Poetry, Parody, and the Construction of Contrarian Discourse in Franco’s Spain

O'Donoghue, Samuel (2024) Poetry, Parody, and the Construction of Contrarian Discourse in Franco’s Spain. Comparative Critical Studies, 21 (2-3). pp. 327-339. ISSN 1744-1854

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Abstract

This article examines how poetry subverted Francoist control over the written word in National-Catholic Spain. Despite the policing of culture by the regime’s censors, poets were able to use their works to express their nonconformity with the social and political situation. Spanish poets working under the regime resorted to subtle techniques in order to articulate their dissent. This article explores the political possibilities of one such technique: parody. It evaluates the limitations of parodic discourse as a form of political critique and offers an appraisal of the value of this literary form in the specific context of Francoist Spain. Offering a close reading of a work of parodic poetry by Ángel González, the article analyses how parody is used to appropriate and subvert Francoist discourse. González’s work exemplifies how poetry was ideally placed to challenge National-Catholic ideology and how the act of imitating the rhetorical idiosyncrasies of Francoist discourse constituted an effective means of bypassing the regime’s censors and of delivering a caustic critique of the regime.