Editing Luis Cernuda (section)

====Egloga, Elegía, Oda (1927–1928)====

After the set-back of the critical reception of ''Perfil del aire'', Cernuda decided to cultivate precisely those things that had been criticised, especially the lack of novelty. He wrote an eclogue, heavily influenced by his favourite Spanish poet [[Garcilaso de la Vega (poet)|Garcilaso]]. This was published in the first issue of a magazine called ''Carmen'' and was received very favourably by [[Salvador de Madariaga]]. This was followed by an elegy and then by an ode. Although he came to recognise that writing these poems had helped his technical fluency, he realised that there was something essential that these formal exercises did not allow him to express.<ref name="Cernuda631">Cernuda: OCP vol 1 Historial de un libro p 631</ref> However, he was encouraged to learn that it was possible to write poems of much greater length than was customary at that time, which was an important discovery for him. In ''Historial de un libro'', he states that at this time he was trying to find an [[objective correlative]] for what he was experiencing - one of the many indications of the influence of [[TS Eliot]] on his work, although this is a rationalisation after the fact because he had yet to read Eliot.<ref name="Cernuda632"/>

This small group of poems can be read as Cernuda's participation in the Góngora tercentenary celebrations - except that he chose to evoke the memories of Garcilaso's eclogues and Luis de León's odes possibly as a way to signal his individuality and his independence from fashion.<ref name="Poesia completa51">Derek Harris: Introduction to Poesía completa p 51</ref> However, their influence is evident only on the form of these poems - the subject-matter is more obviously influenced by Mallarmé. The languorous mood recalls "L'après-midi d'un Faune". There are hints of the poet's admiration for Greek mythology and also of his interest in male physical beauty which would be developed in later collections.<ref name=Connell203 /> Luis de León was a lasting interest. His essay included in ''Poesía y literatura'' shows that Cernuda considered him to be a kindred spirit; someone for whom poetry was a refuge or means of escape from the trials and difficulties of everyday life; someone who was always trying to find a way to gain access to a realm of harmony.<ref name="Cernuda493">Cernuda: OCP vol 1 Poesía y literatura p 493</ref>