Miguel Hernández: Tradition and Innovation in Poetry

Tradition and the Avant-Garde in Miguel Hernández

The analysis of the poetic career of Miguel Hernández, framed between tradition and innovation, must bear in mind that his beginnings as a writer are consistent with those of an apprentice poet who became a "great imitator" of the classics until he discovered his own poetic voice. Thus, we can establish several stages that correspond to different moments of his poetic development.

The Early Stage: The Shepherd-Poet

A first step is the stage marked by his role as a shepherd-poet, an acute and insightful observer of all that exists around him: the elements of nature and the Levantine landscape. Here, Miguel Hernández shows his love for the classics as an admirer of poets such as:

• Virgil
• San Juan de la Cruz
• Lope de Vega
• Garcilaso de la Vega
• Luis de Góngora
• Juan Ramón Jiménez
• Rubén Darío
• Antonio Machado
• Gabriel Miró

Without doubt, this is poetry very attached to the classical literary tradition. These early compositions have little "Hernandian" originality, although mythological scenes and Eastern environments abound—the result of his taste for Romanticism and Modernism.

Transition to the Avant-Garde

In his work Perito en lunas (Proficient in Moons), the poet attempts to move toward avant-garde movements to renew his language, technique, and style. This allowed him to express his cultural and human concerns in a much more adequate and current way, especially through metaphor. At this stage, Miguel Hernández developed a "metaphorical poetry" filled with witty metaphors, poetic riddles, or puzzles inherited directly from the influence of Góngora, Juan Ramón Jiménez, the so-called "pure poetry" of Jorge Guillén, and even Federico García Lorca.

Symbolism and Neoromanticism

Miguel Hernández appears as a poet who fully assimilated the influence of Quevedo and the pain felt by Garcilaso, utilizing the sonnet form in El rayo que no cesa (The Lightning That Never Stops). Accompanied by Neoromantic lines, he adheres to symbolism through motifs such as the thunderbolt, the sword, fire, the wreck, and the bull.

Moreover, we observe the influence of Pablo Neruda, the precursor of "impure poetry," and Vicente Aleixandre. Of note is how the poet inserts himself into the literary tradition with his famous funeral elegy, Elegía a Ramón Sijé.

Revolutionary Poetry and War Production

Another stage of considerable significance in his poetic development is "revolutionary poetry," which shines through his works of war production: Viento del pueblo (Wind of the People) and El hombre acecha (The Man Lurks). In Viento del pueblo, the poet echoed popular concerns with a strong lyrical epic tone, consistent with the model set by poets such as Rafael Alberti and his combative, revolutionary, and surrealist poetry.