Generation of '27 and Modernism: Key Poets and Movements

Generation of '27

The Generation of '27 constitutes a group of poets linked by friendship and intellectual formation. Its name originates from the commemoration of the tercentenary of Góngora. The Spanish Civil War represented exile and even death for many of its members. While they addressed the big issues of humanity, their work highlights three broad themes: the city (representing progress), nature, and love (designed as an environment and sometimes as part of the poetic experience).

The Generation of '27 successfully renewed poetic language. They developed visionary imagery that relates objects with emotion and metaphor, combining traditional metric forms with free verse.

Prominent Poets of the Generation of '27

• Jorge Guillén: His style is closer to pure poetry, preferably using short verse. Notable work: Cántico.
• Gerardo Diego: Highlights Góngora's influence. Notable work: The Ballad of the Bride.
• Vicente Aleixandre: Received the Nobel Prize in 1977. His central theme is the desire for fusion between man and nature. Notable work: Espadas como labios.
• Federico García Lorca: Presents a fusion of tradition and modernity. Popular lyrics, Andalusian songs, and classical forms give rise to themes of frustration and tragic fate. Notable work: Poeta en Nueva York.
• Rafael Alberti: Highlights neogongorist nuances, avant-garde poetry, and social populism. Notable work: Marinero en tierra.

Modernism

Modernism is a literary movement born in the Spanish-speaking world and distributed in Spain by Rubén Darío. It was primarily a poetic movement that emerged in a context where the national psyche was shaken by the Disaster of '98.

Modernism was influenced by Romanticism, reflecting its thematic lines: the intimate and the escapist. Modernist poets exploited all the possibilities of language, seeking musicality in verse as the main instrument. The most common metrics were the pentameter and the octosyllable.

Notable Modernist Poets

• Rubén Darío: The initiator of Modernism and responsible for its spread in Spain, mixing poetry and prose. His work includes both ironic poems and those with existential concerns.
• Antonio Machado: Characterized by depth in themes such as intimacy, memories, and the Castilian landscape. Popular metric forms abound, and his style is marked by the absence of complex rhetoric. Initially closer to Modernism, he later aligned with the Generation of '98. Notable works: Campos de Castilla and Soledades.
• Juan Ramón Jiménez: Characterized by a relentless pursuit of beauty. He followed a process of poetic purification to reach a new style governed by intelligence. His first stage was sensory-inspired Modernism, followed by an intellectual step toward pure poetry, and finally, an abstract style.