Blas de Otero's Poetic Trajectory: Anguish, Society, Spain

Ángel Fieramente Humano: Postwar Revelation

Ángel fieramente humano was identified by critics of the 50s for its originality. Dámaso Alonso proclaimed that poetry "as uprooted" as one of the three or four revelations of postwar Spanish lyric. The title of the work comes from a sonnet by Góngora: "porque el ángel es fieramente humano."

In these torn poems, Blas de Otero discusses the post-war man's anguished existence, the existence of humanity in ruins.

The poet crying in Ángel fieramente humano is no longer merely a subject but raises his rebellion against pain, in the midst of solitude.

The themes of love, the mortal condition of man, anguish, and loneliness run throughout the book. God is the representative of the power of distance and the law. Although the tragic struggle described in these poems ends in the poet's solitude and isolation, the cry of rebellion contained in the book's title implies a note of solidarity, a dedication to "the vast majority." This is the new man whose voice is a cry of warning, strengthening awareness.

Redoble de conciencia is a continuation of the earlier book, even more interdependent. It reflects the profound impact on the poet of a Europe in ruins after World War II.

The formal and thematic unity of Ángel fieramente humano and Redoble de conciencia led to their publication as a new combined volume, Ancia, whose title contains the first syllable of Ángel and the last of conciencia.

The poems from each group follow a structured chronological order of composition, revealing an intention to narrate a past part of his life, like a memoir viewed with hindsight.

Pido la Paz y la Palabra (1955): Social Voice

This work opens the social or historical theme in Blas de Otero's poetry, an issue further developed in En castellano and Que trata de España.

The personal theme merges with the historical theme, but both must be expressed through the word. It moves from personal tragedy to reach the collective by way of a wish: to write for "the vast majority."

The focus narrows to Spain in the 50s, where the undertow of struggle and the dream of a people licking their wounds and witnessing the victors' triumph persist. However, a light and a hope struggle to emerge, and the poetry of Pido la paz y la palabra answers this call.

The book opens with the same dedication as Ángel fieramente humano: "To the vast majority."

How to speak poetically to a collective audience? Nothing better than through "collective" or traditional poetry. It adopts popular romance rhythms, its meter, and its chorus. Very short-lined free verse predominates; the rhythm is based on repetition, both phonetic and of thought. This process continues in the following book, En castellano (1959), featuring highly condensed verbal poetry.

Que Trata de España (1964): A Nation's Chronicle

This work closes the cycle of the social theme in Blas de Otero's poetry, focusing on the geographical area of Spain during his time. This book originates from feelings evoked in the poet's soul by experiences shared with an entire people. The book is organized cyclically: the first and last poems begin with the same word, "Spain."

Blas de Otero clearly states the subject of his song: not the sinister, official Spain, but the underground Spain, comprising its people and the landscape they inhabit.

The thematic structure is very careful, with poems divided into five parts:

• The first, "Forcing," is an autobiography that rescues nostalgic landscapes and beloved figures of childhood and youth.
• The second part, "The Word," returns to a recurring theme in his work: reflecting on his craft as a poet.
• The third section, "Songs," reduces the poem and condenses it with apparent simplicity.
• The fourth section, "Geography and History," acquires a universal dimension that culminates in the fifth section, "Common Truth."

Many poems about Spain were written during his trips to countries of so-called "real socialism"; they describe the experiences lived there and the defense of justice and freedom. Traditional poetry is so present in this work that its influence extends even to the sonnets. This verse form, in which the poet was a master from his first book, had disappeared in Pido la paz y la palabra, and once again plays a very important role in this work.