Rafael Alberti's Poetic Journey: Themes, Style, and the Spanish Avant-Garde

Rafael Alberti: Themes and Style

Rafael Alberti's unique form of communication conveys vital experiences. Nostalgia allows him to evoke a lost paradise, primarily the sea of Cadiz and, subsequently, Spain. The anguish caused by these losses, coupled with a concern for social issues, led him to address contemporary Spanish reality. His work is characterized by its musicality and varied poetic meter.

Poetic Guidelines

• Neopopularismo: Based on resources and forms of traditional poetry.
• Baroque and Vanguard: Influence and significance of Gongora and the avant-garde.
• Surrealist Poetry: Evident in Sobre los ángeles (1929) and Sermones y moradas (1930).
• Social Poetry: A shift towards social concerns, highlighting the role of the poet in a society in exile. Social concern is intertwined with evocation and memory.

Key Works

Marinero en tierra (1925)

This work expresses nostalgia for the sea of Cadiz, representing the lost paradise of childhood and adolescence, in contrast to the city, which symbolizes exile and indifference. The rhythm is achieved through resources and forms of traditional poetry.

Sobre los ángeles (1929)

Here, dark forces, both good and bad angels, determine his destiny. The "I" merges into mystery, loneliness, and pain, advancing towards nothingness. The anguish is marked by the loss of paradise. The work's hermeticism is influenced by the dreamlike images of surrealism. Oppositions between positive and negative, harmony and its absence, are prominent.

The Avant-Garde Movements

The avant-garde was an artistic movement arising from the loss of spiritual values in capitalist society between the First and Second World Wars. In the early 20th century, a sense of crisis among the youth against the world of their elders led to a profound sense of disillusionment.

Characteristics of the Avant-Garde

• Anti-realism and autonomy of art
• Irrationalism
• A desire for originality and aesthetic experimentation

European Avant-Garde Movements

Futurism

Originating in Italy with Marinetti in 1905, Futurism was characterized by anti-romanticism. Its themes included mechanics, urban civilization, new technologies, automobiles, airplanes, and factories. Futurists demanded a total renovation of poetic language.

Cubism

Led by figures like Picasso, Braque, and Juan Gris, Cubism involved the decomposition of perceived reality through the juxtaposition of flat geometric shapes. Texts were treated as visual objects.

Surrealism

Founded by André Breton in 1924, Surrealism sought true reality through the exploration of the unconscious. This unconscious realm surfaces when reason does not control instincts, particularly in dreams. Automatic writing was employed to access the unconscious through images (visionary and dreamlike, leading to the text's density) and symbols.