Autoerotismo y metapoesía: reflexiones en torno al onanismo en las Primeras poesías de Luis Cernuda

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article makes visible the onanistic references and their literary meaning in the early poetry of Luis Cernuda. Even though Cernuda’s poetry has always been seen from the critical lens of narcissism, we still lack a deep analysis of Cernuda’s autoeroticism. The first part of this essay acts as a cultural background and reveals what Cernuda’s contributions to the cultural history of masturbation are, as represented in literature. In the early poems of Luis Cernuda, autoerotic references act as a metaphor for the poet’s homosexual identity and also acquire a metapoetic dimension. Through the analysis of various poems, this article will argue that in his Primeras poesías, Cernuda equates the act of writing poetry with the act of solitary sexual stimulation. This perception is reinforced when these references are read together with the author’s autobiographical testimonies.