This study opens up new avenues of inquiry into the work of Luis Cernuda. It analyses the representation of aesthetics, gender, and sexuality in his last four books of poetry by drawing on work in aesthetics, feminism, gay/lesbian studies, and psychoanalysis. The central concern is to examine the terms in which Cernuda represents particular identities, including the poet's identity, masculinity, femininity, and male homosexuality. The study explores Cernuda's creation of a collective mythology of freedom to change contemporary Spanish culture and examines his many-sided portrayal of gender, including the potential of women's identity to disrupt masculinity. It also discusses male homosexuality through the lenses of perversion and self-shattering.
This book, originally published in paperback in 2000 under the ISBN 978-1-902653-31-0, was made Open Access in 2025 as part of the MHRA Revivals programme.
Contents:
i-x, 1-116
Art, Gender, and Sexuality: New Readings of Cernuda's Later Poetry Philip Martin-Clark Complete volume as single PDF
This book analyses the questions of aesthetics, gender and sexuality as they are addressed in Luis Cernuda's last four books of poetry - Como quien espera el alba, Vivir sin estar viviendo, Con las horas contadas and Desolación de la Quimera - and has three main objectives: firstly, to offer new readings of subjects that are well established within Cernuda criticism, such as the figure of the poet, mythology, the Absolute, nature, and the divine; secondly, to focus on the questions of male homosexuality and the sublime to which Cernuda's critics have directed little sustained attention; and, thirdly, to introduce into the secondary literature on Cernuda's work the issues of gender, sexuality and perversion with which critics have not engaged at all.
1.1 Pre-war contact with France and French culture - 1.2 The war years - 1.3 Post-war efforts to promote Franco-German relations - 1.4 Post-war references to French culture.
3.1 Journalistic aims and constraints - 3.2 The war - 3.3 Franco-German relations - 3.4 French politics - 3.5 French 'Alltagsleben' - 3.6 French people - 3.7 French places - 3.7.1 Paris - 3.7.2 Ein Pyrenäenbuch - 3.7.3 The South of France - 3.8 French cultural life - 3.8.1 Theatre - 3.8.2 Cabaret - 3.8.3 Film - 3.8.4 Literature.
4.1 Departure from France - 4.2 Lectures in Germany (1929) - 4.3 Published journalism (1929–1933) - 4.4 Private correspondence (1929–1933) - 4.5 Private correspondence (1933–1935) - 4.5.1 'Ordre Nouveau' and 'Esprit' - 4.5.2 The French literary tradition - 4.5.3 French people and politics.
My concern throughout this book has been to examine some of the possibilities and limitations that Cernuda's later poetry reveals when analysed through the lenses of universality and specificity.
To see how to cite this article in standard MHRA style, follow this link.
To see how to cite this article in author-date MHRA style, follow this link.
Bibliography entry:
Martin-Clark, Philip, Art, Gender and Sexuality: New Readings of Cernuda's Later Poetry, MHRA Texts and Dissertations, 54 (MHRA, 2000)
First footnote reference:35 Philip Martin-Clark, Art, Gender and Sexuality: New Readings of Cernuda's Later Poetry, MHRA Texts and Dissertations, 54 (MHRA, 2000), p. 21.
Subsequent footnote reference:37 Martin-Clark, p. 47.
This title was first published by Maney Publishing for the Modern Humanities Research Association but rights to it are now held by Modern Humanities Research Association.
This title is distributed on behalf of MHRA by Ingram’s. Booksellers and libraries can order direct from Ingram by setting up an ipage Account: click here for more.
