Antonio Machado (1879) Por Cipriana Álvarez Durán
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Antonio Cipriano José María y Francisco de Santa Ana Machado y Ruiz (26 July 1875 – 22 February 1939), known as Antonio Machado, was a Spanish poet and one of the leading figures of the Spanish literary movement known as the
Generation of '98 The Generation of '98 () was a group of novelists, poets, essayists, and philosophers active in Spain at the time of the Spanish–American War (1898), committed to cultural and aesthetic renewal, and associated with modernismo. The name was coin ...
. His work, initially
modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
, evolved towards an intimate form of
symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...
with romantic traits. He gradually developed a style characterised by both an engagement with humanity on one side and an almost
Taoist Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ...
contemplation of existence on the other, a synthesis that, according to Machado, echoed the most ancient popular wisdom. In
Gerardo Diego Gerardo Diego Cendoya (October 3, 1896 – July 8, 1987) was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27. Diego taught language and literature at institutes of learning in Soria, Gijón, Santander and Madrid. He also acted as lite ...
's words, Machado "spoke in verse and lived in poetry."


Biography

Machado was born in
Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
, Spain, one year after his brother
Manuel Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name), a given name and surname * Manuel (''Fawlty Towers''), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manuel I of Portugal, king of Po ...
. He was a grandson to the noted Spanish
folklorist Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...
,
Cipriana Álvarez Durán Cipriana Álvarez Durán (1827–1904) was a Spanish folklorist, writer and painter. She is noted for promoting popular culture and was known in Llerena (Badajoz) as ''La Mujer de los Cuentos'' (''The Woman of Tales''). She was the grandmother of ...
. The family moved to
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
in 1883 and both brothers enrolled in the
Institución Libre de Enseñanza The Institución Libre de Enseñanza (ILE, English: ''Free Teaching Institution'') was a pedagogical experience developed in Spain for more than half a century (1876–1939). It was inspired by the Krausism, Krausist philosophy introduced at the Co ...
. During these years—with the encouragement of his teachers—Antonio discovered his passion for literature. While completing his ''
Bachillerato The Spanish Baccalaureate (, ) is the post-16 stage of education in Spain, comparable to the A Levels in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Highers in Scotland, the French Baccalaureate in France or the International Baccalaureate. It follows t ...
'' in Madrid, economic difficulties forced him to take several jobs, including working as an actor. In 1899, he and his brother traveled to Paris to work as translators for a French publisher. During these months in Paris, he came into contact with the great French
Symbolist Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...
poets
Jean Moréas Jean Moréas (; born Ioannis A. Papadiamantopoulos, Ιωάννης Α. Παπαδιαμαντόπουλος; 15 April 1856 – 31 March 1910) was a Greek poet, essayist, and art critic, who wrote mostly in the French language but also in Greek dur ...
,
Paul Fort Jules-Jean-Paul Fort (1 February 1872 – 20 April 1960) was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement. At the age of 18, reacting against the Naturalistic theatre, Fort founded the Théâtre d'Art (1890–93). He also founded and edi ...
and
Paul Verlaine Paul-Marie Verlaine ( ; ; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolism (movement), Symbolist movement and the Decadent movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the ''fin de siècle'' ...
, and also with other contemporary literary figures, including
Rubén Darío Félix Rubén García Sarmiento (18 January 1867 – 6 February 1916), known as Rubén Darío ( , ), was a Nicaraguan poet who initiated the Spanish-language literary movement known as '' modernismo'' (modernism) that flourished at the end of ...
and
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...
. These encounters cemented Machado's decision to dedicate himself to poetry. In 1901, he had his first poems published in the literary journal 'Electra'. His first book of poetry was published in 1903, titled ''Soledades''. Over the next few years, he gradually amended the collection, removing some and adding many more. In 1907, the definitive collection was published with the title ''Soledades'' and ''Galerías. Otros Poemas''. In the same year, Machado was offered the job of Professor of French at the school in
Soria Soria () is a municipality and a Spanish city, located on the Douro river in the east of the autonomous community of Castile and León and capital of the province of Soria. Its population is 38,881 ( INE, 2017), 43.7% of the provincial populatio ...
. Here, he met
Leonor Izquierdo Leonor Izquierdo (12 June 1894 – 1 August 1912) was the muse and wife of the poet Antonio Machado, who met her at the age of thirteen when he was working as a teacher in Soria. Leonor was the daughter of Isabel Cuevas and Ceferino Izquierdo, ...
, daughter of the owners of the boarding house Machado was staying in. They were married in 1909, he was 34 and Leonor was 15. Early in 1911, the couple went to live in Paris where Machado read more
French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by French people, French citizens; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of Franc ...
and studied philosophy. In the summer however, Leonor was diagnosed with advanced
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
and they returned to Spain. On 1 August 1912, Leonor died, just a few weeks after the publication of ''Campos de Castilla''. Machado was devastated and left Soria, the city that had inspired the poetry of ''Campos'', never to return. He went to live in Baeza,
Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...
, where he stayed until 1919. Here, he wrote a series of poems dealing with the death of Leonor which were added to a new (and now definitive) edition of ''Campos de Castilla'' published in 1916 along with the first edition of ''Nuevas canciones''. While his earlier poems are in an ornate, Modernist style, with the publication of "Campos de Castilla" he showed an evolution toward greater simplicity, a characteristic that was to distinguish his poetry from then on. Between 1919 and 1931, Machado was Professor of French at the Instituto de Segovia, in
Segovia Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia. Segovia is located in the Meseta central, Inner Pl ...
. He moved there to be nearer to Madrid, where Manuel lived. The brothers would meet at weekends to work together on a number of plays, the performances of which earned them great popularity. It was here also that Antonio had a secret affair with Pilar de Valderrama, a married woman with three children, to whom he would refer in his work by the name ''Guiomar''. In 1932, he was given the post of professor at the " Instituto Calderón de la Barca" in Madrid. He collaborated with
Rafael Alberti Rafael Alberti Merello (16 December 1902 – 28 October 1999) was a Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27. He is considered one of the greatest literary figures of the so-called ''Silver Age'' of Spanish Literature, and he won numer ...
and published articles in his magazine, '' Octubre'', in 1933–1934. When the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
