Portrait of Antonio Machado.
Antonio Machado Ruíz was a Sevillian with an indescribable talent, his poetry was part of the generation of 1898 in Spain. This poet was born on July 26, 1875, brother of Manuel Machado, also a poet who was with him until the day of his death in Collioure, France on February 22, 1939.
Antonio's university life was marked by the influence of some of his teachers, for whom he kept great affection and love. However, the author never felt comfortable in college or school; In his autobiography he confessed: "I have no trace other than a great aversion to everything academic."
His childhood and the poetry of Machado
Antonio reflected in his works the memories of his childhood, his travels, loves and adventures, one of them was "Childhood Memory", from one of his poetry books. During the first years of his life the young Machado lived special moments that he immortalized through writingAmong these are the figure of his father who used to be in his office, and the places he frequented in his innocent days.
His early works
The poetic trend of modernism was what characterized the writer's work. In the beginning Antonio Machado used to write in an ambiguous and refined way. Solitudes, a collection of poems published in 1903, made known the talent that Antonio had.
Castile fields is a book of poems published in 1912, where the nature of those lands is expressed, describing a tragic reality. Obviously Machado reflected his feelings for Spain, the pain over the death of his wife and the wishes he had to get ahead, as it evoked hope in many of the writings.
One writer, three movements
The characteristics of modernism were evident: creativity, melancholy and aristocratic and distinguished language, to which the smallest details were attended to, were key for the author. At the beginning of Antonio Machado's life as a writer there were poems linked to this movement, such as Solitudes, galleries and other poems (1919)
He handled the romanticism and his deep thought, getting to capture with well-achieved lyrics the charm of the environment and the gloom of it. Nostalgia, originality and utopia are characteristics of this literary trend and were also the basis for giving rise to some of Machado's productions; inspired by Spain and the love for his wife, Leonor.
Symbolism and its questions about existing also dominated. By means of resources such as synesthesia, he tried to maintain a musicality in his verses. Machado was very close to this style, so many of his writings evidenced his intimacy and can be read melodically.
The love of his life
He was a teacher for a time in Soria, and there, in 1907, he met the love of his life, This was Leonor Izquierdo, a young student nineteen years his junior. Two years after they fell in love, Machado and Izquierdo got married; however, in 1912, the young woman died of tuberculosis.
Antonio he dedicated several poetic productions to her, during the period of illness, at the time of death and after it. "To a dry elm" was a poem in which he longed for Leonor to improve her health and in "A José María Palacio" he remembered her next to the place where she was resting and begged one of her friends to honor her by bringing her flowers.
The church, according to Machado
Antonio Machado was a deep thinker, his sentimentality and understanding used to go beyond those of the authors of those days. He was a man who inquired, he felt ahead of his time, did not agree with the ties or doctrines, which caused his work to have a unique value.
For centuries the church has had rules that the faithful must follow to belong to it and Machado did not approve of them, even though his faith was in God. According to the writer, fasting, penances and others Obligations that the cleric must follow were nothing more than ways of indoctrinating the population; however, in "Profession of Faith" he demonstrated the great love he felt for the Creator.
Poems by Antonio Machado
Here is a sample of the most representative poems of Antonio Machado:
To a dry elm
To the old elm, split by lightning
and in its rotten half,
with the April rains and the May sun
some green leaves have come out.
The hundred-year-old elm on the hill
that licks the Duero! A moss
yellowish
stains the whitish bark
to the rotten and dusty trunk ...
Fragment of one of Antonio Machado's poems.
When is my life ...
When it's my life
all clear and light
like a good river
running happily
to the sea,
to the unknown sea
that waits
full of sun and song.
And when it springs up in me
heart spring
it will be you, my life,
The inspiration
of my new poem ...
Poetic art
And in the whole soul there is only one party
you'll only know, flowery shadow love,
aroma dream, and then… nothing; tatters,
rancor, philosophy.
Broken in your mirror your best idyll,
And turned his back on life,
It must be your morning prayer:
Oh, to be hanged, beautiful day!
I dreamed that you took me
I dreamed that you took me
down a white path,
in the middle of the green field,
towards the blue of the mountains,
towards the blue mountains,
a serene morning ...
They were your voice and your hand,
in dreams, so true! ...
Live hope who knows
what the earth swallows!
Machado's Spain
The Sevillian had a great love for his country, for this he dedicated some poems of Castile fields. However, Antonio expressed his dissatisfaction with the little development of rural areas. The writer spoke of the lack of strategies on the part of governments to make rural areas evolve and their progress to be at the same level as that of urban areas.
At that time, the Spanish population that led its life in the countryside used to adhere to its roots. Most of these citizens did not consider the idea of changing their daily lives, that is, in addition to the politicians not helping, the settlers were not interested in evolving. Machado affirmed that this lack of courage and desire to get ahead were the main problems in the society of his time.
Antonio Machado in his old age.
His legacy
Institutions around the world, such as the Hispanic Institute in the United States, have given Machado due recognition. What's more, his works have been transformed into musical productions by Manuel Serrat, singer-songwriter who produced an album titled Dedicated to Antonio Machado, where the writing of the Sevillian comes to life. Not for nothing is the poet among the great poets of literature.
Antonio Machado was a man who was clear about the reason for his poetry, knew how to capture their beliefs, nonconformities and life experiences in a unique and honest way. Although he lived in a time when there were many prejudices, he was not afraid to express his truth and sensitivity to the world, resulting in poems such as: "When is my life", "Perhaps", "Poetic art" and " I dreamed that you were taking me ”.