Galician Poetry: Noriega Varela and Ramón Cabanillas

Antonio Noriega Varela: A Bridge Between Centuries

The first to tentatively mark the beginning of new ways was Antonio Noriega Varela (1869-1947). We can consider him the most prominent representative of a generation of transition, or Antre dous séculos (Between two centuries), as defined by Méndez Ferrín. He accepted the popularism, customs, and civic sense of his predecessors, but we can also see in his work some influences of Modernism and Portuguese literature.

He wrote a single work that expanded throughout his life. In 1904, it was titled Montañeses, and in 1915, it was renamed Do ermo (The Wilderness). The change in title marks a shift in the trends of his work, which consists of two main steps:

• Costumbrist poetry: Similar to the 19th century, this involves the description of rural life from a conservative viewpoint that reacts against novelty and innovation, believing its essence disfigures the traditional landscape. He also wrote civic poetry related to the agrarian movement, which was deleted from the last edition.
• Lyric poetry of the mountain (Montañesa): This features Franciscan Poetics, characterized by tenderness and a love for the mountain landscape. It focuses on humble, non-flashy, and non-grandiloquent components. This category includes 21 sonnets that are literally and linguistically more sophisticated, heavily influenced by Portuguese writers like Antero de Quental and his nostalgic friend, Teixeira de Pascoaes.

Ramón Cabanillas: The Poet of the Race

The most prominent poet of the era of the Irmandades da Fala (Brotherhoods of the Language) is Ramón Cabanillas (1876-1959), known as the Poet of the Race. He collected the restlessness of Rosalía de Castro, the Celtism of Eduardo Pondal, and the protest of various authors, providing modernist innovations to the tradition. We can distinguish four stages in his work:

1. Pregaleguista or Agrarian Stage

This stage includes No desterro (1913) and Vento mareiro (1915). In form and theme, they follow the Renaissance style of Rosalía and Curros Enríquez. These books alternate between intimate character, customs, and anti-caciquist agrarian themes. The latter are fierce and inflammatory, showing solidarity with peasants in their struggle for the redemption of the foros. Some poems, such as "A maza" or those dedicated to Basilio Álvarez, became popular symbols, establishing Cabanillas as the natural heir to Curros. There is also a modernist influence in his costumbrist poems.

2. Galeguista Stage

This stage, lasting until 1920, is represented by the book Da terra asoballada (1917). Cabanillas became the civilian poet of Galicia. The central opposition shifted from "Chief vs. Farmer" to Galicia vs. Spain.

3. Mythical Stage

Between 1921 and 1930, Cabanillas focused on myth. In 1926, he wrote three long narrative poems: The Sword Excalibur, Knight of the Holy Grail, and The Dream of King Arthur, which make up the book Na noite estrelecida. He undertook an upgrade of the Matter of Britain, adapting and Galicianizing it to achieve a nationalist message and a mythical reconstruction of the past.

4. Post-War Stage

Cabanillas did not write poetry between 1930 and 1950. His latest books are Da miña zanfona (1954) and Samos (1958), which are filled with disappointment and yearning. In Samos, an evocative and pantheistic work, Cabanillas regained his greatest poetic height.