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

The Generation of '27: Literary Innovation and Synthesis

In the 1920s, this exceptional group of poets lived in a common cultural context.

Defining Characteristics of the Generation of '27

• Poets born around 1898.
• Strong fellowship and friendship among members.
• Significant influence and cultural exchanges.

Vanguard and Tradition: A True Synthesis

With their cosmopolitanism and openness to contributions coming from Europe and America, the poets of '27 valued and rescued past authors and styles, creating a true synthesis of vanguard and tradition.

They rescued forms of traditional Spanish literary past, known as neopopularismo. They paid special attention to the poetry of the Golden Age, especially Góngora.

The stay of many of them in European countries...

Venezuelan Painting

Juan Lovera

Born in Caracas on July 11, 1776. Notable works include The April 19, 1810 (1835) and July 5, 1811 (1837).

Martin Tovar y Tovar

• Born in Caracas, Venezuela, on February 10, 1827.
• Created portraits of independence heroes (25 waist-up portraits).
• Famous paintings: Signing of the Declaration of Independence, Battle of Carabobo, and First Black Death.

Antonio Herrera Toro

• Lived 1857–1914.
• Notable works: The Death of the Liberator, Self-Portrait, and the decoration of the Cathedral of Caracas.

Cristobal Rojas

• Lived in Venezuela, December 15, 1857 – 1890.
• Notable works: Self-Portrait, Death of Girardot, First and Last Communion, Baptism, and Purgatory.

Arturo Michelena

• Lived in Venezuela, June 16, 1863 – 1898.
• Notable works:

Modernism: A Force of Cultural Resistance in Latin America

Modernism emerged as a subversive force in Latin America and an expression of resistance to the commercialism of the bourgeois cultural revolution. Besides a change in literary taste, Hispanic American Modernism involved the claim of a new partnership with decolonizing intentions. The modernists rebelled against materialism, imperialism, the bourgeoisie, and the utilitarian. As an immediate source, they looked to French movements, viewing Parnassianism and Symbolism as the most demanding and audacious expressions of the trends of the time.

Features of Modernism

Modernism has been defined as the aesthetics of change due to its constant attempt at the renewal of literary language. Key characteristics...

The Generation of '27: Literary Brilliance in 20th Century Spain

The poetic Grupo del 27 (Generation of '27) is the name given to a group of poets who became the most brilliant literary figures of the 20th century in Spain.

Origins and Defining Characteristics

The group first gathered in 1927 to celebrate the tercentenary of the death of Luis de Góngora. This celebration had a double meaning for the group:

• Awareness: Understanding what the poet and poetry should be.
• Rejection: Distancing themselves from academic tradition, nineteenth-century aesthetics, and certain aspects of Modernism.

The Generation of '27 consisted of progressive, liberal, university-educated men who highly valued friendship.

Intellectual Influences

Combining Tradition and Originality,...

Key Linguistic Concepts

• Hyponymy: The meaning of one word is included within that of another, more general word.
• Substrate words: These are words from languages spoken in the Iberian Peninsula before the arrival of Latin that have survived to the present day.
• Pidgin languages (Sabir): When languages mix to give rise to a new, simplified language that facilitates communication between small groups.
• Foreignisms: These are words from another language incorporated into Castilian that supersede an existing word. A foreignism can be seen as impoverishing the language when it designates a reality that already had a name.
• Loanwords: These are words from other languages whose speakers have coexisted with speakers on the Peninsula. Loanwords are used to name

Latin American Literary Giants

• Mexico: Juan Rufo (Pedro Paramo), Carlos Fuentes (The Death of Artemio Cruz)
• Guatemala: Miguel Angel Asturias (Lord of the Presiding Spirits and Men of Corn)
• Cuba: Alejo Carpentier (The Kingdom of This World)
• Colombia: Gabriel García Márquez (One Hundred Years of Solitude)
• Peru: Mario Vargas Llosa
• Chile: José Donoso (The Obscene Bird of Night)
• Uruguay: Juan Carlos Onetti (The Shipyard)
• Paraguay: Augusto Roa Bastos (I, the Supreme)
• Argentina: Jorge Luis Borges and Julio Cortázar (Hopscotch)

Postwar Spanish Theater

• Max Aub, Alejandro Casona (The Liberation of Women, The Lady of Dawn)
• Joaquín Calvo Sotelo (The Wall)
• Edgar Neville
• Enrique Jardiel Poncela (The Thieves Are Honorable People)
• Miguel Mihura (Three Hats)
• Alfonso Paso

Baroque Architecture in Spain

Baroque architecture in Spain — 1. The 17th century was marked by economic crisis, political and social change, and a golden age of literature. Clients included the Church, the capital, and artists in Madrid.

Characteristic architecture and general features include modest materials: brick, wood beams and vaults, stone and granite in Galicia, wooden board roofs, square towers, lantern-topped domes, metal and wood panels, and false vaults. The style contrasts sobriety on the exterior with the richness of the interior.

Stages of Spanish Baroque

Stage 1: First half of the 17th century, with Herrerian influence and the work of Juan de Herrera.

• Juan Gómez de Mora: works include the Church of the Incarnation and the Convent

José Ortega y Gasset: Historical Context and Thought

The historical period José Ortega y Gasset lived through was shaped by significant national and international events. It included major international occurrences such as the World Wars, the Russian Revolution, the rise of fascism in Italy, Nazism in Germany, and Stalinism in the Soviet Union.

In Spain, this era encompassed the loss of its colonies in Cuba and the Philippines, the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera, the Second Republic, the Civil War, and Franco's dictatorship. All these events profoundly influenced Ortega's trajectory and political thought. His philosophy, sociology, and metaphysics remained deeply connected to his circumstances.

Ortega analyzed the political processes unfolding...

The Generation of '98: A Pivotal Era in Spanish Literature

The year 1898 is symbolic, marking a pivotal literary period in modern Spanish literature. It is famously known as the "year of disaster."

Historical Context and Emergence

The remnants of Spain's former colonial empire succumbed to the strong force of the United States in a dispute over colonial territories. This political discontent, widespread depression, and moral and economic plight characterized Spain as it witnessed the U.S. seize its last possessions. This profound national crisis became the central theme and motivation for a restless group of young intellectuals, who were then around thirty years old.

This painful reality captured the national attention and passion of the Generation...

The Spanish Language in America: Historical Context

The introduction of Spanish in America was a slow process spanning centuries, reaching its maximum extent in the eighteenth century as the language of government, culture, and the Church. The geographical varieties adopted by Spanish in America depend on the social, cultural, ethnic, and substrate factors of each region where Spanish arrived. Specifically, some of the factors that contributed to the emergence of these varieties were:

Factors Contributing to American Spanish Varieties

The Origins of the Settlements

The Castilian language that reached American soil in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries still lacked a fixed linguistic system. In this sense, the different regional origins...