Spanish Poetry 1900-1939: Modernism to Generation of '27

Spanish Poetry: Early 20th Century (Until 1939)

Spanish poetry in the first half of the twentieth century emerged from the Modernist movement and the Generation of '98. The century saw the rise of distinct literary trends: Novecentismo, the Avant-Garde movements, and the Generation of '27.

Modernism

Modernist poets rejected the bourgeois and materialistic world, championing art for art's sake, the worship of beauty, and a preciously refined language. Their favored subjects included:

• Escapes to exotic worlds or past eras
• Cosmopolitanism
• Indigenismo (Indigenous affairs)
• The aristocratic and refined world
• Sensuality and its intimate expression, often through a languid sadness

Their style was refined, renewing poetic language to impress all the senses. Synesthesia was a widely used literary device. The lexicon was enriched with new and exotic words. New combinations of lines and stanzas were explored in metrics. Example: Rubén Darío.

Generation of '98

Poets of this generation appreciated the poetry of Bécquer and Rosalía de Castro, and admired traditional lyricism and the Golden Age. Two themes stand out in their poetry:

• Critical reflection on the reality of Spain and its people
• The existential angst of the human condition

The style is sober, with simple vocabulary and a clear preference for classic stanzas using octosyllabic meter. Example: Antonio Machado and Miguel de Unamuno.

Novecentismo

This movement is characterized by overcoming Modernist aesthetic models. Poets sought to create a pure, naked poetry, devoid of artifice or embellishment. The most important aspect was avoiding anecdote and dehumanization. Example: Juan Ramón Jiménez.

Avant-Garde Movements

Ultraism and Surrealism were the two avant-garde movements that took root most deeply in Spanish lyricism.

• Ultraism: Essentially established a poetry of metaphor, inspired by objects of the modern world.
• Surrealism: Served the expression of the subconscious world through symbols and image association.

Example: The Greguerías of Ramón Gómez de la Serna.

Generation of '27

This generation drew upon tradition for themes such as love, death, beauty, and life, as well as classic metric forms like the ballad, sonnet, décima, and quatrain. From the avant-garde movements, they incorporated subjects from the modern world, intimate concerns, and forms like free verse, the calligram, and the use of metaphor and symbol. Example: Federico García Lorca and Rafael Alberti.