Spanish Poets of the Generation of 1927: A Deep Dive

Spanish Poets of the Generation of 1927

Pedro Salinas

Pedro Salinas grew into pure poetry. Like A. I. J. R. Jiménez, he looked at the essence of things, hidden through an intellectualized language. His first books, Presagios (Omens) and Seguro Azar (Sure Chance), mix pure poetry and futuristic themes. La Voz a Ti Debida (The Voice Owed to You) and Razón de Amor (Reason of Love) are his masterpieces, which made him a renowned poet of love. In exile, his most recognized works are El Contemplado (The Contemplated), Todo Más Claro (Everything Clearer), and Confianza (Trust), which reflect despair at the negative aspects of modern civilization.

Jorge Guillén

Jorge Guillén won the Cervantes Prize in 1977. He is the most prominent representative of pure poetry. He starts from an optimistic view of life. Cántico (Song) is thanksgiving and praise, enthusiasm for the world and life. After the war, his tone changes in Clamor (Clamor). These are books in which he protests oppression, injustice, misery, exile, dictatorship, etc.

Gerardo Diego

Gerardo Diego, along with Alberti, won the National Prize for Literature. He alternates between avant-garde poetry and traditional types. He is stressed in the first trend as the Spanish representative of Creationism. For him, poetry is free imagination, beyond all logic and references to immediate reality.

Dámaso Alonso

Dámaso Alonso won the Cervantes Prize in 1978. In his first phase, pure poetry is present: Poemas Puros, Poemillas de la Ciudad (Pure Poems, Little Poems of the City), and El Viento y el Verso (The Wind and the Verse). He continued the dark existential theme in Hombre y Dios (Man and God), conversing with the Creator on pain, freedom, and injustice.

Federico García Lorca

Federico García Lorca was murdered at the beginning of the Civil War. He is an author of great contrasts: distress and joy, the cultured and the popular, the traditional and the avant-garde. His poetic world is populated by marginalized beings. The nostalgia of his childhood is present in Libro de Poemas (Book of Poems) and Canciones (Songs), in which one detects the influence of Bécquer, etc.

Rafael Alberti

Rafael Alberti was born in Cádiz. His work in verse is characterized by full chromaticism and the perfect handling of rhythm and musicality. He emphasizes traditional letrillas (short, lyrical poems) and popularity. Later, his poetry takes on avant-garde accents. Subsequently, he wrote poetry committed to Góngora in El Poeta en la Calle (The Poet in the Street).

Vicente Aleixandre

Vicente Aleixandre was born in Seville. He won the National Prize for Literature in 1934. The imprint of Surrealism is present in Espadas como Labios (Swords like Lips), La Destrucción o el Amor (Destruction or Love), and Sombra del Paraíso (Shadow of Paradise), in which the theme of love leads to pain or death. Later, he cultivated solidarity poetry in Historia del Corazón (History of the Heart), which reflects the theme of love.

Luis Cernuda

Luis Cernuda was born in Seville. In his work, he was influenced by French and German poets. His themes are love, disappointment, loneliness, the longing for beauty, and the longing for a livable world. He uses verse and spoken language, which hides great development. His evolution began with pure poetry in Perfil del Aire (Profile of the Air), Égloga, Elegía, Oda (Eclogue, Elegy, Ode). Later, he was influenced by Surrealism in Donde Habite el Olvido (Where Oblivion Dwells), in which the poet reaches the peak of his poetry.