por Who was Antonio Machado?
Antonio Machado Ruiz (1875-1939) was a Spanish poet, playwright and storyteller, emblematic author of the Generation of ’98, and the youngest. Although influenced by modernism and symbolism in his beginnings, his lyrics combined the ideas of this literary group.
The work of Antonio Machado began by registering within modernism. Some time later he put aside the rhetorical trappings to express feelings and emotions more deeply. It was then that he moved to symbolism and reflected romantic features in his poems.
In his growth as a writer and poet there were three aspects. First of all, there was the influence of his father, the Andalusian folklorist Antonio Machado Álvarez. Later he went through the work of writers Miguel de Unamuno and Henri Bergson, and, finally, he took into consideration the analysis that was made of Spain during his time.
Biography of Antonio Machado
birth and family
Antonio Machado was born on July 26, 1875 in Seville. His parents were Antonio Machado Álvarez and Ana Ruiz. It is known about his father that he practiced journalism, law and that he was also a renowned folklorist. Little is known about his mother. Antonio was the second of eight brothers.
The future poet spent his childhood years in his hometown. He lived close to his paternal uncles and grandparents, which allowed him to enjoy family love.
Later his parents decided to move to Madrid so that the children could receive a better education.
Academic studies and bohemian life
When Antonio was 8 years old, he moved to the Spanish capital with his family. He studied at the Institución de Libre Enseñanza and a few years later he studied high school at the San Isidro and Cardenal Cisneros schools. Although he loved his teachers, he did not feel the same way about the training he received.
Machado was not exactly a star student, as he failed some subjects. Faced with the precarious economic situation of the family and the subsequent death of his paternal grandfather, the young man showed even more rejection towards academics.
Due to what they experienced in those moments, Antonio and his brother Manuel decided to embark on a carefree life focused on the literary and artistic activities that took place in the famous cafés of Madrid at the beginning of the 20th century. Both were impressed by the talent of writers and actors of the day.
The brothers lived a time of freedom and learning. They rubbed shoulders and became friends with renowned writers, such as Antonio de Zayas and Francisco Villaespesa Martín. At that time Antonio tried his luck as a theater actor.
Between cities and love
After his bohemian life and at the end of his studies at the Central University of Madrid, Machado went to Paris in 1899. His inseparable brother Manuel waited for him, and together they continued advancing in literary life. The two worked for some publishing houses.
During that stage in Paris, Machado met important personalities such as Pío Baroja, Oscar Wilde and the Greek poet Loannis Papadiamantopoulos, better known as Jean Moreas.
He was constantly traveling between Madrid and Paris, and in the Spanish capital he worked for some magazines as Helios and black and white. It was at this time, in 1902, that he gave his first book to a printer (solitudes). He was also a French teacher in secondary institutions.
The poet spent five years of his life in the municipality of Soria. In that town he worked as a teacher and it was also the place where he met the love of his life, a thirteen-year-old lady named Leonor Izquierdo, whom he married.
They were able to get married when Leonor turned fifteen. The poet was nineteen years older than her. The wedding took place on July 30, 1909.
There were those who bet on marriage failure due to the age difference, but they were wrong: happiness and communication were always with the couple.
A year after they were married, they went to Paris, as Antonio won a scholarship to improve his knowledge of French. On that occasion he made friends with the poet Rubén Darío and prepared himself by attending courses given by the philosopher Henri Bergson.
Life turned tragic for Machado when Leonor began to cough up blood. On medical recommendation they returned to Soria. His young wife died on August 1, 1912 from tuberculosis. Antonio was devastated.
Baeza, Segovia and Madrid
When Leonor died, the poet fell into sadness and depression. Therefore, he sought a change of air and asked to be transferred. The city of Baeza was the destination to continue teaching French. There he lived for seven years. It was the time of her walks alone and of her friendship with Federico García Lorca.
After some time, he went to Segovia to participate in the founding process of the Universidad Popular Segoviana, in which other personalities also participated. Since he was close to the country’s capital, he attended gatherings and artistic activities in the company of his friend and brother Manuel Machado.
A new illusion
In 1928, a woman named Pilar de Valderrama appeared in the life of the poet, from a high social class, married with children. According to Machado’s biographers, the woman used health pretexts to approach the writer.
