Miguel Hernández and Post-War Spanish Poetry: A Deep Dive

Miguel Hernández: Life, Love, and Death in Poetry

Miguel Hernández, while stylistically aligned with the Generation of '27, is considered part of the post-war generation due to his age and poetic career. He died in 1942. His predominant themes are life, love, and death. His poetic journey can be divided into four stages:

• First Compositions: Rooted in traditional *culteranismo*. Example: Perito en lunas (1933).
• Love Poetry: The most representative work is El rayo que no cesa (1934-1935), which includes the impressive "Elegy to Ramón Sijé."
• Poetry and Social Commitment: Viento del Pueblo (1937).
• Poetry of Recent Years: After the war, Miguel Hernández wrote most of Cancionero y romancero de ausencias (1938-1941) in jail.

Some of Miguel Hernández's most memorable poems include "Elegy to Ramón Sijé," "Niños yunteros," "Para la libertad," and "Las Nanas de la Cebolla."

Spanish Poetry After the Civil War: Two Main Trends

Post-Spanish Civil War poetry reflects a bitter existentialist attitude prevalent in the 1940s. Two literary magazines represent two distinct styles:

"Garcilaso" Magazine: Poetry of Evasion

José García Nieto founded the "Garcilaso" magazine. Poets grouped in the "Creative Youth" group (Garcés, Revuelta, Lorenzo, and García Nieto) practiced an evasion of the tragedy of the Civil War, taking refuge in classical poetry that presented a positive, coherent, and harmonious world. They used classical stanzas and emphasized form. This poetry contrasted sharply with the reality of the post-war period.

"Escorial" Magazine: Rooted Poetry

"Escorial" magazine, founded by Dionisio Ridruejo in 1940, hosted poets such as Luis Felipe Vivanco (Continuación de la vida), Leopoldo Panero (Escrito a cada instante), and Luis Rosales (La casa encendida). They employed classical forms and a simple, colloquial poetic language. Existentialism emphasized themes reflected in three areas: God, family, and country.

Uprooted Poetry: A Shift Towards Existentialism

In 1944, two literary events marked a shift towards existential poetry:

• The publication of Hijos de la Ira by Dámaso Alonso. Alonso used free verse and simple, straightforward language to express his protest against social injustice, reflecting the reality observed in the magazine.
• The magazine "Espadaña," founded by Victoriano Crémer and Eugenio de Nora, broke with both evasion and rooted poetry, aiming to rehumanize poetry.

Thematically, religion predominated; the expression of religiosity was marked by violence, emptiness, and desolation. These poets complained to God about His silence and failure in a world of desolation and ruin. Stylistically, it was seemingly simple, using sonnets, stanzas, and free verse. Leading poet Blas de Otero is known for Ángel fieramente humano (1950) and Redoble de conciencia (1951). Other uprooted poets include Vicente Gaos, Carlos Bousoño, and José Luis Hidalgo.

Social Poetry: Commitment and the "Immense Majority"

During the 1950s, uprooted poetry evolved into social poetry, marking a return to social realism, a literary tradition truncated by the Civil War. The first post-war work was España, pasión de vida (1954) by Eugenio de Nora. However, social poetry itself began in 1955 with the publication of Pido la paz y la palabra by Blas de Otero and Cantos Iberos by Gabriel Celaya.

Social poetry writers felt that the poet must reflect the reality of the country. Social poetry was addressed to an "immense majority" who suffered the consequences of the war, contrasting with Juan Ramón Jiménez's earlier focus on the "minority forever." However, social poetry writers did not fully achieve their objective, and their works reached only a small group of friends and collaborators.

Representative works of this trend include Victoriano Crémer's Nuevo canto de vida y esperanza (1952), José Hierro's Quinta del 42 (1955), and Carlos Bousoño's En sentido de la noche (1957). Common characteristics include:

• Use of free verse.
• Predominance of content over form.
• Use of simple and colloquial language to reach the immense majority.

Social injustice, solidarity, the world of work, concern for the country's politics, and the desire for freedom were the dominant themes of social poetry. The theme of Spain was paramount. Poets expressed the pain felt by the country and protested against the Spanish reality, the Civil War, and its consequences.