Majorcan Poetry & WWI Verse: Alcover's Balanguera and Benach's Oda Guynemer

Joan Alcover's La Balanguera: Mallorca's Anthem

Symbolism and Significance

La Balanguera, a renowned poem by Joan Alcover, resonates with pre-modernist influences yet distinctly belongs to the Majorcan school. At its heart is the Balanguera, a famous mythological figure from Mallorca who symbolically weaves and unweaves the threads of human lives. Ancient and all-knowing, she cuts the thread when life ends. This poem is a profound song encompassing the past, present, and future of Mallorca. In recent years, it has become the island's official anthem.

Poetic Structure and Method

The poem is composed of five stanzas, each with six octosyllabic verses, featuring a two-verse octosyllabic refrain. The rhyme scheme is 8A/8B/8A/8B/8C/8C/8C/8C.

Josep Maria Benach's Oda Guynemer: A WWI Aviator's Legacy

Context and Publication

This powerful poem, Oda Guynemer, was published in Josep Maria Benach's collection Poems and Calligrams (1920). It served as a letter-preface, a tribute to Guillaume Apollinaire, a leading figure of the French avant-garde, particularly associated with Cubist and Futurist movements.

The Ode's Subject and Heroism

An ode is typically a song of praise or an elegiac tribute. In this instance, it honors Georges Guynemer, a young French aviator who was shot down with his aircraft during World War I (1914-1918). Benach employs diverse fonts to depict and celebrate Guynemer's heroic act. Though mortally wounded, his spirit, aided by his machine, ascends to the glory of eternity, joining the world of constellations. These celestial bodies will cast a different, more enduring light upon his act of undeniable valor, ensuring his immortality.

Calligram and Linguistic Collage

Oda Guynemer is a calligram, a visual poem where the arrangement of text forms a drawing that suggests its content. It also features a linguistic collage, blending different languages, with sections written in French and others in Catalan. The poem is set in the skies of France, emphasizing aviation's newfound importance during the First World War. It vividly portrays a young French aviator, struck by German forces, falling to his death.

Poetic Imagery and Interpretation

The poem evokes vivid imagery, including:

• The "Country Night Light," referring to the lights of Paris and its vibrant clubs.
• The bullet holes that might have riddled the aircraft.
• A visual representation within the calligram: a small line ascending and a large line falling below, symbolizing the plane's trajectory.

The calligram itself depicts letters as if from a neon music hall in Paris, viewed from the sky. A line of verse behind this imagery represents the wake of another possible plane, whose closest point is lost in the infinite, having been shot down by enemy fire. Benach dedicates this poem, thereby preserving this significant literary selection.