Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Arts and Humanities

Key Features of 19th-Century Realism

Realism was a cultural movement of 19th-century bourgeois society that rejected rhyming fantasy and idealism. Its main features include:

• Observation and accurate description of reality: The interest in the observation of reality ran parallel to the experimental methods of science.
• Focus on factual reality: Authors wrote realistically about the subjects they knew intimately.
• Social and political criticism: Authors described reality to highlight social degradation and demand a return to traditional values.
• Simple and sober style: The stylistic ideal was accuracy, as the writer sought to liken their work to that of a scientist.
• Predilection for the novel: This genre was best suited to reflect reality in its entirety.

Journalistic Language (Journalese)

Journalistic language, often termed journalese, refers to the specialized language employed in mass media. This usage is often combined with iconic messages (visual or symbolic elements).

Genres of Report

The News Story

The primary goal of a news story is to report a short, recently occurring event (suceso). The following criteria determine the relevance of an event and whether it becomes news:

1. Timeliness (Actuality): News refers to very recent events. Events that happened long ago quickly lose journalistic interest. Urgency addresses issues related to whether or not an event has already occurred.
2. Proximity: The closer the news is geographically, the more concerned we are. This explains why a major global event

Status of Finding New Narrative Formulas

Pilar Primo (1905) represents the final attempt to adapt to the new narrative formulas that, through the lens of modernism, were imposing themselves on Catalan literature. It produces a novel with a realistic psychological edge, utilizing new techniques such as the interior monologue.

This work reflects Narcís Oller's frequent focus on dissatisfied and oppressed women within an aggressively moralistic, patriarchal society.

Naturalism and Scientific Determinism

Character conduct is often subject to laws similar to those governing physics or natural phenomena; this movement is known as Naturalism.

Émile Zola (1840–1902), a primary exponent of Naturalism, aimed to turn the novel into a scientific study.... Continue reading "Narcís Oller and the Evolution of the Catalan Novel" »

Baroque architecture is characterized by:

• Architectures loaded with details and complex designs. It embraces classical forms (columns, arches, pediments, friezes) but in a fanciful manner. Sometimes, the building resembles a grand sculpture. The entablatures curve, and the elements adopt curved and spiral pediments.
• The adoption of elliptical, oval, and other shapes (such as those favored by Borromini). Walls are concave and convex, creating a rolling effect. Straight lines and flat surfaces are largely abandoned.
• A new type of plan that incorporates oblique planes to give an illusion of movement (dynamic spaces) in what is otherwise a static art form. It often represents or suggests the infinite (a path that disappears, a sky, a set of mirrors

Direct and Background Exposure in History

Direct and background exposure often results from the consequences of history.

The Interview in Modern Media

We must distinguish between two primary forms of the interview within the media landscape:

• Research Assistant Method: Used primarily for gathering data and background information.
• Journalistic Genres: These can be further divided into two specific types:
  • Biography or Personality: Focusing on the individual.
  • Information: Focusing on specific facts or events.

The structure of a standard interview consists of two main parts: Presentation and Development.

Opinion Genres and Subjective Analysis

Opinion genres are those that offer subjective analysis, argued interpretations, and judgments regarding current events.... Continue reading "Journalism Genres: From Interviews to Opinion Pieces" »

Surrealism from Daqet: New Trends

Surrealism from Daqet presents new trends, such as G S19.progres, which impacts industrial and technical society (QE participi). Nietzsche studied the order of the values of civilization. The 20th century in Lomé is littered with horror. New techniques include X-ray lespai and conquest. S20 pursues the expression of experiences.

Aesthetic Ideas and Movements

Aesthetic ideas are set for pictures, television, and cinema, finding ways of expression:

• Fauvism: Television utilizes it as free space.
• Cubism: Forging a new reality made of simple geometric forms.
• Expressionism: An art of protest, using line and color.
• Abstraction: Detached from the creation of the artist.
• Subrealism (Surrealism): Creation of a suggestive world

Introduction

In the second half of the 19th century, realism emerged as a reaction against romanticism. Realism prioritized observation and aimed to reflect social and everyday life as it truly was, showing reality objectively. This contrasted with the subjectivity of romanticism. Naturalism, a trend originating in France, further developed realism.

Key Influences and Ideas

The rise of realism and naturalism stemmed from a desire for renewal influenced by tradition. Krausism, a philosophical movement promoting free education and liberal, modern thought, played a significant role.

Realism

Realism reflects reality as is, giving insight into its various aspects. Its key characteristics include analysis and observation, focus on the novel, critique... Continue reading "19th-Century Realism and Naturalism in Literature" »

Literary Devices (Figures of Speech)

These rhetorical devices are used to enhance expression and suggest sensory or emotional effects:

• Alliteration

  Definition: Repetition of a sound or sounds, often at the beginning of words, intended to suggest a sensory effect.

• Anadiplosis

  Definition: Repetition of the final word(s) of a line or clause at the beginning of the subsequent line or clause.

• Anaphora

  Definition: Repeating one or more words to initiate several consecutive verses or clauses.

• Antithesis

  Definition: A relationship established between two words or phrases that have opposite meanings.

• Apostrophe

  Definition: An invocation or direct address to an absentee person, an abstract concept, or an inanimate object.

• Asyndeton

  Definition: The intentional suppression

Gothic Sculpture: Evolution and Naturalism

Gothic sculpture represents a gradual release from architectural frameworks, moving toward greater naturalism. Iconography remains rich with fantastic bestiaries, and images communicate complex human emotions—happiness, sadness, and pain. By the fifteenth century, the pathetic style emerges, and the artist gains the freedom to sign their work. This era sees the rise of monumental and funerary sculpture, the latter becoming a realm for realistic portraiture.

Periods and Stylistic Development

• Proto-Gothic: Highlights include the Portico de la Gloria, attributed to Master Mateo, and the Royal Portal of Chartres.
• Classical Period: Characterized by a trend toward ideal beauty, innocence, and simplicity, often

Spanish Literary Movements Before the Civil War

Art Nouveau in Spanish Literature

• Features:
  • Search for beauty, departing from surrounding reality.
  • Great aesthetic renovation: valuable stylistic resources, sensory plots (auditory, visual, tactile).
  • Use of exotic words and cultisms.
• Authors and Works:
  • Valle-Inclán: Sonatas
  • Juan Ramón Jiménez: Platero y yo

Generation of '98: Literary Renewal

• Defense of Subjectivity: A subjective vision of reality, yet a faithful reproduction.
• Artistic Preoccupation: Reflected in the renovation of narrative structures and renewal of style, emphasizing anti-rhetoric, sobriety, clarity, and a taste for traditional words.
• Thematic Groups:
  1. The Issue of Spain: Concern for contemporary evils (backwardness, poverty) and love for