Lorca: Passion and Tragedy in Verse and Stage

Federico García Lorca: Biography (1898-1936)

Born in Granada, Federico García Lorca studied Law, Philosophy, and Music. He moved to the Residencia de Estudiantes in Madrid and later traveled to New York. He returned to Spain and subsequently made a trip to Argentina.

Personality: Characterized by overwhelming vitality, overflowing sympathy, existential pain, and frustration.

Themes in his work: Key themes include love, death, and the marginalization of individuals (like gypsies or the oppressed). His work represents a synthesis of popular tradition and avant-garde aesthetics, masterfully employing imagery, metaphors, and symbols.

Lorca's Poetic Evolution

His poetry evolved from initial simplicity to the powerful expression found in "Gypsy Ballads" and the daring avant-garde style of "Poet in New York."

• First Stage: Early Works

  "Book of Poems": Reflects nostalgia for childhood and youthful crisis, influenced by Bécquer, Machado, and Juan Ramón Jiménez (JRJ).

• Second Stage: Neopopularism

  "Poem of the Deep Song" (Poema del Cante Jondo): A book capturing the magic of Andalusia, filled with pain and death.

  "Gypsy Ballads" (Romancero Gitano): Published in 1928, this collection comprises 18 ballads centered on gypsy figures, blending popular and cultured elements. Lorca projected his tragic sense of life onto these characters.

• Third Stage: Surrealism

  "Poet in New York": Features a strong social critique, denouncing the power of money, social injustice, and dehumanization.

• Fourth Stage: Poetic Maturity

  "Lament for Ignacio Sánchez Mejías": An elegy dedicated to his deceased bullfighter friend, mixing popular and cultured styles.

• Fifth Stage: Final Works

  "Diván del Tamarit": Incorporates elements of the Arab lyrical tradition.

Lorca's Theater: Poetry, Reality, and Social Critique

Lorca criticized purely commercial theater, advocating instead for a form where poetry and reality unite. His drama became increasingly didactic, acquiring a distinct social focus.

Key Theatrical Themes

• Frustration and impossible desires.
• The conflict between reality and desire, often leading to tragic destinies.
• Passions condemned to solitude or death.
• Antagonistic forces such as time, death, and social prejudices.

He utilized both prose and verse. His language integrated poetic elements (symbols, metaphors, comparisons) with realistic, popular speech. Women frequently occupy central roles, alongside children and marginalized groups like gypsies.

Major Plays

• Blood Wedding (Bodas de Sangre)

  Based on a true story: a bride elopes with her former lover on her wedding day. It portrays a consuming passion that leads inevitably to death. The play incorporates elements of classical tragedy, mixes real and mythical aspects, and delves into themes of family hatred and revenge.

• Yerma

  Focuses on a woman tragically condemned to infertility. The central conflict arises from the clash between her profound desire for motherhood and marital fidelity, and her husband's sterility and indifference. This tension fuels the tragedy.

• The House of Bernarda Alba

  Creates an atmosphere of intense oppression, necessity, and frustration, driving towards catastrophe. This work explores the theme of freedom through the confrontation between rigid authority (personified by Bernarda Alba's authoritarianism and repression) and the desire for liberation, represented by her daughters' varying responses, ranging from submission to open rebellion.