Reality and Poetry in Federico García Lorca’s Theater
Reality and Poetry in Federico García Lorca’s Work
Federico García Lorca cultivated theater throughout his career, but it became his preferred activity in the last years of his life. His words from 1936 give us insight into his creative vision: “Theater is poetry that rises from the book and becomes human. And when it is done, it speaks, cries, and despairs.” These words highlight the human dimension—warm and torn—of his theater, alongside the aesthetic and poetic transmutation of its themes and characters. In other words, it’s the coexistence of poetry and reality.
The Question of Realism
One of the most discussed aspects of Lorca’s work is its realism. This realism, understood in various ways, can be seen as a selection of events and people within a transformed composition. García Lorca reworked certain real-life events. In Valderrubio, neighbors of the Lorca family’s summer home faced a situation partially described in his work: Frasquita dominated her daughters, preventing any contact with the outside world. This childhood episode remained in Lorca’s memory until he wrote about it. This detail, coupled with exclamations like, “Not a drop of poetry! Reality! Realism!” and the stated intention to create a “photographic documentary,” might lead one to believe that his work is purely realistic. The childhood story is a strong argument for this, but it also served as a starting point for his poetic imagination.
Poetic Exaggeration and Symbolism
The characters, dramatic situations, and symbolic spaces are all enveloped in poetic exaggeration. This includes hyperbole in character descriptions, a marked age difference between Pepe and Sorrows, a proliferation of metaphors and images in character dialogues, a two-tiered structure (real and imagined/symbolic), and a dominance of antithesis. In short, we are talking about the *poetry of reality*. The approach to reality, to the human problems of his time, is not from literary realism, but from poetry.
Local Influences and Linguistic Style
The author incorporates observed elements (conversations, mourning rituals), emphasizes attitudes (Frasquita’s harshness), introduces characters (Maria Josefa), uses real names (Benavides, Enrique Humanes, Pepe el Romano), mixes events (Adela’s green dress), and, notably, contrasts Valderrubio with Fuente Vaqueros, highlighting the clash between the people of the wells (dry land) and those of the fragrant, moist lands with rivers.
Lorca masterfully handles linguistic form. He doesn’t attempt to imitate a local dialect, using only a few colloquial or indigenous terms. Instead, he exploits the expressive richness of popular culture: proverbs, hyperbole, comparisons, and images are used appropriately, intermingling with literary expressions and metaphors.
Maria Josefa’s Unique Language
Maria Josefa’s language deserves special mention for its breaches of logic, the irrationality of her messages, and its lyrical backwaters of prose and verse, all of which fuse with the character’s figure and dramatic function.