The Avant-Garde & The Generation of ’27: A Poetic Revolution
The Avant-Garde
Avant-garde movements represent a significant artistic breakthrough, opposing prior aesthetics and introducing new conceptions of art and literature. These “isms” rapidly emerged in Europe between the two World Wars.
European Avant-Garde Movements
- Futurism: This movement, originating in Italy, emphasized mechanical and technical elements, glorifying modern civilization.
- Cubism: Literary Cubism aimed to deconstruct reality, creating free compositions of concepts, phases, or images. Techniques included unconventional verse printing, visual imagery, and collage.
- Dadaism: A rebellion against logical, aesthetic, and social conventions, Dadaism advocated for the liberation of individual fantasy, overcoming inhibitions through inconsistent language use.
- Expressionism: Artists distorted reality to express their subjective view of the world, often presenting a pessimistic and tragic vision of humanity.
- Surrealism: This highly influential movement sought to transform human life by freeing it from social and individual constraints. Surrealists explored the subconscious through techniques like automatic writing, allowing thoughts to flow without rational control. Surrealism manifested in various art forms, including film, painting, and sculpture.
Avant-Garde Movements in Spain
Two Hispanic “isms” emerged in Spain: Creationism and Ultraism. Futurism also influenced Spanish poets. Notably, Spain experienced a significant impact from Surrealism, although Spanish Surrealists didn’t fully embrace pure unconscious creation or automatic writing. The arrival of Surrealism marked a crisis of the ideal of purity and dehumanization. Human, social, and political themes entered literature, as seen in the works of Lorca, Alberti, and Cernuda.
The Generation of ’27
In 1927, the Ateneo de Sevilla commemorated the tercentenary of Góngora’s death. Key figures present included Pedro Salinas, Luis Cernuda, Manuel Altolaguirre, Emilio Prados, Rafael Alberti, Jorge Guillén, Federico García Lorca, Vicente Aleixandre, Gerardo Diego, and Dámaso Alonso. This event marked the formation of the Generation of ’27, a close-knit group with shared experiences and aesthetic ideals.
Characteristics of the Generation of ’27
- Synthesis of Tradition and Avant-Garde: This group integrated traditional Spanish poetry with avant-garde influences.
- Influence of Surrealism: The writers of ’27 were key figures in the Spanish Surrealist movement.
- Connection to Literary Tradition: They drew inspiration from folk poetry and classical writers like Góngora, demonstrating a particular fondness for metaphors.
Evolution of the Generation of ’27
First Stage (until 1927): The Pursuit of Pure Poetry:
- Influence of early avant-garde movements like Ultraism and Creationism.
- Influence of Juan Ramón Jiménez and his focus on pure poetry.
- Use of daring metaphors, sometimes criticized as cold and dehumanizing.
- Presence of human influence from poets like Bécquer and popular lyrics.
- Classical influence, particularly from Góngora.
Second Stage (1927-Spanish Civil War): Surrealism and Rehumanization:
- Shift away from pure formalism towards rehumanization.
- Embrace of Surrealism.
- Exploration of deep human emotions: desire, frustration, love, existential and social concerns.
- Introduction of political and social themes.
Third Stage (Post-Civil War): War and Exile:
- Dispersion of the group due to the Spanish Civil War; Lorca’s death in 1936 and the exile of others.
- Continued focus on human themes in poetry, even in exile.
- Guillén’s shift towards a more human-centered poetic style in exile, marked by nostalgia.
- Emergence of anguished humanism and existential themes in the poetry of those who remained in Spain, exemplified by Dámaso Alonso’s Hijos de la ira and Vicente Aleixandre’s Historia del corazón.