The Generation of 27: main authors and their works

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The concept of Generation of 27 is used to designate a group of writers who marked a before and after in the history of the 20th century Spanish literature. The origin of this denomination dates back to 1927, when many of these great writers met at the Ateneo de Sevilla to honor Luis de Góngora, one of the most illustrious poets of the Spanish Golden Age, on the third anniversary of his death.

In this lesson from a TEACHER we will study what are the most important literary characteristics of the Generation of 27 and we will also briefly name the authors and the most representative literary works of this movement. Read on and discover the main authors and works of the Generation of 27.

Index

1. The Generation of 27 concept
2. Literary characteristics of the Generation of '27
3. Main authors and works of the Generation of 27

As we have pointed out before, the term Generation of 27 comes from the tribute that great authors of this literary movement made in honor to Luis de Góngora in 1927.

The denomination of Generation of 27 It is quite controversial and not all theorists of literature agree on it, since the authors that comprise it are very different from each other. However, we use this name because the vast majority of these literati were born around 1900.

In addition, between them they kept close ties of personal and professional friendship; attended literary gatherings, wrote jointly in literary magazines (two of the most important were Literary gazette Y Western Magazine), etc.

The main characteristic of the Generation of '27 It was the close and friendly relationship that existed between its members (in fact, it is also known by the name of "Generation of friendship"). Many of them lived together in the Madrid Student Residence where they got together to share their cultural, literary and artistic hobbies.

The rest of the components also used to come to the residence to attend exhibitions, gatherings, theatrical performances or literary recitals. The residence was the place of worship of these authors, where they could meet and exchange comments or opinions on, for example, the admiration they felt for the poet Juan Ramón Jiménez and the so-called "pure poetry."

In addition, one of the most remarkable characteristics of the Generation of 27 was the synthesis of tradition and avant-garde that these authors reflected in their works. Thus, they were able to collect all the influence of those authors they admired and combine it with avant-garde poetry, poetry that frees itself from the old literary guidelines. established and seeks to innovate, create new forms of language that allow them to criticize the society in which they live, since it is governed by conventions and ideas anchored in the past.

For this reason, surrealism is one of the central axes of the Generation of 27, which seeks beauty and expressive freedom, leaving aside the rigid and immobile rules by which literary creation was previously governed and fleeing from sentimentality. In this way they want to carry out a aesthetic renovation of Spanish poetry but without ever forgetting the importance of the literary tradition. For this reason, in his works the cult lexicon is mixed with the colloquial one.

In addition, metaphor is the most recurrent figure of speech and important because through its use the poets reflect in more detail the avant-garde thought through the creation of visionary images. Another of the innovations that they introduce in the presence of white verses and free verses; In other words, freedom in terms of iron-clad metric rules is a defining trait of the authors of the Generation of 27.

Here we leave you a list of literary resources in Spanish.

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The Generation of 27 was made up of a large number of writers. Among all of them, we have selected some of the most representative and important that you should know. The vast majority of them ended up going into exile for political reasons:

Gerardo Diego (1896-1987)

Cantabrian poet. He is regarded as the greatest exponent of the Generation of 27 during its beginnings. He perfectly represented the philosophy of all the members of the Group of 27.

Diego posted a Anthology of Spanish Poetry (1915-1931) in which he brings together, among others, the main members of the Generation of 27. One of his most important poetic compositions is the "Ciprés de Silos ", which many experts consider the best sonnet written in the Spanish language.

Pedro Salinas (1891-1951)

Madrid writer. He is recognized by many as "the poet of love" because in his work the love theme predominates in all its aspects. "I have always had such a strong desire for love, that is why I have been a poet", a verse taken from one of his texts, Love letters to Margarita. The most representative book of Salinas is, without a doubt, The voice due to you

Jorge Guillén (1893-1984)

Valladolid poet and literary critic. His poetry is one of the most complex of the Generation of 27 due to the influence of Juan Ramón Jiménez's "pure poetry", since Guillén was one of the poets most influenced by him. Optimism bathes all of his literary production, which is characterized by a careful and elaborate lexicon. Chant it is one of his most important works.

Federico García Lorca (1898-1936)

Poet and playwright from Granada. It is, without a doubt, the most universal poet of the entire Generation of 27 and, perhaps, of all the poetry written in Spanish. García Lorca's poetry is full of nods to popular tradition, combined with elements typical of surrealism, such as death, the dreamlike, the irrational or the illogical.

Lorca's images and metaphors are among the most beautiful in Spanish poetry and also one of the most difficult. Among the most important lyrical works of him stand out Gypsy romance or Poet in New York.

In this other lesson from a TEACHER we will discover a brief biography of García Lorca and, in this other, you will see a summary of The House of Bernarda Alba, one of the best known theatrical works of him.

Rafael Alberti (1902-1999)

Cádiz poet. In the Albertine lyric we can find surrealist elements always accompanied by a political and social criticism. One of the most representative works of him is Sailor ashore.

Luis Cernuda (1902-1963)

Sevillian poet. His work is characterized because in it pessimism predominates, disenchantment with life, disappointment and disappointment. The forbidden pleasures it is one of the most emblematic texts.

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