20th Century Poetry: Movements, Authors, and Key Themes

20th-century poetry presents several difficulties due to the aesthetic currents of thought that overlap with dizzying speed. It is difficult to ascribe certain authors to specific movements, as they often evolved throughout their lives.

Celtic Myths and Anglo-Irish Poetry

A serious concern and a deep spiritual love for Irish poetry are maintained, understanding it to be clear and common-use.

T.S. Eliot and Fragmentation

T.S. Eliot, an English poet, received influence from avant-garde movements and French Symbolists like Baudelaire. He employed the technique of the objective correlative, writing a series of disconnected images whose connection the reader must determine, as seen in "The Waste Land."

Rainer Maria Rilke and Germanic Spirituality

Rainer Maria Rilke explored Germanic spirituality in works like "The Lirim" and the deeply spiritual "Duino Elegies," grappling with life and death. To understand Rilke's work, it is essential to consider symbolic elements that are repeated, such as the tree, the bird, and the flora.

Fernando Pessoa and Heteronyms

Fernando Pessoa, a Portuguese poet, can be recognized by constants such as skepticism and melancholy. His real merit lies in having introduced different literary trends of modernism and the avant-garde to Portugal.

Constantine Cavafy and Greek Poetry

Cavafy's "canonical poems" have a particular and solemn style, mixing colloquial language with archaic features. He dedicated himself to his work, correcting it repeatedly to compose poems. He completed 154 poems and felt a perfectionist drive. This mode resembles the work of Juan Ramón Jiménez. His critique of Christianity, patriotism, and LGBT issues made his work controversial and little accepted until the mid-20th century.

Avant-Garde Movements of the 20th Century

The avant-garde movements arose from a maverick spirit and a desire for renewal around 1914. Key movements include:

• Futurism: Marinetti's "The Futurist Manifesto" proposed embracing the modern and mechanical.
• Cubism: A pictorial movement born in 1907 with Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon." Apollinaire moved its techniques to literature, proposing a new typography of the poem, creating visual poems called calligrams.
• Dadaism: Tristan Tzara stated that "Dada's name is that of a babbling child who was elected by opening a dictionary." The creation procedure is arbitrary, with words cut and collaged from articles.
• Expressionism: Expressionism is based on subjective feelings, distorting hard reality. It highlights ugliness, the catastrophic, the dark, and the chaotic, with a critical view of society and the horror and suffering generated by war.
• Surrealism: Arising from Dada's depletion and personal differences, Breton shared Tzara's Dada protest but with a seriousness. The slogan would be "transformed life" by the liberation of man and his creative ability. It exceeds the integration of the subconscious and dreams. Various release techniques are used. It is a language that speaks to our reason but wants to awaken unconscious reactions.
• Imagism: Calls for the accuracy of the American image. Ezra Pound is a key figure with his "songs."