La poesía de Ángel Gonzálezsegundo tiempo

Abstract

Communication or knowledge, existentialism or compromise, social realism or criticism… Frequent dilemmas in studies of the work of Ángel González which approach specific aspects of his poetry. A man of his time, González linked his artistic development to historical and personal circumstances which were key to a constantly evolving poetry, but marked by a notable coherence in which his voice can be observed as one of the most authentic and precise of the literary scene of the mid-1950s. From then until his death in 2008 his work has encompassed a unique personal universe, which has generated not inconsiderable critical debate. As we shall see, the poet took an active personal role in some these debates, leaving behind a valuable legacy, shedding light on some of the more controversial questions regarding his work. A synchronous look at his work serves, as with any poet, to establish links with certain schools of thought which temper the diachronic plenitude of his work, something which logically occours when the artist disappears. As a result, it is possible to speak of a “committed” Ángel González, and a “defeated” Ángel González without contradiction as his work presents the reader with a wide variety of imagery in which nothing is how it seems, and, at the same time, everything is possible; a challenge which demands commitment in order to perceive not so much reality as to begin to see through the haze. His work explores many areas which trigger a reaction in the consciousness of the reader. On the other hand, this formality and conceptuality – particularly in the books which I will refer to in this study, is concealed behind a series of masks, transmitting the sensation of a dramatic monologue devoid of emotion and sentimentality in its literary discourse. When the author brings to life a character with the same name as him, and who lives in a similar house, the anecdotes reflect closely the real life of the author (GONZÁLEZ, 2008c: 12-14), the reader should not trust wholeheartedly in this ironic protagonist who invites us to consider a range of viewpoints...