This poem in the shape of a book can be classified as an example of the Avant-garde literature movement developed during the first half of the twentieth century.

[1] It can also be thought of as part of the Creacionismo (Creationism literary movement) along with Pablo Neruda's "Residencia en la Tierra", César Vallejo's "Trilce", and Pablo de Rokha's "Los gemidos".

The name "altazor" is a combination of the noun "altura" ("altitude") and the adjective "azorado" ("bewildered" or "taken aback").

These cantos were written over an extensive period of time, from 1919 to 1931,[4] and for that reason the topics seem unrelated.

The first canto is the longest with almost seven hundred verses, and its content feels metaphysical.