WEB REVIEW on 

Federico Garcia LORCA

Table of contents

Introduction. 3

A- Lorca: “a son of Andalusia”. 4

B- Lorca’s work and its impact. 5

Part II: A victim of the Spanish Civil war. 12

A- The reasons of Lorca’s assassination. 12

B- Lorca’s death and possible exhumation. 13

Conclusion. 16

Introduction

Federico Garcia Lorca is famous because he is one of the most popular and brilliant Spanish poets of the XXth century and because he was among the victims of the totalitarian regime of Franco. We are going to see in this web review how these two dimensions are deeply linked. Was it because of his plays, his convictions concerning freedom and equality between men or because of his homosexuality that he was assassinated?

Some answers will be provided in the development. What is really sure is that Lorca’s destiny conferred a considerable impact on his work.
Part I: A talented Spanish poet

A- Lorca: “a Son of Andalusia”

Born on June 5, 1898, in Fuente Vaqueros near the city of Granada, Federico Garcia Lorca was the son of a liberal landowner. When he was a child, he studied music, an activity which enhanced his natural sense of rhythm, and when he became a teenager, he began to write poems which he would recite in local cafés.

The front door to Lorca’s home in Fuente Vaqueros

Lorca studied philosophy and law at the University of Granada, but he soon abandoned his legal studies for literature, art, and the theatre. In 1918, he published a book of prose inspired by a trip he had taken to Castille, and in 1919, he went to the University of Madrid where he organized theatrical presentations and continued to read his poems in public. During this period, Lorca met a group of artists who were going to become known as Generación del 27, including the painter Salvadore Dalí, the filmmaker Luis Bunuel, and the poet Rafael Alberti.

The poems of Lorca paint a vivid and intrinsically poetical portrait of the fascinating region of Andalusia. The atmosphere and the protagonists of his poems are typical elements of Andalusia (gypsies, bullfighters…).

Lorca's poetry and plays combine elements of Andalusian folklore with sophisticated and often surrealistic poetical techniques, cut across all social and educational barriers.

Links:

- Son of Andalusia: The Lyrical Landscapes of Federico Garcia Lorca,

Summary: Throughout Federico Garcia Lorca's adult life and long after his death, his Andalusian identity and heritage have been consistently referred to by poets and commentators, but rarely studied in depth. The author tries to give a new perception of these notions. 

Résumé: Tout au long de la vie de Federico Gracia Lorca et après sa mort, les poètes et les commentateurs ont  régulièrement fait référence à son identité et à son héritage andalous mais ils les ont rarement étudiés en profondeur. L’auteur tente de nous donner une nouvelle perception de ces notions.

Lexicon:

fellow	camarade
to imbue	imprégner
courteously	de manière courtoise
recourse	recours
myriad	innombrable

B- Lorca’s work and its impact

Lorca's first theatrical production, The Butterfly's Evil Spell (1920), opened at the Eslava Theater in Madrid. Although the show closed after only one night, it gave Lorca his first taste of theatrical fame.

He published his first book of poems in 1921, and seven years later, his book of poetry Romancero Gitano or The Gypsy Ballads made him famous throughout Spain. The public soon named Lorca the "Gypsy poet". Then, he moved to New York in 1929 to study English at Columbia University where he came into contact with amateur theatre groups and professional repertory companies. The trip also inspired him a book of poetry, Poet in New York, which was published after his death.

Lorca returned to Spain in 1931 and formed his own theatre company. Composed mostly of students, "La Barraca" toured the countryside giving free performances of the Spanish classics, including the works of Lope de Vega, Pedro Calderón de la Barca , and Miguel de Cervantes. The company also produced the three "rural tragedies" which layed the foundations of Lorca's theatrical reputation.

Yerma was not as well received as Blood Wedding, because it was criticized by conservatives as an attack on traditional Spanish values. Lorca's third tragedy, The House of Bernarda Alba is considered by many to be Lorca’s masterpiece, even if the play was never performed while he was alive.

Lorca is famous for his tragedies even if he also wrote two popular farces, La Zapatera Prodigiosa or The Prodigious Cobbler's Wife (1930) and El Amor de Don Perlimplín con Belisa en su Jardín or The Love of Don Perlimplín with Belisa in Her Garden (1933).

Mariana Pineda (1928) was García Lorca's only historical drama. Its central character, a Spanish national heroine, was a historical figure. The play portrays her as a martyr to liberty and love. The surrealistic play El Publico remained unpublished until the 1970s - it dealt with homosexual love, a taboo subject on the Spanish stage for many years.

The House of Bernarda, written just before García Lorca's death in 1936 and published in 1945, depicted a tyrannical mother, Bernarda Alba, and her daughters.

García Lorca's central themes are love, pride, passion and violent death, which also marked his own life.

