Generation of '27: Key Poets, Characteristics and History

The Generation of '27: Origins and Key Figures

The Generation of '27 refers to a group of poets who began publishing in the 1920s and became some of the most notable writers of all time. The term was coined to commemorate the date they met in Seville to pay homage to Góngora on the third centenary of his death. This group includes Vicente Aleixandre, Federico García Lorca, Rafael Alberti, Luis Cernuda, Pedro Salinas, Jorge Guillén, Dámaso Alonso, and Emilio Prados, among others. All members shared similar social backgrounds, a strong literary vocation, and were influenced by previous authors while maintaining deep personal and literary bonds.

Core Characteristics of Their Poetry

The poetry of the Generation of '27 shares several broad similarities:

• Enthusiasm for Góngora: Viewed as a forerunner of the avant-garde aesthetic.
• Pure Poetry: An ongoing effort toward purity of form, precision of expression, and the suppression of narrative.
• Literary Influences: Inspired by J.R. Jiménez, Machado, Unamuno, and Ortega y Gasset.
• Avant-garde Movements: A significant influence on their stylistic development.

Understanding the Avant-Garde

The Avant-garde consists of a series of artistic movements characteristic of the first half of the 20th century. These movements were innovative, rebellious, and provocative, acting as a reaction against the bourgeois literary traditions of the time.

Key Features of the Avant-Garde

• Publication in literary magazines and a tendency to form groups.
• Opposition to previous artistic and cultural traditions.
• Rejection of realism, verisimilitude, and traditional narrative.
• A desire for poetic renewal through metaphors, images, and calligrams (visual effects and special typographical arrangements).

These movements, often called the Age of Isms, include Futurism, Cubism, Dadaism, and Surrealism. In Spain, the most prominent movements were Ultraism, Creationism, and Surrealism.

Predominant Themes

The primary themes of the Generation of '27 include:

• The City: A futuristic vision of technology and industry, including its negative aspects.
• Nature: A constant attempt to renew the concept of the natural world.
• Love: Explored with a sense of freedom, encompassing both heterosexual and homosexual experiences, often tinged with pain.

They achieved a renewal of poetic language through the repeated use of imagery, a revolution in vocabulary, and syntax that deviates from traditional order. In terms of meter, they championed free verse to promote the expressive richness of new metrics.

The Three Stages of the Generation

1. 1920s: The peak of avant-garde influence. Cultivation of pure poetry, divorced from reality, alongside popular poetry.
2. 1930s: Highlights the rise of impure poetry, heavily influenced by the socio-political climate.
3. 1940s: Poetry characterized by pessimism and bitterness, centered on existential issues following the Spanish Civil War, which saw many members exiled or killed. The works of the survivors continued to evolve.