Influences and Works of Miguel Hernandez

Miguel Hernandez, who absorbed in his teens the classic poems of the Generation of '27, his elders, faced a unique position. The poets of the '27 Generation considered him provincial and did not see him as one of their own. What unites M. Hernandez and the Generation of '27 is the blend of tradition and avant-garde.

Literary Influences on Hernandez

This blend or fusion can be seen in his connection to literary tradition, the masters of the preceding generation, and the literary avant-garde movements.

Tradition and Golden Age Classics

• Golden Age classics: San Juan de la Cruz, Garcilaso, Fray Luis (for his sonnets and pastorals)
• Baroque poets: Lope de Vega, Quevedo
• Becquer's poetry, for its Romanticism
• Neopopularism, a cultured version of popular forms such as ballads, songs, and letrillas

Masters of the Preceding Generation

• Modernist poetry of Rubén Darío, Juan Ramón Jiménez

Literary Avant-Garde Movements

Avant-garde movements sought their own language based mainly on metaphor. This includes Ultraism, Creationism, especially in the 1920s. In Miguel Hernandez, Ultraism and Gongorism merge in Perito en Lunas.

In the 1930s, another avant-garde movement emerged, Surrealism, especially represented in Spain by Neruda and Vicente Aleixandre, who became favorite authors of M. Hernández.

A mixture of all these forces is seen in the authors of the Generation of '27. During his time in Orihuela, Hernandez read Virgil, Garcilaso, Lope, and Gongora. It was a time influenced by his friend Ramón Sijé. Later, his models were Lorca and Guillén.

Key Works and Evolution

Perito en Lunas

Perito en Lunas reflects the fusion of Gongorism and the late Cubist avant-garde, written with intense focus.

El Rayo que no Cesa

El Rayo que no Cesa, published in 1936, reflects a personal and love crisis. The poet then follows the influence of Neruda and Vicente Aleixandre, moving away from Ramón Sijé's influence, adapting to the so-called 'pure poetry' of these authors. In this work, classical metrics are employed (Quevedo's sonnet form dominates). Themes of courtly love, reminiscent of Petrarch, and the disdain of the beloved are present.

Viento del Pueblo

With the advent of war, he becomes a poet-soldier. In Viento del Pueblo, he begins a committed poetry, a poetry of war. He abundantly employs the romance form and octosyllabic verse. Miguel Hernandez uses traditional forms to reach the people. He uses hendecasyllable and Alexandrine verses.

El Hombre Acecha

Faced with the brutal reality of the war's course, pessimism appears, and he writes El Hombre Acecha, less subject to strict rhyme, more extensive.

Cancionero y Romancero de Ausencias

Finally, with Cancionero y Romancero de Ausencias (1938-1941), reflecting the intense daily times of misfortune and the story of a mortally wounded people, Miguel Hernandez completed a thorough process of introspection that was already evident in El Hombre Acecha.