Rafael Alberti’s Poetry and Artwork: Final Update

After the summer’s research, I constructed a final paper which discusses Alberti’s relationship with Spain before and after his exile, using his poetry and artwork as the basis for my conjecture on how his exile both shaped his artwork and damaged his ability to connect with Spain at the same level, after so many years away. I also used several articles, and past speeches made by Alberti as evidence. I found that, although Alberti always maintained his role as the mouthpiece for Spain, it seemed more difficult personally for him to do so, a mix of survivor’s guilt and feeling that he could not connect with the new post-Franco generation. Instead, his work continued to focus on his deceased friends, and shifted to focus on the landscapes of Spain rather than the people. This most likely also influenced his decision to resign from his role in the local government of Cadiz, voicing that he feels other people would be more qualified and able to understand the needs of the people.

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