Federico Garcia Lorca and Spanish Theater Before the Civil War

Federico Garcia Lorca (1898-1936)

The lyrics of Federico Garcia Lorca possess great musicality, both when the poet uses traditional metrics—the octosyllabic in gypsy romances—and in avant-garde compositions like Poet in New York, in predominantly free verse. Another stylistic feature is the plasticity of his images, which have a clear relationship with the surrealist movement. Federico Garcia Lorca's poems depict human tragedy, where higher forces, represented by social conventions, political trends, and, above all, death, prevent happiness. Other notable works of this poet's lyrics, who is probably the best known of his generation, include the Poem of Flamenco Singing and the elegy mourning the death of Ignacio Sánchez Mejías.

Vicente Aleixandre (1898-1984)

Vicente Aleixandre, who remained in Spain after the Civil War and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1977, is considered one of the most influential authors of the Generation of '27 in postwar Spanish lyrical poetry.

His production includes pessimistic works, in which the successive losses (of freedom, youth, beauty) are highlighted, as well as more hopeful works that praise human effort to live despite the difficulties. Among the former, Áreas and Shadow of Paradise stand out, and among the latter, History of the Heart and A Vast Domain.

Theater in the Period Before the Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) interrupted the line of theatrical renewal that, after Ramón María del Valle-Inclán, was continued by some playwrights. Within the Generation of '27, the figure of Federico Garcia Lorca stands out, but Rafael Alberti and Pedro Salinas also wrote plays. Among those who did not belong to that generation but were contemporary with it are Alejandro Casona, whose theater has poetic features; Enrique Jardiel Poncela, who cultivated humorous drama; and Max Aub, who experimented with avant-garde approaches.

During the war, one of the objectives of the cultural politics of the Republic was to bring literature to rural areas through mobile libraries and theatrical companies, composed largely of university students. An example of this theater is La Barraca, a troupe of supporters directed by Lorca, and street theater and theater for the people, directed by Alejandro Casona.

Federico Garcia Lorca's Theater

His plays have very strong, lyrical characters. The characters, as the poet shows in his lyrical works, struggle against the adversity of events and represent victims of an unjust society full of rules that deny them freedom.

Representative works include Mariana Pineda, Doña Rosita the Spinster, Blood Wedding, Yerma, and The House of Bernarda Alba.

In Federico Garcia Lorca's dramatic style, the indiscriminate use of verse and prose, the universal character of some sympathetic characters, the popular language, and folk elements like songs should be noted.