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

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

Linguistic Functions

Jakobson's Model

• Poetic: Focuses on the aesthetic qualities of the message itself.
• Emotive: Expresses the sender's emotions (e.g., Greetings!).
• Conative: Aims to elicit a response from the receiver (e.g., regulations, laws).
• Metalinguistic: Refers to the code of language itself (e.g., definitions).
• Phatic: Establishes or maintains the communication channel (e.g., Hello!).
• Referential: Conveys factual information.

Grammar Essentials

Parts of Speech

Nouns

Represent things, places, or animals.

Adjectives

Modify nouns (e.g., some hens, two telephones).

Pronouns

Replace nouns (e.g., I, you, us).

Verbs

Indicate the subject's action.

Adverbs

Modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, indicating place (here, there), time (before, now), manner (quickly)... Continue reading "Linguistic Functions and Grammar Essentials" »

OP: Key figure in the cultural recovery and articulation of nationalism in the 20th century, targeting its production in politics and literature around the Catholic and traditional themes. The historical-culturalist novels concern for interpreting the moments of Western culture is clear in GZ-Europe. There are two notable novels: The Pilgrimage of Avenida (1934) and Fra Verneri (1934). The H-realists have March as the GZ rural S.20. Notable works include: Pantelis, Home Libre (1925), The Meson of Wilderness (1936), The Señorito Reboraina (1960), The Maurotallo (1974), and The Ways of Life (1928). The latter is doubly significant due to the presence of both the natural landscape and the human landscape of rural Galicia. It has three parts:... Continue reading "Cultural Recovery and Nationalism in Portuguese Literature" »

Understanding Newspaper Genres

The Editorial

The editorial is an article expressing the newspaper's official opinion on current events or issues. It often includes appeals to authorities or the public to take action on controversial topics.

• Issuer: The newspaper itself (typically drafted by a team under the director's supervision).
• Format: Unsigned and located in a fixed position near the newspaper's masthead.
• Style: Combines exposition and argumentation. It maintains a calm, objective tone, avoiding outbursts, irony, or mockery.
• Structure:
  • Introduction: Summarizes the significant event and presents the thesis.
  • Development: Provides explanations and supporting arguments.
  • Conclusion: Summarizes the reasoning and may suggest future actions or questions.

The Problem of Spain and Regenerationism

Some of the most characteristic elements were the analysis of the problem of Spain from a regenerationist orientation. This perspective was critical and radical, longing for Europeanization and proposing utopian solutions, as seen in the works of Joaquín Costa and Ángel Ganivet. Alternatively, a mature orientation paid attention to the values that constitute the essence of Spain, featuring subtopics such as:

• Spanish lands: Described with pain and love, especially praising the Castilian countryside.
• History: A dive to discover the essence of Spain, paying particular attention to intrahistory.
• Exaltation of the Spanish: A celebration of national identity and culture.

Existential Concerns and Religious Struggles

Another... Continue reading "Generation of '98: Spanish Literature and Identity" »

Jorge Guillén: Poetic Rigor and Vital Affirmation

Guillén's poetry employs a rigorous selection process, deleting accessory elements to communicate the essential idea or feeling.

Themes and Style

• Joyous affirmation of being.
• Existence in the reality of love.
• Life formed as vital accomplishment and perfection.
• The necessity of enjoying the present time and surrounding conditions.

Man's Condition

• Man (living at the center of the day).
• Chance (creates insecurity).
• Chaos (suffering).

Features of Guillén's Poetry

• Very condensed and precise language.
• Use of simple syntactic structures.
• Nominal style.
• Use of exclamations and questions that highlight vital sensations.

Major Work: Cántico (1928, 1936, 1945, 1950)

A song to the creation of reality, occurring in different... Continue reading "The Generation of '27: Guillén, Diego, and Aleixandre's Poetics" »

20th-century poetry presents several difficulties due to the aesthetic currents of thought that overlap with dizzying speed. It is difficult to ascribe certain authors to specific movements, as they often evolved throughout their lives.

Celtic Myths and Anglo-Irish Poetry

A serious concern and a deep spiritual love for Irish poetry are maintained, understanding it to be clear and common-use.

T.S. Eliot and Fragmentation

T.S. Eliot, an English poet, received influence from avant-garde movements and French Symbolists like Baudelaire. He employed the technique of the objective correlative, writing a series of disconnected images whose connection the reader must determine, as seen in "The Waste Land."

Rainer Maria Rilke and Germanic Spirituality

Rainer... Continue reading "20th Century Poetry: Movements, Authors, and Key Themes" »

The Age of Realism

Historical Context

The age of Realism has its roots in the revolutionary movement of 1848. The bourgeoisie abandoned the revolutionary spirit, seeking stability and moderation. Industrial growth occurred alongside the rise of great colonial empires in Africa and Asia. In Spain, the bourgeois revolution of 1868 failed, and in 1874 the Bourbon monarchy was restored, beginning the historical period of the Restoration, where the realist novel flourished.

Scientific and Technical Progress

Scientific research made great progress during this era. Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species and The Descent of Man. In the field of technology, the telegraph and steamships emerged.

Realist Literature

The bourgeoisie abandoned Romantic... Continue reading "19th Century Literature: Realism, Naturalism & Romantic Poetry" »

Characters and Fantoches

More than 50 characters were created, inspired by real people, but what matters is the function of the figures in the play. Some characters escape the condition of human-sized puppets and charge, sobretodo Max. Max is a complex character who reaches moments of greatness; he mixes humor with complaint, and dignity with indignity. His replicas are of satire and unique depth. He emphasizes the growing anger against society, his sense of brotherhood toward the oppressed, and tenderness toward the prostitute.

Mr. Latino is a puppet, the dog that accompanies Max, the contrafigura of Sawa, a caricature of bohemianism, and miserable due to his disloyalty and vulgarization. The puppets are divided into various groups:

• The Burghers: