RAFAEL ALBERTI, PABLO NERUDA, AND NICOLÁS GUILLÉN DISSERTATION Pr

283 Pages·2010·1.08 MB·English

POLITICAL POETRY IN THE WAKE OF THE SECOND SPANISH REPUBLIC:
RAFAEL ALBERTI, PABLO NERUDA, AND NICOLÁS GUILLÉN

DISSERTATION

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy
in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University

By
Grant Daryl Moss, Master
Graduate Program in Spanish and Portuguese

The Ohio State University
2010

Dissertation Committee:
Stephen J. Summerhill, Advisor
Eugenia Romero
Juan Zevallos Aguilar
Copyright by
Grant Daryl Moss
2010
ABSTRACT

For some, it is a common conception that if a poet includes politics in his poetry
then he has degraded it. For others, politics must be included in poetry or it has no
purpose. The purpose of this dissertation is to debunk the myths that surround political
commitment and poetry; to build up the relationship between poetry and politics. This
dissertation explores the simultaneous development of politics and poetics in three
Spanish-language poets: Rafael Alberti, Nicolás Guillén, and Pablo Neruda. I argue that
the simultaneous development was nurtured by the Second Spanish Republic (1931-
1939). Beginning in these years, Alberti, Guillén, and Neruda strove to tackle the
challenge of committing to their own independent poetic projects and to their politics
simultaneously. Later, these three poets maintained their Communist Party affiliation
until their deaths and produced collection after collection of quality poetry. Despite the
differences in their overall poetic trajectories and projects, the ability to maneuver
between politics and poetry without sacrificing either one is common among them. The
poetry of these three artists is not simply political propaganda nor is it ―poetry for
poetry‘s sake.‖ In other words, the poetry strives to bring together issues such as
communism, anti-fascism, anti-imperialism, class struggle, worker‘s rights among others;
yet for these three authors these topics strengthen their poetics and challenge traditional
thought about what poetry is. Because of their unique experiences during the time of the
Second Spanish Republic in Spain, each author explicitly turned to denounce the
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injustices that the opposing Franquist forces had committed against the Republic, a place
that had given more rights to workers. After the fall of the Republic in 1939, Alberti,
Guillén, and Neruda continued to intertwine their politics with their poems only in a less
obvious manner. Therefore, the poets could solidify their position within the poetic canon
while at the same time they could maintain their position as committed Communists.

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Dedicated to God, Mindi, Paul, Eve Montserrat, AnaSofia, Luke, and the future

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am very thankful for my wife, Mindi, who has listened every day for the past
five years. I also thank Paul, Eve Montserrat, AnaSofia, and Luke because they have
reminded me constantly of what is truly important. I have to also recognize my parents,
Daryl and Carolyn Moss, and my grandparents, Fenton and Claire Moss and Morris
―Bud‖ and Marge Maxfield, for their contributions to my personal development.
I am thankful for Steve Summerhill, my advisor, who took on my project. I
respect him very much. His straightforward manner and hard work have made this project
what it has become. I am indebted to Steve for his time, help, and concern for my
professional and personal well-being. Thanks Steve.
I would also like to thank Eugenia Romero and Juan Zevallos Aguilar for their
time and advice. They care about me as a student and future colleague, but more
importantly they care about me as a person. Eugenia and Juan continually encouraged me
to follow through with this project and gave me important advice to survive graduate
school.
I thank Richard Gordon for his professional expertise because he helped me to see
the big picture in academia. Richard, you spent your time well with me.
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Antonio San Roman and the rest of the staff at the Archivo General de la Guerra
Civil Española in Salamanca, Spain provided me with the help I needed to maneuver
through the vast articles of the Archives on various occasions.
The people of Barcelona, Lleida, Castellón, Valencia, Alicante, and Salamanca
contributed to foster my interest in the Spanish Civil War and Spanish Literature. This
project would never have begun without your influence.
Finally, the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the Ohio State University
gave me various travel grants, the OSU Center for Latin American Studies awarded me
the Tinker Foundation Preliminary Dissertation Research Grant, The OSU Office of
International Affairs provided travel awards, and the United States Department of
Education presented me with the Foreign Language Area Scholarship (FLAS) to learn
Portuguese. All of these funds have allowed my project to progress to where it is today.

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VITA

April 30, 1977 ................................................Born in Salt Lake City, Utah
2001................................................................B.A. English/Spanish, University of Utah
2004 ...............................................................Master, Latin American Studies,
Universidad de Salamanca
2005-2010 ......................................................Graduate Teaching Associate, Department
of Spanish and Portuguese, The Ohio State
University

PUBLICATIONS

―La retórica de la propaganda como agente de cambio literario en Huidobro durante la
Guerra Civil Española.‖ Anales de Literatura Chilena 9 (Monográfico Vicente Huidobro)
(June 2008): 205-220.

―El cantón de Cartagena visto por Benito Pérez Galdós en La primera República y De
Cartago a Sagunto y por Ramón J. Sender en Mr. Witt en el cantón.‖ Deseo, poder y
política en la cultura hispánica (2007): 163-170.

Review of Gilberto Freyre e os estudos latino-americanos por Joshua Lund e Malcom
McNee, eds. Hispania. Vol. 90.4 (December 2007): 708-709.

FIELDS OF STUDY

Major Field: Spanish and Portuguese
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii
Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iv
Acknowledgments............................................................................................................... v
Vita .................................................................................................................................... vii
Chapter 1: Intellectuals and the Spanish Republic ............................................................. 1
Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1
History of Intellectuals' Political Commitment ............................................................ 2
Europe 1848-1917 ..................................................................................................... 3
Spain 1868-1917 ....................................................................................................... 5
The International Scene 1917-1931 ........................................................................ 14
Spain 1917-1939 ..................................................................................................... 16
The Second Spanish Republic 1931-1939 .............................................................. 25
The Possibilities of Reconciliation between Politics and Aesthetics after 1939 .... 47
Chapter 2: Rafael Alberti: Between Aesthetics and Politics ............................................ 56
Introduction .................................................................................................................. 56
Brief biographical history leading up to the Republic ................................................. 57
Criticism ....................................................................................................................... 59
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Alberti's Poetry during the Republic ............................................................................ 62
El poeta en la calle ................................................................................................. 63
De un momento a otro............................................................................................. 69
Alberti's Poetry After the Fall of the Republic ............................................................ 76
Vida bilingüe de un refugiado español en Francia ................................................ 77
Entre el clavel y la espada ...................................................................................... 79
Pleamar ................................................................................................................... 90
Signos del día ........................................................................................................ 106
Retornos de lo vivo lejano..................................................................................... 113
Coplas de Juan Panadero ..................................................................................... 123
Summary .................................................................................................................... 127
Chapter 3: Pablo Neruda: Epic Revolutionary Poet ....................................................... 128
Introduction ................................................................................................................ 128
Brief Biographical History Leading up to the Republic ............................................ 129
Criticism ..................................................................................................................... 131
Liberal Tradition ................................................................................................... 132
Marxist Tradition .................................................................................................. 134
Search for Reconciliation ...................................................................................... 136
Neruda's Poetry during the Republic ......................................................................... 139
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