The lady traveled to Segovia alone with the interest of having a professional relationship with Antonio. It happened that Machado felt attracted to her and her love gave birth to her life again. Although the experts assured that Pilar did not fall in love with him, he eternalized her with the name of Guiomar.
The writer Concha Espina published From Antonio Machado to his great and secret love, a series of letters between the couple. Later, as a response, Pilar herself wrote Yes, I am Guiomara book that was published after his death.
exile and death
The Spanish civil war in 1936 forced Antonio Machado to leave his country. The most feasible and closest option that he had to flee the confrontation was France.
Shortly after arriving on French soil in the company of family and friends, he died on February 22, 1939.
Literary style
Antonio Machado’s literary style was characterized by the brevity of his poetry. He did not use rhetoric, his style was always very sober. His work began with elements of literary modernism and ran into late-stage romanticism, eventually reaching symbolism.
The poet knew that poetry was the channel to express what his soul felt. To achieve this, he used the verb as the main expressive and sonorous tool, because in his opinion it was the essential time of emotion and feeling. His style addressed the intimate, the personal and the spiritual.
In Machado’s poetry you can see many symbols, such as light and the path, whose meaning was personal, but which arouses interest in the reader. In addition, that interest is not directed towards the intellect but to the soul, to feeling itself.
Antonio Machado contributed to the poetry of his time the silva arromanzada, made up of a set of non-even verses of both major art and minor art. At the same time, his language was simple and clear.
Machado was a sensitive man with deep feelings, and he wrote his poetry in the same way. The spirit, life, sensations and daily life were enough inspiration to make him one of the most widely read poets of his time, and one that is still valid today.
Ideology
Machado’s thought was as sensitive and profound as he was and, in a certain way, ahead of his time. His ideology was that of a free man who explored the paths that led him to write a poetry different from that of many of the writers and poets of his time.
Machado was concerned about religion, the situation of his country and philosophy. In the same way, he delved into the role that women had within the society in which she lived. He considered that the feminine gender surpassed the masculine in many aspects and that gave it extraordinary value.
Although he himself confirmed his «great love for Spain», he remained firm in the negative idea he had towards this nation. He disapproved of the neglect on the part of government policies so that the countryside and rural life had the same progress as the cities.
He considered that his country was submerged in problems due to lack of vitality in the spirit of its inhabitants, and that to get out of these circumstances they should be filled with interest, courage and faith. In addition, he thought that believing so much in life could be dangerous, since it created destructive and unnecessary attachments.
Regarding religion —especially with the Church—, Machado had the idea that the clergyman was harmful to the awakening of conscience, because he put it to sleep just to have power and control. Poetry was his maximum outlet for what he believed to be hypocritical, but he never lost his essence and humanity.
Complete works
Poetry
solitudes: poetry (1903).
Solitudes, galleries, other poems (1907).
fields of castile (1912).
Chosen pages (1917).
complete poems (1917).
poems (1917).
Solitudes and other poetry (1918).
Solitudes, galleries and other poems (1919).
New songs (1924).
complete poems (1928, written between 1899 and 1925).
complete poems (1933, developed between 1899 and 1930).
The land of Alvargonzález (1933).
complete poems (1936).
War (1936-1937).
Madrid, bastion of our war of independence (1937).
The land of Alvargonzález and Songs of the Alto Duero (1938).
Theater
Misfortunes of fortune or Julianillo Valcárcel (1926).
Juan de Marana (1927).
oleanders (1928).
Lola goes to the ports (1929).
cousin Fernanda (1931) and The Duchess of Benameji (1932).
The Duchess of Benamejí (1932). Complete Theatre, I (1932). The man who died in the war (1947, homage in Buenos Aires).
Prose
Of Antonio Machado’s major prose works, three were posthumous works. These are mentioned below:
Juan de Mairena: sentences, graces, notes and memories of an apocryphal professor (1936).
The complementary (1957).
Letters to Pilar (1994).
The Machadian fund of Burgos. AM’s papers (2004).
References
Antonio Machado. Recovered from cervantes.es.
Machado, autobiography in his verses. Recovered from bannerte.com