Dear linda11,
Lorca's times are times of change in modern Spain, and his literature
reflects this dissonance between modernity and tradition. On the one
hand "Much of García Lorca's work was infused with popular themes such
as Flamenco and Gypsy culture" (source: "Federico García Lorca",
<http://www.poets.org/poets/poets.cfm?prmID=164>); On the other, his
style and tendencies are modern, and so are some of his themes - even
when he uses historical or classical issues.
His poems are "all profoundly Andalusian, richly sombre in their mood
and imagery, and disquieting in their projection of a part-primitive,
part-private world of myth moved by dark and not precisely
identifiable forces; but, beneath the flamenco trappings, there is a
deeper - perhaps personal - anguish, as well as a superb rhythmical
and linguistic sense (the Llanto is one of the four best elegies in
the Spanish language)" (source: "Federico García Lorca",
<http://boppin.com/lorca/>). In other words - the poems are torn
between the traditional, the primitive, the violent, and the changing
modern world.
Moreover, Lorca style moves between the traditional Spanish and that
of the Surrealism, one of the most important artistic movements of his
period. "perhaps dearest to Lorca's heart were two experiments in
Surrealism, When Five Years Pass and The Audience, both of which
attacked the norms of theatrical realism. Shortly before his death,
Lorca would claim these two plays as more "his" than anything else he
had written for the theatre." (source: "Federico García Lorca",
<http://www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/clsc67.html>).
Lorca also deals with the changing role of women in modern society,
despite the fact that most of his plays and poems are first and
foremost personal reflections: "La casa de Bernarda Alba is starker:
deliberately prosaic, more readily interpretable as social criticism
(i.e. of the pressures of convention, the imprisoning effect of
mourning customs, the frustration of female sexuality by the need to
wait for an acceptable match)" (source: "Federico García Lorca",
<http://boppin.com/lorca/>).
Another work is even more closely related to current events regarding
the place of women in the society. "Blood Wedding (1933), was based on
a newspaper account of a bride who ran off with her lover on her
wedding night. In this play, Lorca heightens the woman's conflict by
placing her in the middle of an ancient blood feud" (source: "Federico
García Lorca", <http://www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/clsc67.html>).
Yerma, the second of his "Spanish earth" series, was also perceived as
actual and breaking the conservative codes of Spanish society. "Yerma
(1934), also part of the Spanish earth trilogy, is the story of a
woman who longs for motherhood, but who's husband is incapable of
giving her a child. Unable to leave him because of the social customs
of the day, and unwilling to satisfy her urges with another man, the
unhappy woman murders her sterile husband. Although dramatically
sound, Yerma was not as well received as Blood Wedding, primarily
because it was criticized by conservatives as an attack on traditional
Spanish values." (source: "Federico García Lorca",
<http://www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/clsc67.html>).
It is worth mentioning that also Lorca's personal life were related to
two themes in his period. The first, his homosexuality, a taboo in
conservative Spain of the era. The second, his modernity, which was
considered a sin by the Fracosits Fascists, who murdered him in 1936.
My search term was ""federico garcia lorca "
I also recommend the following discussion groups to discuss his work:
soc.culture.spain - http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&group=soc.culture.spain
rec.arts.theatre.plays -
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&group=rec.arts.theatre.plays
I think that answered your question. However, if you need any
clarifications on the answer,please let me know. |
