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

In the text predominates noun phrase (SN) on the verb phrase (SV).

note the objectivity-subjectivity, as is newspaper text.

With regard to SN:

• DETERMINANTS articles, possessive, demonstrative ...
  • SUBSTANTIVE: own, common, abstract ...
  • ADJECTIVES: explanatory specified (also epithets, if present).

With regard to SV:

VERBS:

Grammatical person (1 st, 3 rd ...)

Mode (predominantly indicative or subjunctive ...)

Voice (active, passive)

Appearance (tenses predominant, they are perfect or imperfect)

Verbal periphrasis, if

PASSIVE, liability reflects, impersonal, if

Stylistic values ​​of the verb, if there

The lexical features of a text refer to the relevant information about the lexical units of a text: words, morphemes ...

• Process of word formation:

Literary Genres

Literary works are grouped according to their specific characteristics, giving rise to the literary genres: narrative, lyric, tragic, essay, and others.

Forms of Expression in Literary Works

• Narration: Refers to how to relate actions and events performed by the characters in a play.
• Descriptions: Points out the salient features of people, animals, places, objects, and events, rich in words and pictures.
• Dialogue: Plays the conversation of the characters, what they feel and what they think.
• Exposition: Presents, explains, and clarifies the content in an organized and understandable manner.

Elements of the Narrative

• The narrator describes what happens in the text and can be a character or a witness.
  • Protagonist: Presents the facts as if

The Second Vanguards: Historical Context

Key events following the Second World War (1939–1945) shaped this era:

• The Cold War: The division into two antagonistic worlds (capitalist and socialist), led by the two superpowers: the USA and the USSR.
• Specific Conflicts: The birth of the State of Israel and the start of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Cuban Revolution.
• Political Shifts: The independence of European colonies, the rise of dictatorships in Chile and Argentina, the Carnation Revolution in Portugal, and the end of the Franco dictatorship.

The 1980s saw the end of the Cold War with the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989), altering the European map. The 1991 Maastricht Treaty established agreements that created... Continue reading "Post-War Art Movements: The Second Vanguards Era" »

Core Elements of Narrative

• Narration: The expression used to tell a story, whether real or imaginary. It is often combined with description and dialogue.
• Action: The sequence of events that occur throughout the story, forming the plot.
• Characters: The individuals responsible for carrying out the actions within the story.

Types of Narrators

• First-Person Narrator: Uses the first person singular or plural (I or we).
• Omniscient Narrator: Uses the third person (he, she, they) and possesses full knowledge of the story.
• Witness Narrator: Uses the third person to recount what is seen and heard, without knowing the internal thoughts or feelings of characters.

Literary Forms

• The Novel: A complex narrative form featuring numerous characters with highly developed

Elements of Communication

• Transmitter: Transmits the information, prepares and sends a message to the recipient.
• Message: Sequence of signs that the issuer prepares and sends to the caller.
• Recipient: The ideal receiver to receive the signal.
• Receiver: Receives the message and interprets it.
• Channel: Physical medium by which the message is interpreted.
• Code: A set of signs and rules used by the sender to create the message.
• Situation or Context: Circumstances or events affecting how the transmitter and receiver understand the message.

Forms of Communication

Verbal communication (signs are the words) / nonverbal (without words, gestures, etc.).

Description of Characters

Physical, psychological portrait.

Description of Space

Location: Place where the action... Continue reading "Fundamentals of Communication and Narrative Structure" »

Language Definition: Understanding the Basics

Human language is a complex set of symbols. A sign is something that represents something else, taking its place.

Types of Signs

Three types of signs can be identified; all represent something else, but through distinct underlying relationships:

• An icon: This type of sign relates to what it formally and visually represents. (e.g., a traffic signal, a picture of cattle)
• A clue: Between the sign and what it represents, there is a causal relationship. (e.g., if you see smoke, fire is nearby)
• A symbol: A symbol is a conventional sign that has no formal or causal relationship with what it represents. (e.g., a red light)

Language itself is a combination of multiple signs.

Words and Concepts: The Building Blocks

Historical Materialism and Infrastructure

Marxist literary criticism is created from ideas objectified by the likes of Karl Marx, which is currently less prevalent following the fall of socialism. Marxist materialism is based on Platonic concepts, which it analyzes from the standpoint of infrastructure. Every culture and every society has a specific way of producing and distributing goods; therefore, their perception of ideas—including morality, law, and art—will also be different. This perception depends on the infrastructure, which corresponds to the Platonic world of sense. This theory is known as historical materialism.

The Relationship Between Art and Society

The world of Platonic ideas is identified with the ideological superstructure... Continue reading "Marxist Literary Theory and Historical Materialism" »

La Celestina: A Masterpiece of Spanish Literature

La Celestina is a work written entirely through dialogue, intended for reading aloud. Its large size and the rhetorical tone of its lines make it unique. Fernando de Rojas, a converted Jew and bachelor of law, is the author of all or most of the work. He states that he found a manuscript of what is now the first act and continued it, adding first fifteen more acts, and then the remaining five.

La Celestina marks the transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and is a classic of universal value for several reasons:

• The importance of the themes: Love, greed, and death.
• The characterization: Especially the old matchmaker, one of the great creations of literature.
• The depth of conflict: It

Impressionism: Capturing Ephemeral Reality

Impressionism seeks to capture the ephemeral reality. Artists painted en plein air (outdoors) to grasp the variations of light. Key topics included landscape scenes of nature and urban scenes. Characterized by quick, energetic brushstrokes, Impressionism explored the relationship between space, time, and light.

Characteristics of Impressionist Painting

• Composition: Diversity of frames (influenced by photography), multitude of views, and free distribution of volumes and voids.
• Color: Pure, light, and bright colors.
• Technique: Fast and loose touch, with the juxtaposition of highly saturated color patches and no distinct profiles.

Impressionism's Influence on Sculpture

The renovation of sculpture in the second... Continue reading "Mastering Light and Emotion: Impressionism, Symbolism, Manet, Monet, Renoir" »

El Greco's Masterpiece: The Martyrdom of Saint Maurice

El Greco's painting, The Martyrdom of Saint Maurice, depicts the martyrdom of the Roman general Maurice and his entire legion for refusing to participate in the sacrifices to pagan gods.

Composition and Style

The unique, novel, and complex composition of the painting gives it a special attraction. In the foreground, Greco-Roman generals are shown discussing their predicament. They do so while enveloped in a supernatural atmosphere, where their gestures and attitudes denote a position of mystical acceptance.

In the background, using a curious perspective serpentinata, all the members of the Theban Legion are placed. Some are decapitated, while others await their fate. This synchronous vision... Continue reading "El Greco's Masterpiece: Martyrdom of Saint Maurice" »