The Generation of '27: Spanish Literary Vanguard

The Generation of 1927

The Generation of '27 was an innovative group of Spanish poets who combined tradition and avant-garde styles, bursting onto the literary scene in the 1920s. The year 1927 marked the third anniversary of the death of Góngora.

Key Authors

This generation included Federico García Lorca, Pedro Salinas, Rafael Alberti, Jorge Guillén, Gerardo Diego, Luis Cernuda, and Vicente Aleixandre. Miguel Hernández and Dámaso Alonso are often added to this list.

Stages in the Generation of '27

• 1922-1928: Dominated by pure poetry and admiration for Juan Ramón Jiménez. This period sought the suppression of sentiment and the purification of language.
• 1928-1936: A fracturing of the group's unity occurred. While Guillén and Salinas remained loyal to pure poetry, other poets were influenced by the avant-garde left, especially Surrealism.
• Post-1936: The Civil War and its outcome led to the disintegration of this generation. Some authors died, others went into exile, and some remained in Spain.

Pure Poetry: Salinas and Guillén

Pedro Salinas (1891-1951)

Pedro Salinas has been considered the quintessential poet of love. His works are distinguished in three stages:

• Initial Stage (1923-1932): Marked by the pure poetry of Juan Ramón Jiménez, although it contains some influence of Futurism. Titles belonging to this period include Omens, Insurance, and Fable and Random Sign.
• Full Stage (1933-1939): Witnessed the birth of the romantic trilogy consisting of Voice Due to You, Love, and Long Reason Sorry, works that present the story of a romantic passion from its source to its end.
• Stage of Exile (1940-1951): Involved the elaboration of other issues, including dialogue with the sea (The Set), the creation through the word (All Clear and Other Poems), and the joyous affirmation of the reality experienced (Trust).

Modernism and the Generation of '27

Gerardo Diego, Luis Cernuda, and Vicente Aleixandre were key avant-garde Spanish authors who strengthened the foundations of these trends, especially Creationism and Surrealism.

Tradition and the Generation of '27

Federico García Lorca, Rafael Alberti, and Miguel Hernández embraced tradition, popular themes, and tragic force. These authors were also the most affected by the Civil War.