyms.