Essay
Cultural object analysis
- Instelling
- Universiteit Leiden (UL)
Language and art as a form of resistance in Franco's regime- A Discourse Analysis of Gabriel Celaya's poem: “Poetry is a weapon loaded with future”
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Andrea SalazarCulture and Language Europe
2021-2022
s3303365
Tutorial group:106
Language and art as a form of resistance in Franco's regime- A Discourse
Analysis of Gabriel Celaya's poem: “Poetry is a weapon loaded with
future”
Discourse analysis is a useful tool to analyze cultural objects from a language
perspective or in other words, to study the use of language taking into account the social
context (Van Naerssen 2019,1). In this essay the object of study will be a Spanish poem
called “Poetry is a weapon loaded with future” by the poet Gabriel Celaya. The poem is part
of the collection of poems “Cantos Íberos”, published in 1955, in the midst of Franco's
repression (St Martin 1969,47). If we analyze the verses closely we can obtain a lot of
information about what he meant with the publishing of the poem.
The title of the poem already gives us a clear idea of its meaning: the need for poetry
for reflection and for the transformation of the world. Poetry should not be "without sin an
ornament", or just a tool through which we can only transmit existential problems or feelings
such as love, fear, hate but it can and should be also used a weapon, to confront those who
oppress us and do not allow us to express ourselves freely. He argues that this tool should not
only be available to the rich but that it should be a resource for the poor, because they are the
ones who need it most. He also criticizes the “neutrals” or those who use poetry as
entertainment because they don't need it. The "neutrals" do not care about those who suffer,
and they do not try to improve the society in which they live. In the final part of the fragment
that we are analyzing, the poet calls for collective action and to stop thinking only about
personal miseries individually. And, therefore, to stop resisting without fighting, in silence,
until you can't take it anymore and give up. The poet calls its readers to join forces with the
idea of obtaining a powerful force that leads to the union of all voices (Celaya 1955).
If we analyze the structure of the poem as a whole, we can see that in the first two
paragraphs the author describes the injustices and repression in post-war Spain. The poem
advances by explaining who needs poetry and why. In the sixth paragraph, the poet tells us
about repression, about the lack of freedom of expression. And, finally, the poem allows us to
access the author's personal position in the face of what he has previously explained: the need
to fight to eradicate injustice through poetry. He uses a clear language rid of complicated
words so that its meaning can be understood by all types of readers (Celaya 1955).
To sum up, it can be argued that the content of the poem urges its readers, the Spanish
population, to commit themselves, using art, to the fight dedicated to improving the situation
of those who suffer in the context of a harsh Spanish society marked by crisis. But, did he act
as he preached in his work? In the following paragraphs, the question of: “How did Gabriel
Celaya use poetry as a tool to fight Franco's regime as he urged Spaniards to do in his poem
1
, Andrea Salazar
Culture and Language Europe
2021-2022
s3303365
Tutorial group:106
‘Poetry is a weapon loaded with future’ published in 1955 in Spain?” will be answered. For
this I will analyze some of his achievements like his important role in the creation of the
literary movement ‘social poetry’ and his ideas to avoid literary censorship that helped
promote both his ideas, in Spain and abroad and the Spanish communist party.
The poet Rafael Gabriel Juan Múgica Celaya Leceta, known as Gabriel Celaya, was
born in Hernani, Guipúzcoa, on March 18, 1911. During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)
he fought on the Republican side, being arrested and confined in a concentration camp in
Palencia. The republican side were the ones who defended the democratic government that
the national military, Franco’s followers, wanted to overthrow (Chincharro 1987). After the
Civil War, he abandoned surrealism, very popular in the early years of the 20th century, to
delve into poetry more committed to his social and political reality, as is the case with the
previously analyzed poem.
In the 50s, together with Blas de Otero and José Hierro, two other Spanish poets, he
defended the idea of non-elitist poetry that would serve to transform the world (St Martin
1969,47). It was a literary movement characterized by the condemnation of the injustices
carried out by Franco, who was ruling Spain with an authoritarian hand, after the end of the
Civil War. The suppression of freedom of expression and the favoring of the elites were
criticized. In addition to writing, this trend encompassed theater and music, inspiring artists
internationally(Castro 2005,45-46).
The poets that belong to this "social poetry" movement were concerned with deciding
what the function of art should be. Some of these poets created a small editorial called ‘Seix
Barral’ that became one of the most prominent in Spain and the one with the greatest internal
projection (Castro 2005,45-46). This helped with the promotion of the movement abroad.
During this period of time Celaya published 4 books, Las cartas boca arriba (1951), Cantos
iberos (1955), Canto en lo mío (1968) and Poesías completas in 1967. that are considered to
be a part of the movement making him one of the main contributors of it (St Martin
1969,47).Cantos Iberos became a true bible of this movement. By this we can argue that he
believed in what he wrote and actually followed his advice, However, as Celaya stated in his
memories this literature failed to achieve its purpose. Like other artistic expressions of the
time, such as cinema and theater, the objective was to promote political and social change by
motivating the population (Castro 2005,47).. However, how much could poetry do to change
the world? People did not read poetry to be inspired towards socio-political change or to
improve their surroundings. Consequently, this movement was, in artistic terms, of very short
duration and its poets ended up changing towards other styles of expression.
In addition, it can be argued that Celaya used his poetry and linguistic skills to
promote the PCE, the communist spanish party, illegal during Franco's regime (Scarano
2
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