Blas de Otero: Existential Poetry and the Ancia Cycle

First Stage: Existential Poetry and Ancia

The poetry of Blas de Otero has a "prehistory" that he apparently did not like to remember: some poems published in magazines between 1941 and 1943 (Four Poems, Poems in Burgos) and a book entitled Cántico espiritual (1942). These early works already showed unique poetic gifts, but the author himself often omitted them from his anthologies and biographical notes. Complying with his desire, we begin reviewing his career after 1950.

The Emergence of the Ancia Cycle

In 1950 and 1951, two of his most significant books were published: Ángel fieramente humano and Redoble de conciencia. Both collections contain poems written, with few exceptions, between 1945 and 1950. Years later, in 1958, he merged them into a single volume entitled Ancia (a word formed from the first syllable of the first title and the last syllable of the second). This volume adds several new poems that the author considered to be "of almost all the time."

Existential Angst and Uprooted Poetry

Dámaso Alonso placed Blas de Otero at this time within the movement of poesía desarraigada (uprooted Spanish poetry), stating: "In this poetry, we anxiously find our many essential ropes..." We are, therefore, at a stage dominated by the "I," with its personal problems and existential angst. Within this cycle, we may distinguish several thematic directions:

Metaphysical Questioning and the Search for God

First, there is a "metaphysical" vein—poetry that questions the meaning of existence, the world of man, and his destiny. The poet departs from his awareness of belonging to a "rootless generation," knowing he is "alone," "alive," and "deadly." Along with this, much like Miguel de Unamuno, he carries a thirst for the eternal.

Therefore, it is often religious poetry, but it is addressed to a God who resembles the dreadful God of the Old Testament: a cherished but incomprehensible God who opposes a "powerful silence" to the screams and woes of a helpless creature. This bleak situation leads to the later cry: "This is a man: horror with both hands." This is one of many expressions of Otero's early angst.

Love as an Escape from Anguish

A second area of these books consists of love poems, such as Relámpago con sordina, Cuerpo de la mujer, and Sombra. In Blas de Otero's work, love appears as a desperate desire for vital grounding, a way to escape intense anguish, and ultimately, a manifestation of his thirst for the Absolute. Hence, love and religion appear closely linked at this stage of his work.

The Transition to Social Poetry

Thirdly, we find at this stage a first look at "us." Poems such as Canto primero, Diluvio, Hijos de la tierra, Tierra en paz, and Encuesta pose the problem of the suffering of other men, or of suffering in general. In Canto primero, he declares: "Definitely, I will sing for the man." He sings, in fact, of the anguish and misery of men. However, the social element is not yet fully explicit; it is still combined with a strong existential approach.

Stylistic Characteristics of the Cycle

The language of Blas de Otero in this cycle is characterized primarily by its expressive violence, its drama, its emotional tearing, and its extreme tension, creating an amazing density of style.