Miguel Hernández: Symbolism and Themes in His Poetry

Symbolism in the Poetry of Miguel Hernández

The poems feature images taken directly from their original environment: the lemon, the well, the fig, and the patio.

Perito en lunas (1933)

Published in Murcia, this work contains 42 octaves. Its primary symbol is the bull, representing sacrifice and death, while the palm tree serves as a Mediterranean landscape element. The work also references the dancer Josephine Baker, portraying her as a black widow.

El rayo que no cesa (1936)

The main theme is love, expressed through various symbols:

• Lightning: Represents fire and desire, linked to literary tradition.
• Blood: Symbolizes sexual desire.
• The Lemon: Represents the poet's frustration and shyness, leading to pain.

These themes culminate in the figure of the bull, establishing a symbolic parallel between the poet and the bullfighter, emphasizing their tragic fate of pain, death, and manhood. Other poems, such as Aunque me llamo Miguel or the sonnet Por tu pie, la blancura más bailable, explore sexual relationships, with the foot serving as a key symbol.

Viento del pueblo (1937)

This is war poetry, used as a weapon of resistance:

• Wind: The voice of the people embodied in the poet.
• The Lion: An image of rebelliousness and nonconformity, contrasting with the cowardly and resigned.
• Hands: Symbolize the two Spains—the pure hands of workers versus the pale, dagger-wielding hands of the oppressors.

Following his marriage to Josefina Manresa, the poet shifts his focus from desire to motherhood, with the belly becoming a central symbol of hope for a better Spain.

El hombre acecha (1939)

This collection portrays man as a fierce being with fangs and claws, a result of war and hatred. The animalization of man reflects the brutality of the conflict. Themes of disaster and death are prevalent, notably in poems where the train stops only at hospitals. Patriotism is explored in Madre España and Última canción, a tribute to Quevedo.

Cancionero y romancero de ausencias

This posthumous work opens with an elegy on the death of his first child, Manue Ramón. Hope is reborn with the birth of his second son, Manuel Miguel, in 1939. The Nanas de la cebolla (Lullabies of the Onion) symbolize the child's survival. In jail, following the war, the poet reflects on the death of prisoners, with the sea becoming the only certainty of his existence.