Jorge Guillén

Author(s): Wallace Fowlie

Source: Poetry, Vol. 99, No. 4 (Jan., 1962), pp. 243-246
Published by: Poetry Foundation
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20588646
Accessed: 04-01-2016 13:05 UTC

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 WALLACE FOWLIE

COMMENT

JORGEGUILL?EN

The InternationalPoetryPrizeof Brussels,

BiennalesInternationales
dePolsie,
was awardedto theSpanishpoetJorgeGuillen,inSeptember
i96i. This prizehas beengiventwicebefore,in i956, toGiuseppe
Ungaretti,andinig59,toSaint-John
Perse.TheBelgiandirectors
of the
organizationinvite tenjudges(onefrom
approximately eachcountry),
whosevoteselectthepoet to be honored. JohnBrownservedas the
American judgeini956andLionelTrillingini959.
This honor has come to JorgeGuillen at a moment when hiswork
isattracting
considerable In Stanley
attention. Burnshaw'santhology,
ThePoemItself,
fourof theshorter
poemsofGuilln aretranslated
and
interpreted
by JulianPalley.Severalof the longerpoems,notably
Cara a cara (Face toFace) andMds All (Beyond), have been translated
byBenBelittandwill soonappearinprint.
Mr. GuillAn came firstto America in I938 when he taught, as a
Visiting atMiddlebury
Professor, CollegeinVermont. Afteroneyear
atMcGillUniversity, he taughtSpanishliterature
forseveralyears
College.In i957-58,
atWellesley he gavetheCharlesEliotNortonlec
turesat Harvard. The substanceof these lectures,inmodified and ex
panded form,has now appeared in print: Language and Poetry,a volume
published
byHarvard UniversityPress.
In thefinalchapterof thisbook,whichbearsthesubtitle"Some
PoetsofSpain",Jorge
Guill6nwrites
movinglyof thatgroupofSpanish
poetswho betweeni920 and I936 createdan extraordinarypoetic
work. Itwas thegenerationof FedericoGarcia Lorca, thepoet and drama
tistwho has reached thewidest recognition.JorgeGuill6n was amember
of that group,which includes such names as Dimaso Alonso, Pedro
Saina, LuisCernuda, andManuelAltolaguirre.
RafaelAlberti,
Theywere not innovators asmuch as theywere youthfulpoets
deeplyconsciousof thepoetictraditions
of Spain.Dimaso Alonso,
bothmember and chroniclerof the group, has pointed out theirinterest
inearly
works,in thePoemadelCid, forexample,
and inthepoetry
of
GonzalodeBerceo.A fewof them,
GuillAn AlonsoandSalinas,
himself,

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POETRY

were tobecome"poet-professors", butallof themdemonstrated early

in theircareersa capacityforcultural
assimilationand soundliterary
knowledge.
Theydidnotform,inanyrigidsense, a poeticschoolormovement.
But theywerejoinedbycertain aboutpoetry
basicbeliefi andpractices
intheartofpoetry. Theywere restrained,forexample,inanydisplay
of emotions. In keepingwith thetenets of Frenchsymbolism, they
cultivatedtheimageintheirverse,andlookeduponpoetry asa creation.
A poemwas a world inessence. Duringthedecadewhen their major
work inSpainwas beingwritten, movementflourished,
thesurrealist
inFrance,
especially andthedoctrine withtheexample
of lapolsiepure,
and commentary of PaulValery,was discussed by poetsthroughout
Europe.TheRevistadeOccidente, editedbyOrtegay Gasset,published
theworkof theseSpanish poets,andoccupieda firmliterary position
in companywith La Nouvelle Revue Franfaiseof Paris and The Criterion
volumesof Spanishpoetryof the2o's and
ofLondon.The principal
30's: Lorca's Poeta en Nueva York, Guill6n's Cantico, Alberti's Cal y
Canto and Alonso's Hijos de la via, continued to use the dominant
themes of lyricpoetry,suchas loveand deathandnature.Only the
themeisconspicuously
religious absent of these
fromthewritings poets.
bookon theSpanish
Mr. Guillen'scritical poets,LanguageandPoetry,
with an admirable
is presented simplicity On every
and humility.
page of his commentaryhe is thepoet seeking to understand themeaning
and the functionof poetry, seeking to summarize the achievement of
five Spanish poets of the past. In Berceo, the "versifier"of the I3th
theprosaiclanguage
he studies
century, andthequalitiesof thebeliever.
G6ngorais theextreme exponent of poeticlanguage. The difficult
poemsare considered as enigmaticobjects,but theyare constructed
insuchrobustsyntax thattheygivethefeelingof sculpture.
Mr. GuiAllnhasanundisguisedpredilectionforSanJuande laCruz,
forthepurityof thesaint'swords,fortheprofound exampleof the
mysticaspoet inwhose linesimagesareperfectly withconcepts.
fused
workof St.Johnof theCrossillustrates
The brief forGuillAnthevast
which liesbetweenexperience
distance andexpression.It isa distance
equal to that between a living person and a picture of that person.
The Andalusian poet Becquer is studied as an example of the i9th
century
dreamer, of themodemmovementinpoetry,
as theprecursor
and as thepoet of an intenseinnerlife.IfB6cquer illustratesthe ineffable