Analysis of his work

The originality of Lorca’s work is emphasized by the fact that the author used to write about marginalised people (the poor, gypsies, murderers, women, negroes…). In this way, we can say that in Lorca’s works, surrealism becomes something intensely political.

Lorca had an wonderful imagination: there is a flow of images in his work.

Green, I love you green.

Green wind, green branches.

On the sea a boat

On the mountainside a horseman.

This is one of the reasons why it is so difficult to translate Lorca’s work.

Links:

- The gypsy balladeer (collection of poems by Federico Garcia Lorca)

Summary: The poetry of Lorca offers great difficulty to a translator from the Spanish to English. It is very difficult to manage to reproduce the same intensity in English.

Résumé: La poésie de Lorca pose de nombreuses difficultés à un traducteur pour passer de l’espagnol à l’anglais. C’est très difficile de réussi à reproduire la même intensité en anglais.

Lexicon:

To opine	Être d’avis
accuracy	exactitude
To vanish	Se dissiper
muted	sourd

- The Dynamic of folklore in Lorca’s early poetics: Opening Libro de poemas and unfolding “Pajarita de Papel”.

Summary: Articles on Lorca's 1921 collection, Libro de poemas, generally have dealt either with the identification of Andalusian sources or else with the poet's employment of particular songs and games, folklore sources and products; but folklore is an independent process as well. Lorca himself was keenly aware of such a dynamic of constancy and change. The article deals with this aspect and develops useful arguments for understanding his work.

Résumé: Les articles sur le recueil de Lorca de 1921, Libro de poemas, traitent généralement soit de l’identification de sources andalouses ou soit du travail du poète de chansons particulières et de jeux, source et produits de folklore ; mais le folklore est également un procédé indépendant. Lorca lui-même était profondément conscient d’une telle dynamique de continuité et de changement. L’article traite cet aspect et développe des arguments utiles de compréhension.

Lexicon:

sharper	escroc
keenly	Profondément
relentlessly	implacablement
decay	décrépitude

An example of Lorca’s poems: Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias

Cogida and death

At five in the afternoon.
It was exactly five in the afternoon.
A boy brought the white sheet
at five in the afternoon.
A frail of lime ready prepared
at five in the afternoon.
The rest was death, and death alone.

The wind carried away the cotton wool
at five in the afternoon.
And the oxide scattered crystal and nickel
at five in the afternoon.
Now the dove and the leopard wrestle
at five in the afternoon.
And a thigh with a desolated horn
at five in the afternoon.
The bass-string struck up
at five in the afternoon.
Arsenic bells and smoke
at five in the afternoon.
Groups of silence in the corners
at five in the afternoon.
And the bull alone with a high heart!
At five in the afternoon.
When the sweat of snow was coming
at five in the afternoon,
when the bull ring was covered with iodine
at five in the afternoon.
Death laid eggs in the wound
at five in the afternoon.
At five in the afternoon.
At five o'clock in the afternoon.

A coffin on wheels is his bed
at five in the afternoon.
Bones and flutes resound in his ears
at five in the afternoon.
Now the bull was bellowing through his forehead
at five in the afternoon.
The room was iridescent with agony
at five in the afternoon.
In the distance the gangrene now comes
at five in the afternoon.
Horn of the lily through green groins
at five in the afternoon.
The wounds were burning like suns
at five in the afternoon.
At five in the afternoon.
Ah, that fatal five in the afternoon!
It was five by all the clocks!
It was five in the shade of the afternoon!

The link with the cinema

Lorca and his good friend the film director Luis Bunuel.

We can observe some adaptations of Lorca’s works in films. It is really interesting to see how literature and art (here cinema) can be linked. Actually, the literary production of Lorca is based on descriptions and on the creation of original atmospheres that can become good sources of inspiration for  cinema. Moreover, and this is part of the definition of a work of poetry, the stances are melodious and a rhythm runs through the sentences. It can also be interesting to emphasize this aspect in a film. A film has been made as an adaptation of Bodas de Sangre.

The influence of Lorca’s work nowadays

Links:

- A feast of Lorca. (Federico Garcia Lorca's plays performed in several countries in commemoration of his 100th birth anniversary)

Summary: Plays by the Spanish playwright Federico Garcia Lorca are being performed by various theater groups around the world in commemoration of the artist's 100th birth anniversary. His controversial play entitled 'El Publico' will be performed for the first time in New York by the Repertorio Espanol. Lorca's plays that are being performed in other countries include 'Blood Wedding,' 'Yerma,' 'Buster Keaton's Bike Ride in Barcelona' and 'The House of Bernarda Alda.' Throughout the world, from Buenos Aires to Tokyo, theatre groups are mounting tributes to the playwright

Résumé: Des pièces de théâtre de l’auteur espagnol Federico Garcia Lorca sont jouées par de nombreuses troupes de théâtre dans le monde entier en commémoration des 100 ans de l’anniversaire de sa naissance. Sa pièce controverse intitulée « El Publico »sera jouée pour la première fois à New York par le Repertorio Espanol. Les autres pièces de théâtre qui sont jouées dans les autres pays inclues « Blood Wedding », « Yerma », « Buster Keaton's Bike Ride in Barcelona » et « The House of Bernarda Alda ». A travers le monde, de Buenos Aires à Tokyo, des troupes de théâtre rendent hommage au dramaturge.

