Miguel Hernández: Life, Poetry, and Legacy

Miguel Hernández: A Life in Poetry

Hernández was born in Orihuela (Alicante). He studied at a college of the Society of Jesus until the age of 14 when he left school to help his father in the family business. In his free time, he frequented the public library where he read classics and mystics.

Hernández's Poetic Journey

Hernández's poetry began with creative verses full of images of the Hispanic tradition. His work marks the transition between earlier authors and a new era. His poetry is characterized by its virile and heartfelt tone, its humanity, and technical perfection. He uses metaphors, sometimes primitive, sometimes surreal, but always full of strength. He highlights life, evocations of the natural and rural. The main theme of his poetry is love. There are three stages in his poetic career:

Early Poems and Influences

The influence of romantic poets, modernists, regional and classical writers, such as Gil Vicente and Góngora, is evident. Expert on Monday, his first book, consists of 42 octaves in the style of Góngora, in which he inventories his environment. It is notable for the creativity of its metaphors.

Fullness of Expression

At this stage, he uses lyrics and feelings of love, and does not merely describe nature, but shares in it. The Beam That Continues focuses on the theme of love and is composed of sonnets. Elegy to Ramón Sijé is a poem where blood is one way, but bloody death is another.

The Last Poems

Hernández's poetry and personality changed with the Spanish Civil War. In Vent of People, he wrote that poetry has its roots in the land. For him, the poet is an interpreter of collective sentiments. His poetry directly reflects the feelings of the combatants. His poetry sensed the coming tragedy. The last phase of his work is pessimistic. The Man is a Hunter warns of human cruelty. Cancionero and Ballads of Absences, initiated in prison and under the shadow of his dead child, contains poems whose subjects are women and his remembered son from jail, minor art verses, stanzas of popular songs, ballads, and other combinations. Children of Light and Shadow and Nanas de la Cebolla (Lullaby of the Onion) belong to this work.

Hernández's Plays

Quien te ha visto y quién te ve y sombra de lo que eras (Who Has Seen You and Who Sees You and Shadow of What You Were): a pilot whale line. Los hijos de la piedra (The Children of the Stone) and El labrador de más aire (The Farmer of More Air): a social character. Teatro de Guerra (Theater of War), Pastor de la muerte (Shepherd of Death).