Spanish Literature: From Postwar Poetry to the Generation of 50

Poetry of the 1940s

Rooted Poetry

Rooted poetry emerged in the 1940s, characterized by a focus on the perfection of verse and the expression of beauty, often setting aside the plight of the Civil War. These poets expressed religious beliefs or traditional themes, such as landscapes and love. Their style was calm, classic, aloof, and cold, intentionally avoiding painful feelings or cries of anguish. The metric was regular, and the sonnet was the preferred stanza. This poetry was mostly published in magazines like Garcilaso and Escorial, the latter founded by José García Nieto. Key authors include:

• Luis Rosales
• Leopoldo Panero
• Luis Felipe Vivanco
• Dionisio Ridruejo

Uprooted Poetry

In the same decade, uprooted poetry emerged as a skeptical reaction against classicism. A landmark work of this movement is Children of Wrath (1944) by Dámaso Alonso, a book full of existential angst. This poetry was published mainly in Espadaña magazine, under the direction of Antonio González de Lama and poets Victoriano Crémer and Eugenio de Nora. This movement recovered human themes, with poets raising their concerns regarding life circumstances.

Social Poetry

Emerging in the late 1940s, social poetry looks outward to contemplate the injustices and inequalities suffered by humanity. The poetic voice becomes one of solidarity and complaint. Two significant works include Songs of Iberians by Gabriel Celaya and I Take the Word by social poet Blas de Otero. The poetry echoes the suffering of mankind and denounces inequality, aiming to raise reader awareness through simple and direct language.

The Generation of 50

Surging in the mid-1950s at the height of social poetry, this generation includes authors such as Jaime Gil de Biedma, Carlos Barral, Ángel González, and José Manuel Caballero Bonald.

Characteristics

• Critical appraisal of reality.
• A less dramatic tone than social poetry.
• Return to subjective language.
• Preoccupation with intimacy and humor.
• Presence of skepticism and irony.
• Poetry understood as a form of personal experience and reality analysis.

Bourgeois Theater and Evasion

After the Civil War, the prevalent drama in postwar Spain was aimed at an audience that viewed the stage as a form of evasion. This theater was well-constructed within a bourgeois dramatic conception; however, the works were generally not innovative and lacked criticism of social and historical reality. Featured authors include Joaquín Calvo Sotelo and Jaime Salom.