Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for Language and literature for Baccalaureate

Characteristics of the Realist Novel

European realist novels showcase a great variety, yet share common features reflecting new literary principles.

• Bourgeois Movement: Realism is a bourgeois literary movement, rooted in practicality and progress. Unlike romantic authors, realist novelists are ordinary citizens committed to reflecting their society's everyday problems and conflicts.
• Focus on Contemporary Reality: The story centers on contemporary life, aiming to provide a comprehensive picture of social life, customs, and ideas. Realistic novels depict scenes from streets, markets, factories, gatherings, cafes, and casinos. Protagonists are ordinary people, not heroes.
• Striving for Objectivity: Writers aim to be reporters, photographers, and faithful

Machado's Life and Inspiration in Soria

Antonio Machado lived in Soria from 1907 to 1912. He became a cantor of Castile: its landscape, its people, its beauty, and its miseries. In Soria, he met Leonor Izquierdo, whom he married in 1909. However, their happiness was brief, as his wife died in 1912 of tuberculosis. These circumstances should be taken into account for the commentary of this poem, which was written in the spring of 1912 when Machado knew Leonor's disease was hopeless.

Symbolism and the Elm Tree

The starting point is a specific detail of the reality of Soria: the contemplation of an elm, attacked by graphiosis, with an unexpected rebound of spring. This physical reality charged a deep symbolic value for the poet. Remember his roots...

Definition of Literary Arts

Literary manifestation is an art whose raw materials are the units of language. The writer manipulates these units to produce an aesthetic and emotional effect on the receiver. In other words, it includes texts that have been developed with an artistic intention.

Defining Elements of Literature

• Fiction: Refers to the peculiar relationship that literary works have with reality, verisimilitude.
• Aesthetic language: Used for creating impressions and emotions in the reader.

Functions of Literature

• Diversion/Entertainment: Reading is one of the usual distractions for many people.
• Transmission of Ideas/Didactic: Throughout history, literature has transmitted many ideas and has served speculative thought for improving society.
• Cause

Sentence Types

Simple and Compound Sentences

A simple sentence contains a single verb with a subject. A compound sentence has two or more predicates, each with its own verb.

Compound Sentences

Compound sentences are formed by combining two or more propositions (clauses), each with its own subject and predicate. These propositions are linked through juxtaposition or coordination.

Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition occurs when propositions are placed together in a compound sentence without conjunctions.

Coordination

Coordination occurs when propositions are joined by conjunctions, creating no grammatical dependency between them.

Types of Coordination

• Copulative Coordination: Adds meanings (conjunctions: and, nor).
• Disjunctive Coordination: Excludes meanings (conjunctions:

Daffodils by William Wordsworth

Main Themes

Love of Nature

The poem demonstrates the poet's profound love of nature. He describes the daffodils as "dancing" and the waves as "sparkling". Nature transforms the poet's mood from "lonely" at the poem's start to his heart being "full with pleasure" at the end.

Happiness

Initially, the poet states, "I wandered lonely as a cloud." However, upon seeing the daffodils, he experiences a significant boost of joy. Reflecting on the daffodils later continues to bring the poet great happiness.

Memory

The opening line, "I wandered lonely as a cloud," is in the past tense, indicating the poet is recalling a past event. In the final stanza, the poet describes how the memory of the daffodils causes his "heart with pleasure

Common Travel Actions

Going

English: Move from one place to another.

Spanish: Ir

Waiting Around

English: To remain in a place and not do anything until something expected happens.

Spanish: Esperar

Leaving

English: To go out of or away from, as a place.

Spanish: Partir

Coming

English: To approach or move toward someone or something.

Spanish: Venir

Unpacking

English: To remove over a length of time as in a place.

Spanish: Desempacar

Staying

English: To remain over a length of time as in a place or situation.

Spanish: Quedarse

Suffering From

English: To feel pain or great distress.

Spanish: Sufrir

Taking

English: To get into one's possession one's action.

Spanish: Agarrar

Creating

English: Make something from the beginning.

Spanish: Crear

Booking

English: To make a reservation...

Literary Analysis

The Irony: The irony pervades the entire novel, mocking the chivalric genre. This is evident in all situations and the language used by the characters, including colloquial words, scrambled phrases, wordplay, invented sayings, and especially in Sancho's use of augmentative, diminutive, and derogatory words, typical of picaresque style. The language imitates literary conventions, sometimes parodying courtly, chivalrous, or oratorical styles. The accumulation of elements and the use of lists and multiple adjectives further parody the chivalric tradition.

Dialogue: The prose features a variety of stylistic approaches, making it a highlight of the novel. Dialogue is essential, often replacing descriptions. It is fast-paced and lively,...

Information Condensation Techniques

Nominalization Explained

Nominalization is a process that transforms a sentence's information into a noun or a nominal phrase. Nominalization can express more meaning within less space and using fewer words.

Linguistic Transformations: Nominalization Example

Nominalization involves a series of linguistic transformations. The statement «Laura and Michael met by chance. Thus, they felt very happy.» explains a situation. But it is not the only way to say it. If we say: «The chance meeting of Laura and Michael brought happiness.», we convey the same information but more concisely. We used two nominalizations. This has allowed us to condense two sentences or propositions into one. In short, the verb structure...

Understanding Narrative Text Structures

A narrative is a type of text that includes real and imagined events.

Narrative Pacing: Condensation and Expansion

Narrative pacing varies based on techniques like chaining:

• Condensation

  Events are presented in a condensed way, often utilizing narrative ellipses.

• Expansion

  The narrative is delayed or even paused to include additional elements, such as descriptions. The action slows down to focus on character traits.

Narrative Structure: External and Internal

In a narrative, both external structure (chapters, parts, treatises) and internal structure are distinguished.

Types of Narrators: First, Second, and Third Person

• Third-Person Narrator Perspectives

  • Omniscient: All-knowing.
  • Observer: Only reports what can be seen.

The Trophy

Hello I'm going to show this trophy and I'm going to explain why it's so special for me. But before that, I'm going to explain some characteristics about the trophy.

Well, as you can see, it's made of metal in this part, but here it's made of marble. It also has a plaque made of metal that shows some information about the trophy. It is in perfect condition. Since I have had it, it has been in my bedroom where I have created a small museum with all my trophies and medals from playing football. I want to make it bigger, of course.

The History

Now, let's talk about the history of my object. I have had it since 2011 when I received it in the auditorium of Alcobendas called 'La Esfera'. The mayor of Alcobendas was the person in charge of...