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

Philosophy in Ancient Rome

Philosophy in Rome, while deeply rooted in Greek traditions, experienced a significant evolution. It was initially introduced and popularized through Scipio's circle, which embraced Panhellenism. While this cultural movement was welcomed, it faced strong nationalist opposition. Aspects of philosophy like logic and metaphysics received little attention in Rome. Conversely, ethics, focusing on practical life, immediately attracted Roman thinkers.

Stoicism and Epicureanism were the dominant philosophical schools influencing Roman thought, although Stoicism failed to permeate the masses. Stoicism laid the foundations of Roman humanism and later influenced Christian thought. Its implementation occurred through Scipio's circle,...

XX Hispanoamericana: LÍRICA — a glorious moment occurs when modernism manifests itself as a movement of political affirmation and cultural renewal. In the first years of the twentieth century, modernism reaches its fullness in Rubén Darío, José Martí, and Julio Herrera y Reissig. It had great influence until 1920, when it is followed by the avant-garde.

Modernism arises with the arrival at the end of the nineteenth century of writers such as José Martí, Rubén Darío and José Asunción Silva, who moved away from a specifically European literary canon and sought an identity in the colonial period. This development took place when Romanticism and the early nineteenth-century independence movements were reshaping the various Hispano-American...

Baroque Narrative Prose and the Modern Novel

While narrative forms in verse existed, most Baroque narrative focused on cultivating the novel genre. Subgenres from the previous stage, such as the pastoral novel, continued to be cultivated. Examples include La Galatea by Cervantes or Arcadia by Lope de Vega. Other prominent subgenres included:

• Greek Novel: Following classical models of adventure and romance.
• Courtesan Novel: Set in an atmosphere of high society, generally dealing with amorous matters.
• Picaresque Novel: Continuing the narrative structure started with Lazarillo de Tormes, featuring a protagonist who must justify their past life. A key example is El Buscón (The Swindler) by Quevedo.

The most notable aspect of Baroque narrative is the...

Literary Movements in 20th-Century Spanish Prose

Azorín and Unamuno: Stylistic Innovations

Azorín's prose is dominated by simple sentences. Furthermore, the structure of novels was refreshing; for example, Unamuno chose to call his original stories nivolas.

Novecentismo (The 1900s Movement)

3.1 General Characteristics and Ideals

The ideas of Novecentismo have their roots in bourgeois reformism and the defense of republican ideals. The movement involved the appearance of a new type of intellectual discipline: a solid, college-preparatory education expanded abroad. Hence, Novecentists favored a disciplined and sober examination of problems, claiming objectivity and rationalist clarity, aimed at training minorities.

There are frequent statements of...

Narrative Texts
- Developing a story: a succession of actions usually with a referential function, as well as poetic.
- The story is told by a narrator to convey facts as part of a fictional world.
- The mode of discourse is prose, but verse has also been used.

Subgenres
- Epic, romance, fable, story, novel.

Dramatic Text

They develop a story through the actions or words of the characters, without the intervention of a narrator. The appellative function predominates, and next to it, it's expressive.
The form of communication between characters through dialogue is in verse and prose.

Dramatic Subgenres
- Tragedy, comedy, tragicomedy, drama, autosacramentales, farce.

Lyric Poetry: Primitive

- Jarcha: Composed in Arabic or Hebrew, typically eight lines, but...

San Juan de la Cruz: Mystic Poet of Spain

Biography and Spiritual Journey

San Juan de la Cruz, born in Ávila in 1542, stands alongside Santa Teresa de Jesús as a paramount figure in Spanish mystical literature. Juan, later canonized as San Juan de la Cruz, joined the Carmelite order and studied in Salamanca. He then pursued his studies with great activity and determination, becoming a reformer. For this, he was imprisoned in Toledo in 1577, where he suffered beatings and fell into a state of weakness, almost illness, due to fasting and penances. He escaped from jail and took refuge in a monastery. The rest of his life was spent in Andalusia, dedicated to social life.

Literary Output and Themes

His writing is totally detached from the real world....

Medieval Spanish Prose

Early Castilian Prose

• Alfonsine Prose: Initiated by Alfonso X the Wise, considered the creator of Castilian prose.
• Literary Prose (14th Century): Literary prose flourished, exemplified by authors like Pero López de Ayala, who introduced a historical genre with a humanistic spirit.

Don Juan Manuel and El Conde Lucanor

Don Juan Manuel, a prominent author of the 14th century, is renowned for El Conde Lucanor (also known as Libro de Patronio). This collection comprises 50 classic tales, many of Eastern origin, through which Count Lucanor receives instruction and moral guidance from his wise servant and adviser, Patronio.

Poema de Mio Cid: An Epic Masterpiece

The Poema de Mio Cid is the oldest preserved Castilian epic poem. It is...

The Generation of '98 and Early 20th Century Theater

Characteristics of the Generation of '98

Most writers belonging to the Generation of '98 shared a rebellious attitude against bourgeois values. Their texts prominently feature themes such as the landscape, old cities, and national identity.

Stylistically, they advocated a return to simplicity, sincerity, and expressive, living language. Given their profound subjectivity, each writer developed a clearly distinct personal style.

Major Figures in the Generation of '98

Miguel de Unamuno (1864–1936)

His earlier books include existential reflections on time, life as a struggle, death, and descriptions of the vicissitudes of everyday life. Key early works include:

• Poetry
• Rosario lyrical
• Sonnets

In 1920,...

1st Conjugation Verbs

• Laboro, -are, -avi, -atum: to work
• Laudo, -are, -avi, -atum: to praise
• Nuntio, -are, -avi, -atum: to announce
• Pugno, -are, -avi, -atum: to fight
• Porto, -are, -avi, -atum: to lead
• Specto, -are, -avi, -atum: to look
• Neco, -are, -avi, -atum: to kill
• Habito, -are, -avi, -atum: to live
• Infringo, -are, -avi, -atum: to hurt
• Paro, -are, -avi, -atum: to prepare
• Curo, -are, -avi, -atum: to care
• Impero, -are, -avi, -atum: to send
• Cogito, -are, -avi, -atum: to think
• Puto, -are, -avi, -atum: to think, believe

2nd Conjugation Verbs

• Deleo, -es, -ere, delevi, deletum: to destroy
• Praebeo, -es, -ere, praebui, praebitum: to offer
• Terreo, -es, -ere, terrui, territum: to scare
• Video, -es, -ere, vidi, visum: to see
• Habeo, -es, -ere, habui, habitum: to have
• Moneo,

Spanish Literature in the 18th Century

The Essay

The essay is a literary genre written in prose, usually brief, in which the author reflects on an issue, making us sharers in his personal view on that subject. The essay genre is characterized by not being exhaustive and offering a personal and novel view. It tends to be subjective, as the author expresses his intimate thoughts, establishing a dialogue of ideas with the reader, lacking a fixed structure.

Fray Benito Jeronimo Feijoo

Feijoo gave his work a distinctly didactic tone. He was distinguished by his relentless critique of superstition and false miracles, but he could talk about biology as easily as about literature.

Joseph Cadalso

Undoubtedly, "Moroccan Letters" is his most important work....