broke out in July 1936, Machado was in Madrid. The war permanently separated him from his brother Manuel who was trapped in the Nationalist (Francoist) zone, and from Valderrama who was in Portugal. Machado was evacuated with his elderly mother and uncle to
Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
, and then to
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
in 1938. Finally, as Franco closed in on the last Republican strongholds, they were obliged to move across the French border to
Collioure Collioure (; , ) is a commune in the southern French department of Pyrénées-Orientales. Geography The town of Collioure is on the Côte Vermeille (Vermilion Coast), in the canton of La Côte Vermeille and in the arrondissement of Céret. ...
. It was here, on 22 February 1939, that Antonio Machado died, just three days before his mother. In his pocket was found his last poem, ''Estos días azules y este sol de infancia''. Machado is buried in Collioure where he died; Leonor is buried in Soria. On his way to Collioure in December 1938, he wrote "For the strategists, for the politicians, for the historians, all this will be clear: we lost the war. But at a human level I am not so sure: perhaps we won''."'' He turned away from the hermetic esthetic principles of post-symbolism and cultivated the dynamic openness of
social realism Social realism is work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers, filmmakers and some musicians that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structures ...
. Like such French æsthetes as Verlaine, Machado began with a
fin de siècle "''Fin de siècle''" () is a French term meaning , a phrase which typically encompasses both the meaning of the similar English idiom '' turn of the century'' and also makes reference to the closing of one era and onset of another. Without co ...
contemplation of his sensory world, portraying it through memory and the impressions of his private consciousness. And like his socially conscious colleagues of the Generation of 1898, he emerged from his solitude to contemplate Spain's historical landscape with a sympathetic yet unindulgent eye. His poetic work begins with the publication of ''Soledades'' in 1903. In this short volume, many personal links which will characterize his later work are noticeable. In ''Soledades, Galerías. Otros poemas'', published in 1907, his voice becomes his own and influences 20th Century poets
Octavio Paz Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican poet and diplomat. For his body of work, he was awarded the 1977 Jerusalem Prize, the 1981 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the 1982 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, a ...
,
Derek Walcott Sir Derek Alton Walcott OM (23 January 1930 – 17 March 2017) was a Saint Lucian poet and playwright. He received the 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature. His works include the Homeric epic poem '' Omeros'' (1990), which many critics view "as ...
, and
Giannina Braschi Giannina Braschi (born February 5, 1953) is a Puerto Rican poet, novelist, dramatist, and scholar. Her notable works include '' Empire of Dreams'' (1988), '' Yo-Yo Boing!'' (1998), '' United States of Banana'' (2011), and '' Putinoika'' (2024). ...
who writes about Machado's impact in her Spanglish classic ''
Yo-Yo Boing! ''Yo-Yo Boing!'' (1998) is a postmodern novel in English, Spanish, and Spanglish by Puerto Rican author Giannina Braschi. The cross-genre work is a structural hybrid of poetry, political philosophy, musical, manifesto, treatise, memoir, and dr ...
''. The most typical feature of his personality is the antipathetic, softly sorrowful tone that can be felt even when he describes real things or common themes of the time, for example abandoned gardens, old parks or fountains: places which he approaches via memory or dreams. After Machado's experience with the introspective poetry of his first period, he withdrew from the spectacle of his conflictive personality and undertook to witness the general battle of the "two Spains", each one struggling to gain the ascendancy. In 1912, he published "Campos de Castilla", a collection of poems lyricising the beauty of the Castilian countryside. Just as the poet's own personality revealed mutually destructive elements in the earlier ''Galerías'' and ''Soledades,'' so too did the Cain–Abel Bible story, interpreted in "La Tierra de Alvargonzález", later attest to the factions in Spain that shredded one another and the national fabric in an effort to restore unity. At the same time, other poems projected Castilian archetypes that evoked emotions like pathos ("La mujer manchega", "The Manchegan Woman"), revulsion ("Un criminal"), and stark rapture ("Campos de Soria"). The book also included a series of short reflective poems, often resembling popular songs or sayings, called "Proverbios y Cantares" (Proverbs and Songs). In 1917, various poems were added to "Campos", including a group of poems written in Baeza about the death of his young wife, new "Proverbios y Cantares", and a series of "Elogios", dedicated to people such as
Rubén Darío Félix Rubén García Sarmiento (18 January 1867 – 6 February 1916), known as Rubén Darío ( , ), was a Nicaraguan poet who initiated the Spanish-language literary movement known as '' modernismo'' (modernism) that flourished at the end of ...
and
Juan Ramón Jiménez Juan Ramón Jiménez Mantecón (; 23 December 1881 – 29 May 1958) was a Spanish poet, a prolific writer who received the 1956 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his lyrical poetry, which in the Spanish language constitutes an example of high ...
who had been influential in his life. Machado's later poems serve as a virtual anthropology of Spain's common people, depicting their collective psychology, social mores, and historical destiny. He creates this panorama through fundamental myths and recurring, timeless patterns of group behavior. These archetypes are developed in his work "Campos de Castilla" ("Castilian Fields"), particularly in key poems such as "La tierra de Alvargonzález" and "Por tierras de España," which draw on Biblical inheritance stories. The metaphors from this period employ geographical and topographical references to convey strong judgments about the socio-economic and moral conditions on the Peninsula. His next book, "Nuevas canciones" (''New Songs''), published in 1924, marks the last period of his work. The complete works of his poetry, ''Poesías Completas'' was published in 1938 and contains ''Poesias de Guerra'' (''Poems of War''), with ''El crimen fue en Granada'' (''The crime took place in Granada''), an elegy to
Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...
. Poet
Geoffrey Hill Sir Geoffrey William Hill, Royal_Society_of_Literature#Fellowship, FRSL (18 June 1932 – 30 June 2016) was an English poet, professor emeritus of English literature and religion, and former co-director of the Editorial Institute, at Boston Uni ...
has hailed him as
Montale Montale may refer to: *Eugenio Montale Eugenio Montale (; 12 October 1896 – 12 September 1981) was an Italian poet, prose writer, editor and translator. In 1975, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for 'for his distinctive poetry whi ...
's 'grand equal'.CXXXIV, ''The Triumph of Love'' (London, 1998), p.73. His phrase "
the two Spains ''The two Spains'' () is a phrase from a short poem by Spanish poet Antonio Machado. The phrase is the given name to the intellectual debate concerning the national identity of being Spanish, rising alongside regenerationism at the end of the ...
"—one that dies and one that yawns—referring to the left-right political divisions that led to the Civil War, has passed into Spanish and other languages.


