Miguel Hernández and Rafael Alberti: Poetic Evolution

Miguel Hernández: A Poet of Transition

Miguel Hernández was a poet of metaphor and transitional tone, characterized by a passionate, emotional, and warm style. He combined popular elements with high culture, and his career reflects the evolution of the poetry of those years, marked by social dehumanization. As a poet of transition and commitment, he is considered a follower of the Generation of '27 and one of the last representatives of the group. His initial work is rooted in Gongorism and surrealism, though some critics place him within the Generation of '36.

Stages of His Poetic Work

• First stage: Reflects his admiration for Góngora, featuring dazzling metaphors.
• Stage of maturity: Beginning with El rayo que no cesa, it focuses on the constant themes of love, life, and death. He predominantly used classic sonnets, which forced the poet to synthesize his themes and channel his overflowing passion. The end of this book contains some of the author's best compositions.
• Stage of social poetry: Written during the Civil War, this work serves as the voice of the people, echoing their misfortunes and singing their epics in Viento del pueblo and El hombre acecha. He also wrote political theater.
• Last poetry: Written almost entirely in jail, the poet laments the absence of his wife and child, as well as his lack of freedom, in poems that recall traditional lyricism. The style is simple and focused, utilizing suggestive language and rhythmic structures. The theme of love, life, and death is repeated obsessively. From this period come the Nanas de la cebolla, dedicated to his son while he was in prison.

Rafael Alberti: Versatility and Artistic Mastery

Rafael Alberti is known for his variety of themes and styles, his mastery of art, and his fertility, traits shared with Gerardo Diego. He was associated with Lorca because he successfully combined the traditional with the avant-garde. He wrote poetry, prose, and drama. His poetry is distinguished by four stages:

Stages of His Poetic Work

• Neopopulist poetry: Includes Marinero en tierra, La amante, and El alba del alhelí. This period features popular lyricism, nominal style, parallelism, lexical expressiveness, and simplicity.
• Avant-garde: Includes Cal y Canto, Sobre los ángeles, and Yo era un tonto y lo que he visto me ha hecho dos tontos, a tribute to several authors of silent film.
• Committed poetry: Includes De un momento a otro. This is revolutionary, radical poetry that denounces injustice and repression, such as Un fantasma recorre Europa and Madrid, capital de la gloria.
• Poetry of exile: Political poetry that returns to a critical attitude, dominated by the theme of exile in works like Pleamar, Ora marítima, and Canciones del alto valle del Aniene.