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 WALLACE FOWLIE

language of dreams,Gabriel Miro is at theoppositepole.He is the

landscapepoet,whose languageis "adequate", andwho presents an
analogywithProustinhisevocation of timelost.
The firsteditionof JorgeGuill6n's Canticoappearedin i928. It
contained twenty-eight poems.The edition of i950,with 334poems,
hasbeencalleddefinitive.Theworkof this poet(hewas born
Castilian
inValladolid,ini893) isa poeticformofadmirable andserenity.
control
It isaworkofexaltation wherethepoet'sjoy isderivedfromthebeauty
of theworld,from hissearchfortheunityheknowsexists behindthe
endless of thecosmos.
multiplicity The elevationof subject
matterin
Canticoandthepurityof itsstylearereminiscent
ofValery,whom Guillen
knewverywell inParis.The French and theSpanishpoetwereunited
intheir exploration
life-long of theproperties
of languageandtheforms
ofpoetry.The somewhat forcedimpertinences
ofVal6ryinhiscomments
on the"manufacture" of poetryareoffset byGuill6n'smore classical
view of poetry as "creation".But theyare poets of a singleunifiedwork.
Charmes and Cdntico
are amongtherichest of zothcentury
legacies
worldpoetry.
As anexampleof their
commoninterestsandenthusiasms,someofthe
Spanishpoetsundertookintheearlythirties
thetranslation
of a group
of poemsby JulesSupervielle.
Among thetranslators wereGuillen,
Salinas, So closewere thefeelings
andAltolaguirre. forstyleand the
thatthetranslators
resemblances
linguistic madeSuperviellesoundalmost
Castilian.
Cdntico has a majesty and a candor of tonewhich are remarkably
sustained throughout thework. Guill6n's voice is as familiarwith the
outer aspects of realityas it iswith the serious secretsof his inner life.
fromthisinnerlifeisat all times
What iscommunicated with
clothed
chastemodesty. In the choice of his words, in the sound effectsof his
he is a skilledcraftsman,
lines, a savant,
a technician
able toproduce
a lineof startlingbarenessand directness,aswell as a lineof loftycomplex
thought.There isnever inhis verse any breakwith the laws of language,
neveranydeliberate Poetryissteadfastly
effects.
surrealistic a language
Poetryisa voiceforJorge
whichspeaks. Guill6n.
Mds all, thelongopeningpoemofCdntico,isthepoemof jubilation,
a theme inwhich thispoet excels,where in a strong virile voice he
addresses
hisdiscourse An awakening
to theuniverse. at daylightis
described, and an awareness of self in themidst of many objects. The
poet singsof being and becoming:

24S

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POETRY

Ser, nadamas. Y basta.

Es la absolutadicha.
XCon laesencia
ensilencio
Tantose idenqifica!

To beonly that!It suffices

Forpuredelectation!
Thus,ina kinship
of silence
To be onewiththeessences.
(tr.byBenBelitt)

A luminosityallowsthepoetto seethephysical
world,and thisclarity
isheldintheversesthemselves.
Guillen'siscomplex poetry,inkeeping
with themanwho accepts
no facilepositionin theworldof thought.
He defendsthedifficulty
of poetic articulation as G6ngora once did, because he is one in that
ofpoets
fraternity worka recomposed
who havegivenintheir universe
where all sensualityis satisfiedby art. Cantico ispoetry thatcan be seen
and heard and enjoyed, in that rare combination ofmotif and concept.
G6ngoraismorephysicalinhisart,andGuilJAnisclosertothecerebral
powerinG6ngora,
decorative
qualityofMallarm6.There is greater
andgreater inGuill6n,greater
simplicity sublety....
philosophical
havecometohimslowly,
Honorsand recognition but theyaffirm
today his place among us and the significanceof his poetry.

WALLACE FOWLIB

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