Major publications

* ''Soledades'' (1903) * ''Soledades. Galerías. Otros poemas'' (1907) * ''Campos de Castilla'' (1912). See . * ''Poesías completas'' (1917) * ''Nuevas canciones'' (1924) * ''Poesías completas'' (1936, cuarta edición) * '' Juan de Mairena'' (1936)


Translations into English (selected poems)

* Dual language edition. * Dual language edition. * Dual language edition. * *


References


Further reading

*
Walcott, Derek "Reading Machado" ''The New Yorker'' 18 November 1996
* Ballagas, Emilio ''Del sueño y la vigilia en Antonio Machado''. Ballagas. ''Revista Nacional de Cultura de Venezuela''. 1945 (article) * Barnstone, Willis "Antonio Machado: A Theory of Method in His Use of Dream, Landscape, and Awakening" in ''Revista Hispánica Moderna'' Year 39, No. 1/2 (1976/1977), pp. 11–25 University of Pennsylvania Press * Braschi, Giannina, "La Gravedad de la Armonia en 'Soledades Galerias y Otros Poemas' de Machado," PLURAL, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1983. * Fernández-Medina, Nicolás

. Cardiff: U of Wales P, 2011. * ---.
Intertexutality and Poetic Practice in José Angel Valente's Dialogue with Antonio Machado
" 2011. * ---.
Pythagoras, Buddha, and Christ: Antonio Machado's Poem lxv of 'Proverbios y cantares' (Nuevas canciones)
" 2010. * ---.
Reality, Idealism, and the Subject/Object Divide: Antonio Machado and the Modernist Crisis of Knowledge
" 2016. * ---.
Antonio Machado en diálogo con Emmanuel Lévinas: El compromiso con la objetividad y la otredad
" 2020. * Johnston, Philip (2002) ''The power of paradox in the work of Spanish poet Antonio Machado'' Edwin Mellen Press * Prowle, Allen (2010) "Sunshine and Shadows: translations from Bertollucci, Machado and Pavese" Nunny Books, 2011.


External links

* * * *Poems and videos i
Poeticous
{{DEFAULTSORT:Machado, Antonio 1875 births 1939 deaths 20th-century Spanish poets Writers from Seville Members of the Royal Spanish Academy Spanish people of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) Exiles of the Spanish Civil War in France Complutense University of Madrid alumni Language teachers Spanish schoolteachers Spanish male poets 20th-century Spanish educators 20th-century Spanish male writers