Miguel Hernández: Poet, Nature, and Social Struggle

Miguel Hernández and Nature

He was always in direct contact with nature, as a child. Born in Orihuela, near the mountains, this direct influence meant that the tree, lightning, or bird became everyday elements of his poetry. His work as a shepherd led to a profound and direct knowledge of natural life, which was a great source of inspiration for our poet-shepherd. Miguel Hernández managed to transmit his love of nature, the beauty of things, and his joy for a full life, becoming a perfect symbiosis between man and environment.

Miguel will be known forever as the poeta-pastor, a descriptor that accompanied him all his life and of which he was proud.

Since his first stage, we see constant references to issues related to the countryside, flora, or fauna. In his first book of poems, Miguel Hernández is writing to nature. We find in him a song to the palm, a compliment to the pomegranate, orange blossom, and an evocation of the watermelon, the sheep, and so on. These same elements embellish his work.

The moon is a celestial body that fascinated Miguel, as a representation of fertility and the exaltation of life.

Miguel used the ray as a tormented symbol of love, The ray that does not stop; he describes love as life's tragic fate. During the Civil War, Miguel also did not forget nature, as we see in España, ausencia.

Elements of nature are also very present in his work, and can be grouped into different blocks such as:

• Weather
• Flora and Fauna
• Water
• Land

Social and Political Commitment

The riots were compounded, altering everyday life until, on July 18, the military uprising against the Republican Government occurred, leading to the great Civil War that lasted three years. Miguel, with a clearer and more energetic ideological consciousness, enlisted on the side of the Republican army. There, his work developed through the creation of newspapers, reporting, and literacy work among the troops, while trying to renew and encourage the morale of the soldiers.

The figure of Miguel began to emerge in his role as a writer of the people, the forerunner of social poetry. The theme of love gave way to a social and civic poetry, committed to his time.

During the war, he used his poetry to fight for the Republican cause. Solidarity was now the subject of the poet. The poet must now implement a revealing function. Beneath the sign of misfortune suffered by the people, it was his role to warn them of those benevolent and regenerative powers capable of liberating them from evil forever.