Masters of the Generation of '27

The Origins of the Generation of '27

The Generation of '27 encompasses a group of authors characterized by coinciding in time and space, mostly in the Residencia de Estudiantes in Madrid, where they forged a strong friendship. They shared a number of literary passions, including a love for the literature of Juan Ramón Jiménez, Pablo Neruda, Góngora, Quevedo, Lope, Bécquer, balladry, traditional lyric, and the avant-garde. It is also a tribute to the tercentenary of the death of Góngora, which united them all at the Ateneo de Sevilla.

Main Characteristics and Style

As the main characteristics of the style of these authors, we can mention their condemnation of sentimentality, the primacy of form over content, the desire to surprise the reader, and the attempt to achieve a synthesis between innovation and tradition.

Depending on the different influences on the writers of this generation, we can group them into different blocks:

Pure and Intellectual Poetry

In this group, Pedro Salinas and Jorge Guillén are essential.

• Pedro Salinas: He conceives of poetry as essentially intellectual anti-rhetoric using language. His work is divided into three stages: the first is influenced by Juan Ramón Jiménez and the avant-garde (Omens, Seguro azar, and Fábula y signo); the second features a trilogy of love; and the last (All Clearer) expresses concern about the fate of man.
• Jorge Guillén: He also divided his work into three levels: in the first, he shows his joyous perception of reality (Canticle); the second explores the negative forces of man (Cry); and the last (Tribute) shows admiration for certain human figures who helped him reach his full humanity.

Neopopularist Poetry

This style is dominated by Federico García Lorca and Rafael Alberti.

• García Lorca: He has a theme based on death, tragic destiny, sterility, and eroticism. His work consists of two stages: the first is avant-garde (Songs, Gypsy Ballads), and the second is characterized by surrealist irrationalism (Diwan del Tamarit, Sonnets of Dark Love).
• Rafael Alberti: He cultivated a popular lyric (Sailor on Land) and joined the vanguard in Sobre los ángeles. He received the Cervantes Prize in 1983.

Surrealist Poetry

This is where Luis Cernuda and Vicente Aleixandre spring forth.

• Luis Cernuda: He is characterized by his maverick spirit and his struggle between dreams and reality (The Reality and the Desire). He divides his work into three stages: surrealist vision, neo-romantic, and contemplative.
• Vicente Aleixandre: He was responsible for carrying surrealism to its highest aesthetic in works such as Swords like Lips, Destruction of Love, Shadow of Paradise, and History of the Heart.

Classicist and Religious Poetry

In this category, we highlight Gerardo Diego, who masterfully combines avant-garde and tradition (Human Verses and Alondra de verdad), Dámaso Alonso, and Miguel Hernández.