Lexicon:

hosting
A tribute	Un hommage
Playwright	dramaturge

- Audience and Authority in the Modernist Theater of Federico Garcia Lorca

Summary: The article announces the publication of the new book by Professor Soufas. It proposes a significant coverage of all of Federico Garcia Lorca’s plays (except the recently published), but as the title suggests, it does not aim to provide a broad critical introduction to his theater. Rather, the author is convinced that most critics of Lorca's drama have overlooked or ignored a fundamental feature of the plays, and his mission in this work is to identify and define this aspect and explore it in depth.

Résumé: L’article annonce la publication du nouveau livre du professeur Soufas. Il propose une étude poussée de toutes le pièces de Federico Garcia Lorca (à l‘exception de celle récemment publiées), mais comme le titre le suggère, il n’a pas pour but de proposer une introduction vague et critique de son théâtre. Au contraire, l’auteur est convaincu que la plupart des critiques des œuvres théâtrales de Lorca ont oublié ou ignoré une particularité fondamentale des pièces, et son rôle dans ce travail est d’identifier et de définir cet aspect et de l’explorer en profondeur.

Lexicon:

coverage	couverture
To overlook	oublier
feature	Trait, particularité
unavoidably	inévitablement

Part II: A victim of the Spanish Civil war

A- The reasons for Lorca’s assassination

On July 16, 1936, in order to overturn the Popular Front government led by the liberal president Manuel Azana, Franco led a military uprising from Spanish Morocco. Workers’ organisations responded by forming rank-and-file antifascist militias. Franco called on all military garrisons to rise up against the Republic. In those areas seized by the fascists they enforced a policy of systematic mass murder of political opponents.

"The House of Bernarda Alba" can be seen as a parable of fascist oppression, and in fact, the 1936 work was banned in Spain until 1975. Lorca is really holding up a mirror to society, and he's not writing about urban society. The conclusion of this play can address issues of fascism, which was taking over in Spain.

We may wonder in what way Lorca’s literary production may have contributed to his assassination.

The Spanish Civil War began in 1936 and García Lorca was seen by the right-wing forces as an enemy. Intellectuals were considered dangerous by Franco's Nationalists, and in the early morning of August 19, 1936, along with a schoolmaster and two bullfighters, Lorca was dragged into a field at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, shot, and thrown into an unmarked grave. He had only finished the first draft of The House of Bernard Alba two months earlier and had recently told a Spanish journalist:

"I still consider myself a true novice, and I'm still learning my profession ... One has to ascend one step at a time ... [One shouldn't] demand of my nature, my spiritual and intellectual development, something that no author can give until much later ... My work has just begun."

Although he had no political affiliations, Lorca was known to be a friend of left-wing intellectuals and an advocate of liberty.

Moreover, Lorca was a homosexual. Lorca was also attacked for his homosexuality. In his plays and poetry he increasingly drew the conclusion that problems of sexuality could only be resolved through the liberation of society from poverty and cultural and religious narrow-mindedness.

Links:

- Mother as tyran :The house of Bernarda Alba banned in Spain until 1975(Lifestyle).

Summary: "The House of Bernarda Alba" is Federico Garcia Lorca's last play and perhaps his best. A few months after he completed it, the fascists of Spain's Franco regime dragged Lorca from his home and murdered him. The play is a tragedy of family oppression - Bernarda Alba insists that her five daughters spend eight years in mourning after their father's death. All of adult age, the daughters must not consort with men and so lose their best chances at marriage. The youngest daughter falls in love with the fiancé of the oldest daughter, who is the only one allowed to marry because she is the only one with a dowry. The situation leads to desperate actions and terrible consequences. The play is also seen as a parable of fascist oppression, and in fact, the 1936 work was banned in Spain until 1975.

Résumé: “La Maison de Bernarda Alba” est la dernière pièce de Federico Garcia Lorca et peut être sa meilleure. Quelques mois après qu’il l’ait achevée, les fascistes du régime espagnol de Franco emmenèrent de force Lorca et le tuèrent. La pièce est la tragédie d’une oppression familiale- Bernarda Alba insiste pour que ses cinq filles passent huit ans à pleurer la mort de leur père. Toute d’âge adulte, les filles ne peuvent pas fréquenter d’hommes et perdent ainsi toutes leurs chances de mariage. La plus jeune fille tombe amoureuse du fiancé de l’aînée des filles, et elle est la seule autorisée à se marier car elle est la seule à avoir une dot. La situation mène à des actions désespérées et à des conséquences terribles.

