Juan Ramon Jimenez & Ramon Gomez de la Serna: Spanish Literature

Juan Ramon Jimenez: A Journey Through Poetic Evolution

"Pure poetry rejects the narrative, personal, and circumstantial, and finds the essence of reality through the idea of the naked word." - Juan Ramon Jimenez (VRBS pks)

Jimenez utilizes a simple syntax with short, often truncated, exclamatory, and interrogative sentences.

Sensitive Stage 1 (Until 1916)

This stage includes the writing of his most important books, such as Jardines Lejanos (1904), Elegias (1908), and Baladas de Primavera (1910). Also included in this stage is Platero y yo (1914), and Estio (1915). During this period, Jimenez embraces Modernist sounds, as seen in Sonetos Espirituales (1915). Typical themes of Modernism, such as beauty and love, are treated personally. The tone is intimate, characteristic of Symbolist Modernism, and nature takes on an intellectual role.

Intellectual Stage 2 (1916-1918)

Key works from this period include Diario de un poeta reciencasado (1916), Eternidades (1918), and Piedra y cielo (1919). The poet seeks the exact name of things, a new word that allows access to their deep significance. The poetry becomes more conceptual and complex than before.

Sufficient Stage 3 (1918-1958)

The poet seeks the absolute. He is obsessed with poetic life, and the desire for the continuation of his work. He establishes himself when he writes: "God is a total creative station." Key works include La Estacion Total (1946), Animal de fondo (1949), and Dios deseado y deseante (1949).

Ramon Gomez de la Serna: Vanguard Innovator

Ramon Gomez de la Serna (1888-1963), a journalist and writer born in Madrid, always expressed himself as an iconoclast regarding arts and cultural trends. He proved to be at the forefront of the avant-garde. His work is characterized by a strong personality, so much so that he created a style known as "Ramonismo," synonymous with independence, aestheticism, and provocation.

De la Serna wrote in all genres (stories, essays, and novels), but he is best known for inventing the "Gregueria," a literary form combining metaphor and humor.

General Characteristics of the Generation of '27

• Innovation: All members sought to be innovators.
• Value for Tradition: They valued the Spanish literary tradition and did not break with it as the avant-garde had.
• Admiration for Classics: They admired classical poetry.
• Inspiration: They were inspired by traditional and popular forms.
• Sobriety: They did not despise Becquer or earlier poets like Ruben Dario, but preferred to be more sober than the Modernists. Despite this, they continued to search for beauty.
• Escape from Reality: They sought to escape from reality through Surrealism, often expressing hallucinations, dreams, and illogical images to create a sense of unreality.
• Metrical Experimentation: They maintained the metrical experiments of the Modernists (new verses, original combinations, free verse) without forgetting traditional verses like the ballad.