The Generation of '27: A Pinnacle of Spanish Literary Innovation

The Generation of '27: A Pinnacle of Spanish Poetry

In the 1920s, a group of poets reached maturity, producing a moment of brilliance in Spanish poetry. The principal authors were: Pedro Salinas, Jorge Guillén, Vicente Aleixandre, Rafael Alberti, Federico García Lorca, and Luis Cernuda.

Naming the Group: The Generation of '27

This influential literary movement was called the Poetic Generation or Group of '27. The year 1927 marked the centenary of the death of the poet Luis de Góngora, and the group acted to reclaim his legacy. Among the group members, there were many unifying points:

• Strong Friendships: Their friendships and the publication of their first books began in the early 1920s. These friendly relations extended through the Civil War and, in many cases, even later.
• Solid Intellectual Formation: They studied in college and undertook significant research and teaching tasks in universities around the world.
• Progressive Outlook: Their open, liberal, and progressive outlook was reflected in their political options.

Tradition and Avant-Garde in the Generation of '27

The Generation of '27 did not imitate the destructive and iconoclastic "isms" of the avant-garde. Their poems feature both the lyrical simplicity of popular poetry and the complexity of the avant-garde. The Generation of '27 sought to integrate the most valuable elements of tradition with the requirements of modern poetry. This integration focused on:

• The admiration and deep knowledge of classical Spanish literature.
• A keen interest in contemporary poetry.
• The use of classical and metric forms alongside free verse, combining popular and intellectual poetry.

Literary Evolution and Stages of the Generation of '27

Their literary path can be traced through three distinct stages:

• Pure Poetry (until 1929): Their poetic preference favored the rejection of human subjects and the conception of the poem as an artifact designed to unleash intellectual emotions. Metaphor and imagery played an essential role in the poem's construction.
• Surrealism and Rehumanization: Spanish surrealist manifestations differed from others; there was no organized group, and automatic writing was practiced very little. The inner and unconscious world, along with the pulsations of hidden desires, translated into surprisingly controlled language.
• Civil War and Exile: With the declaration of war in July 1936, all the poets of the Generation of '27 were profoundly affected. Federico García Lorca was tragically killed, and many others went into exile.