Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for Latin for Baccalaureate

Josep Carner i Puig-Oriol (1884-1970)

Early Life and Career

Josep Carner i Puig-Oriol, born in Barcelona on February 9, 1884, was a prominent Catalan poet, journalist, playwright, and translator. He became a leading figure of the Noucentisme movement. In 1897, he entered the University of Barcelona, where he discovered Catalan literature and graduated in Law and Philosophy. Carner worked for several publications, including Montserrat and Atlantis, and led Catalunya (1903-1905), Emporis (1907-1908), and Catalonia (1913-1914). In 1911, he was appointed a member of the Philological Section of the Institute of Catalan Studies, contributing to the enrichment of the Catalan language.

Journalism and Family

In the early 20th century, Carner joined La Veu

18th-Century Literature: A Period of Transition

Neoclassicism: A Return to Classical Rules

The 18th century witnessed a complex interplay of literary movements. Neoclassicism sought to revive classical principles, emphasizing:

1. The three unities in theater: place, time, and action.
2. Purity of genre.
3. Poetic decorum: a balance between substance and style, influencing character portrayal.
4. Didactic purpose: literature should both entertain and educate, fostering good citizenship.

The Enlightenment: Reason and Reform

The Enlightenment, originating in France, championed reason as the primary source of knowledge. This emphasis on rational discourse led to the period also being known as the "Century of Lights".

A key concern was the advancement of knowledge...

Neoclassicism: Origins and Principles

Neoclassicism marked a return to the Greco-Roman classical model, rejecting styles that deviated from it, such as Romanesque, Gothic, and Baroque.

Key Characteristics of Neoclassical Thought

• Tendency to express a generic, universal model, rather than personal or national issues.
• Art and literature are subject to fixed rules.
• Educational purposes (moralistic sense).

While the novel and poetry evolved somewhat, the essay experienced exceptional growth during this period, as highlighted in the Poetics of Ignacio de Luzán.

Style and Transition: From Post-Baroque to Pre-Romanticism

In Europe and Spain, a new sensibility emerged, often mixed with Neoclassical elements. This Post-Baroque style, sometimes associated with...

Delibes excels in portraying innocent and novelistic characters. The novel focuses heavily on character development, dedicating a significant portion of the text to depicting human figures.

Character Groups

The characters can be divided into three main groups:

Foreground Characters:

This group includes Azarias, the protagonist, and Master Ivan, who serves as the antagonist. Paco and Bass also play important roles, representing the humble and participating in the central intrigue.

Background Characters:

This group consists of Paco's family (Low, Xica, Quirce, Rogelio, and Snow) and Master Ivan's family (Mrs. Markesa and Miss Miriam), along with members of the household (Don Pedro, the expert, and Dona Purita).

Minor Characters:

This group includes servants,...

The Cultured Lyric of the 15th Century

During the 15th century, courtly poetry emerged thanks to the nobility's attachment to the arts and letters. It draws heavily on courtly love traditions.

Key Features of Courtly Love Poetry

• Subjection of Love: The poet is devoted to a lady without being able to avoid it.
• The beloved is upper class and unattainable. The lady does not desire the lover.
• The name of the woman is hidden to avoid calumny.
• The lover suffers from not seeing his beloved.
• Love ceases only with death.

This lyric is notable for its formal aspects.

Medieval Spanish Songbooks (Cancioneros)

Collections of poems by various authors. The most important are the Cancionero de Baena and the Cancionero de Estúñiga. They collected both cultured and...

The Historical Context of Late 19th-Century Spain

The late nineteenth century in Spain was marked by the Disaster of '98, when the nation lost its last colonies. Spain was fundamentally a rural country where a stable bourgeoisie had not yet been established; instead, a tiny oligarchy controlled the vital forces of the nation. The early decades of the twentieth century were characterized by political instability and social upheaval, causing the country to slide into a deep economic and social crisis.

During this period, Europe was influenced by irrationalist philosophies, including the existentialism of Heidegger, the vitality of Nietzsche, and the psychoanalytic theories of Freud. This was the social and historical context that gave rise to Modernism...

Geography of the British Isles and United Kingdom

Map of the British Isles, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom (UK):

• England: London, Liverpool, Manchester, Oxford, Cambridge.
• Scotland: Edinburgh, Glasgow.
• Wales: Cardiff.
• Northern Ireland: Belfast.
• Republic of Ireland: Dublin.

Writing Cardinal Numbers in English

• 123: One hundred and twenty-three
• 1,543: One thousand five hundred and forty-three
• 10,876: Ten thousand eight hundred and seventy-six
• 346,098: Three hundred and forty-six thousand ninety-eight
• 9,986,345: Nine million nine hundred and eighty-six thousand three hundred and forty-five
• 256: Two hundred and fifty-six
• 9,876: Nine thousand eight hundred and seventy-six
• 98,065: Ninety-eight thousand sixty-five
• 976,865: Nine hundred and seventy-six thousand

The Episodios Nacionales (National Episodes)

This collection consists of forty-six relatively short novels, divided into five series. They were intended to chronicle the historical novel of much of the nineteenth century.

Galdós mixes fictional characters with historical figures, important political and military events of the day, and private lives, thus achieving the recreation of great battles and historical moments. Key characteristics include:

• Rigorous Documentation: History is recreated using a personal approach to the facts, but based on rigorous documentation.
• Narrative Style: While the style is sometimes considered neglected, the narrative remains vivid and lively.

Early Works: The Thesis Novels

These first novels are known as the Thesis...

Theme 1: Origin and development of the languages of Spain: Except for Basque (Euskera), whose origin is unknown (but which greatly influenced Castilian), all languages spoken in the Iberian Peninsula (Castilian, Galician, Catalan, and Portuguese) and some dialects (Leonese and Aragonese) derive from Latin. When the peninsula became a Roman province, it adopted the language of the invaders, Vulgar Latin. This is the origin of all the Romance languages (derived from Latin). Before Roman colonization, the Peninsula was inhabited by diverse peoples from two cultures, the Celtic and Iberian, each with several languages. The Romanization process, by which people entered the Hispanic Latino cultural world, was very slow and incomplete in some areas....

Antonio Machado

Early Life and Education

Antonio Machado was born in Seville in 1875. He came from a learned, liberal family that moved to Madrid in 1883. He studied at the Free Institution of Education. His secular, progressive, and tolerant spirit forever marked his character. In 1907, he obtained a full professorship of French at the Institute of Soria, and there he met Leonor Izquierdo, whom he married in 1909. In 1911, he traveled to Paris and attended philosophy classes by the admired Henri Bergson. When his wife fell ill, he returned to Soria. She died in 1912, and he moved to Baeza, deeply hurt.

Career and Relationships

He continued to publish poetry, studied philosophy, and developed a radical political consciousness in contact with the...