Alonso, Dámaso 1898–

Alonso is considered a pioneer of twentieth-century Spanish poetry and criticism. His early poetry is cool and austere in manner and style, while his later poetry, marked by the terror and tragedy of the Spanish civil war, focuses on more humanistic concerns and is written in free verse. Alonso explores the duality of human nature in his poetry, portraying man's strivings and limitations in a world of ambivalent natural forces. He is acknowledged as Spain's foremost literary critic.