Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Language

1. Time

Antonio Machado identified himself as a "poet of time," understanding time not as an abstract concept but as something living and personal. It is the limited, individual history of each person, which exists and passes, yet remains in memory. Within memory, personal boundaries and anecdotes blur, leaving behind universal, refined sentiment. The poet expresses a keen sensitivity to time, facing the fatal passage of hours and days.

Symbols of Time:

• Water: The flow of a river symbolizes the passage of time and, consequently, inner life. However, water can also represent death.
• Afternoon: Expresses a melancholy feeling, a spiritual voice.
• Roads: Symbols of life or associated with it. When depicted in a poem, the road often blurs, clearing into

This is an argumentative-expository text where the author presents a claim and argues their opinion.

Regarding adequacy, the author aims to inform readers of their findings on (...), specifically on (...); thus, the informative function is predominant. However, as common in such texts, the argument serves a secondary purpose: guiding the reader's opinion, adding a persuasive function.

The intended audience is clearly journalistic, as the text is for publication (... in a newspaper, in this case, the newspaper "..."). It's a (...) (article/editorial/letter to the editor = opinion; news/feature/interview = news genre; chronicle/critical = hybrid genre), typical of argumentative expository journalistic texts that address current issues. This was... Continue reading "Analysis of an Argumentative-Expository Text" »

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

means of "you" or a number of nicknames: "hilarious ladies, dear ladies, young ladies, young valuable..."

The Youth:

• Their meeting
• Their decisions
• Their adventures

It is a well-defined framework, characters, scenario, historical time.

Narrative Planes:

• The 'own stories, each with its own characteristics. The first two planes are related by the main narrator, but from different functions.
• In the foreground, the first-person narrator fully identifies with the author and has no narrative function, but expository or argumentative: Boccaccio not "tells", but reflects and expresses his ideology, world view, and value of literature itself.
• In the second, an omniscient third-person voice acts as narrator. This map is dotted with the first interference, as comments

Item 8: Language and Art

1. The Sign and its Components

A sign is anything that represents and communicates something. This includes all signs that humans use, such as language, art, and mathematics. Linguistic signs can be differentiated into:

• A signifier: the "perceptible" part of the sign, whether sounds (phonemes) or graphics (letters).
• A meaning: what the sign represents. This meaning can be an object (referent) or a "mental concept."

2. Syntax, Semantics, and Pragmatics: Parts of Language

• Syntax examines combinations of signifiers.
• Semantics focuses on the study of the meaning of linguistic signs.
• Pragmatics is concerned with the use of language in terms of the relationship established between utterance, context, and actors. It analyzes how speakers

Communication is a process whereby the issuer prepares and transmits a message, which is then received and decoded by a receiver.

Elements of communication: the code, the channel, the transmitter, and the receiver context.

Feedback: Feedback is the response or reaction of the receiver to the message sent by the transmitter.

Interaction: Reciprocal activity between two or more people.

Group Discussion Techniques

Phillips 66 is a technique where six people discuss a particular issue, exchanging views on a subject for a maximum of six minutes.

Features:

• 1. Presence of a moderator, who leads and guides the discussion, ensuring that ideas relate to the topic.
• 2. A topic is chosen on which participants agree, and this is presented by the moderator.
• 3. Each

Signs and Their Types:

A sign is any perceptible element that represents an idea, a feeling, or a reality.

The sign is a structure that is:

• Significant: The part that the recipient receives through any of the senses.
• Meaning: The concept associated with the significant.
• Reference: The external reality to which the sign refers.

Signs are classified as:

• Visual: A picture.
• Acoustic: A whistle.
• Olfactory: A scent.
• Taste: A wine taster.
• Touch: A tactile sensation.

According to the relationship between the signifier and the signified, signs are classified as:

• Indications: The signifier and signified bear a causal relationship.
• Icons: The relationship of resemblance or similarity.
• Symbols: The signifier and signified are associated by convention.

----------------... Continue reading "Understanding Signs and Their Types in Communication" »

Analysis of Bécquer's Rima XXIV: Two Red Tongues of Fire

Subject and Abstract

Subject: The fullness of love.

Abstract: In this rhyme, Bécquer focuses on the profound union with the loved one. This partnership creates a deep sense of harmony.

Stanza-by-Stanza Symbolism

Stanza 1: Flames of Passion

In the first stanza, Bécquer envisions himself and his beloved as two flames emanating from the same burning log, their touch symbolizing a passionate embrace. The stanza notably begins with the word 'Two', which is repeated later, emphasizing duality merging into one.

Stanza 2: Harmonious Notes

In the second stanza, the symbolism shifts. He represents himself and his loved one as distinct musical notes from a lute which, like the flames previously, merge... Continue reading "Bécquer's Rima XXIV: Analysis of Love's Unifying Symbols" »

Symbolism of the Train

The train is a real element, but it also holds a specific symbolic purpose. For viewers, it symbolizes triumph and victory. It's an element tied to memory, particularly for Vicente. However, it also represents the triumph of oppression, the root of his ongoing anguish and eventual death. Getting on or off the train signifies taking or refusing to take sides in society's game. The sound of the train is more prevalent in the first part; in the second, its meaning prompts thought and meditation.

The Role of Light

The work features significant changes in lighting. One scene, featuring Él and Ella, is marked by clarity.

The Well and Warnings

Regarding the setting and foreshadowing:

• Mario tells Vicente:

  "And that's what I like about

Rinconete's Impressions of Monipodio's House

Among the things that impressed Rinconete most are the use of certain words, of course incorrect, that he had never heard. Another aspect is the certainty that all who formed the guild had of going with God to the Kingdom of Heaven, despite being full of sin and wrongdoings. He was also struck by the respect and admiration that all members of the brotherhood had for Monipodio.

Police Authority and Justice in Seville

Yes, a reference can be found: Seville's justice is described as neglected for such an important and populous city.

Organization of This Literary Selection

It is divided into three parts or units:

• The first refers to the brotherhood: their customs, attitudes, and members.
• The second relates