Modern Languages and Literatures, Department of
Date of this Version
2011
Abstract
Born in Seville, he is considered one of the most outstanding poets in 20th-century Spain and the linchpin poet of Spain's Generation of 1898. After spending time in Paris, he worked as a French teacher in Soria, and later lived in Segovia and Madrid. To escape Francoist troops at the end of the Spanish Civil War, Machado went into exile in Collioure, France, dying there soon after. In his pocket was found his last poem: "Estos días azules y este sol de la infancia" ("These azure days and this sun of childhood"). For Machado, poetry served to capture the essence of things and the course of time. He defined poetry as the dialogue a poet establishes with his time period. His verse evolved from a modernist, romantic expression that describes the poet's feelings and inner world, to a poetry that focuses on Spain's situation and its people from a social perspective. Writings from his final years also reveal his interest in philosophy
Comments
Published in World Literature in Spanish: An Encyclopedia. Ed. Maureen Ihrie and Salvador Oropesa. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2011. Volume 2. pages 583-584.