In 1937, the English poet W.H. Auden published his poem 'Spain,' one of the most famous English-language poems about the Spanish Civil War. Auden had visited Spain in early 1937, working as an ambulance driver for the Republic, and the poem reflects his complex response to the conflict. The poem was widely read and debated, with Auden later distancing himself from its political optimism, but it remains a landmark of political poetry and a testament to the war's impact on the international literary imagination.

Auden's 'Spain' became a touchstone for English-language poets who sought to write about politics, and its famous line 'History to the defeated / May say alas but cannot help or pardon' became one of the most quoted passages of the era. The poem also inspired a generation of British poets, including Stephen Spender and Cecil Day-Lewis, who wrote their own verses about the war. Auden's later revision of the poem also became a subject of literary discussion, as poets debated the relationship between art and political commitment.