La pièce est vue comme une parabole de l’oppression fasciste, et en effet, le travail qui date de 1936 fut interdit en Espagne jusqu’en 1975.

Lexicon:

To drag	Emmener de force
To mourn	Pleurer (la mort de qq)
To consort	fréquenter
A dowry	Une dot

B- Lorca’s death and possible exhumation

Lorca remained at his family home in Granada after the area was seized by Franco. He was warned that the fascists had begun widespread executions of political opponents. He had considered fleeing to safety, but then he decided to stay, feeling in a relative security there.

Lorca was taken out, with a teacher and two bullfighters (who were members of the Anarchist trade union CNT) and shot and buried in a mass grave. Franco’s officials never admitted killing Lorca.

Until 1971, Franco maintained an official ban on Lorca’s work. For four decades, the location of his grave remained an official secret.

Despite the establishment of a constitutional monarchy after Franco’s death in 1975, the mass graves remained untouched. In 1977 a cross-party agreement was signed absolving from prosecution those guilty of mass murder during the civil war.

The association has been unable to win the support of Lorca’s family to begin the dig. Permission for the exhumations has been secured from the relatives of those killed and buried alongside Lorca, including the school teacher and one of the bullfighters, Francisco Galadi.

Links:

- Books: Death of a Spanish dream; Federico Garcia Lorca A Season in Granada (Anvil Press: pounds 7.95).

Summary: What happened to Lorca's corpse after his brutal murder by Falangist partisans in 1936 remains a mystery. The assassination of Lorca is a symbol of the horror of a fascist regime which murdered men indiscriminately for their political beliefs, whether they were bull fighters, teachers or, as in Lorca's case, poets. The article raises the question of what happened to Lorca’s body and figures a short biography of the poet.

Résumé: Ce qui advint du corps de Lorca après son assassinat brutal par les partisans phalangistes en 1936 reste un mystère. Le meurtre de Lorca est un symbole de l’horreur du régime fasciste qui assassina des hommes au hasard pour leur appartenance politique, qu’ils soient toreros, enseignants ou, comme dans le cas de Lorca, poètes. L’article s’interroge sur ce qui a pu arriver au corps de Lorca et retrace une petite biographie du poète.

Lexicon:

An aftermath	Une suite, une séquelle
to tear to pieces	Mettre en pièces
A track	Une piste
A blunder	Une faute

- Lorca and the ghosts of the `disappeared' haunt Spain.(Foreign News)

Summary: The article announces the diffusion of a documentary in Spain. According to the authors, this documentary has broken decades of silence over the scandal of the Spanish civil war’s anonymous victims. Especially, it deals with the search for Spain’s most celebrated “disappeared”, the poet Federico Garcia Lorca.

Résumé: L’article annonce la diffusion d’un documentaire en Espagne. Selon les auteurs, ce documentaire rompt des années de silence concernant le scandale des victimes anonymes de la Guerre Civile espagnole. Notamment, il traite de la recherche du « disparu » espagnol le plus connu, le poète, Federico Garcia Lorca.

Lexicon:

The slaughter	Le massacre
The hamlet	Le hameau
Beneath	Indigne de
Overwhelming.	Irrésistible, accablant

- Spain: Federico Garcia Lorca’s body to be exhumed, “Victim of Franco’s Falangist militia”, by Paul Stuart. 11 October 2003.

Summary: The Socialist Party (PSOE), in the village of Barranco de Viznar near Granada, has given his support for the beginning of legal proceedings to secure a permit for the excavation of a mass grave located in a nearby ravine at the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. After unofficial investigations surrounding Lorca’s execution, the site of his grave became common knowledge. The article announces the possible exhumation of Lorca’s corpse.

Résumé: Le Parti Socialiste (PSOE) du village de Barranco de Viznar près de Grenade, a soutenu le début des procédures légales afin de recevoir le permis d’exhumation du charnier situé près d’un ravin aux contreforts de la Sierra Nevada. Après des recherches non officielles autour de l’exécution de Lorca, le lieu de sa tombe fut de notoriété publique. L’article annonce la possible exhumation du corps de Lorca.

Lexicon:

A mass grave	Un charnier
A ravin	Un ravin
The foothills	Les contreforts
Common knowledge	De notoriété publique

Conclusion

After his death, Lorca's writings were burned in Granada's Plaza del Carmen. Even his name was forbidden. The young poet quickly became a martyr, an international symbol of the politically oppressed, but his plays were not revived until the 1940's, and certain bans on his work remained in place until as late as 1971.

Today, Lorca is considered the greatest Spanish poet and dramatist of the 20th Century.

Lorca’s murder made him an international symbol of the struggle against fascist oppression.