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

The Current Sociolinguistic Situation

The Constitution envisages Spanish as the co-official language of the autonomous communities. In 1982 the Statute of Autonomy of the Valencian Community was adopted, which envisaged passing laws to facilitate a language standardization regime that would enshrine Valencian and Spanish as co-official languages. This law was passed in 1983 in Alicante as the Act on the Use and Teaching of Valencian.

Mercè Rodoreda (Barcelona, 1908 – Girona, 1983)

Rodoreda published the 1937 psychological novel Aloma. After the war she went into exile in southern France and Switzerland. She resumed literary production well into the 1950s with the publication of Twenty-two Stories. The novel that has given her the most prestige...

Heródoto de Halicarnaso

Biografía y viajes

Heródoto nació en Halicarnaso (ciudad de Asia Menor) en el siglo V a.C. Pertenecía a una de las familias más acomodadas. Participó en una conspiración contra el tirano Lígdamis, lo que le obligó a exiliarse en Samos; allí aprendió mucho durante el destierro y forjó importantes amistades. Destacó como escritor jonio y gran viajero. Emprendió viajes hacia Egipto, Fenicia y Mesopotamia, entre otros territorios, hasta culminar su última etapa en Turios (Italia), donde se pierde su rastro y donde finalmente falleció.

Estructura de las Historias

Su obra magna se titula Historias y está dividida en nueve libros, cada uno bautizado con el nombre de una de las nueve Musas:

• Libros 1 al 5: Describen

Catalan Literary Movements: Poetry and Theater

Poetry and the Jocs Florals

Themes in Catalan Poetry

• Historical recreation of a stronger past (the Middle Ages).
• Passionate love and religious concerns (e.g., the full moon, the mystery flower).

The Jocs Florals (Flower Games)

Promoters

Rubió i Ors, Milà i Fontanals.

Topics and Prizes

The three main themes were Homeland, Faith, and Love. The prize for each theme was a jewel-flower.

Purposes

• Normalize acts of literary creation.
• Target young artists as both audience and authors.
• Popularize literature.

Jacint Verdaguer (1845–1902)

In 1877, Verdaguer was awarded the Jocs Florals prize thanks to his work, L'Atlàntida. In 1886, he undertook a trip to the Holy Land, which proved very taxing and favored a change...

The Theatre in the First Third of the Twentieth Century
The theater at this time can be divided into four stages: a regional theater for the Brotherhood of Speech, the avant-garde, and the time we are in.
Regional theater was represented by precedents of the Brotherhoods of Speech, which created the Regional School Declaration form for authors and promoted the production of playwrights. Works represented include The Bridge by Manuel Freire Lugros. The seats were made between two musical performances, which were brief and uneventful in terms of staging. The types of works were customary, where we highlight Avelino Rodrigues Elias, among others, and social issues, among which we highlight Jesus San Luis Romero.
At the time of the Brotherhoods,...

Peninsular Literature in Spain's Autonomous Communities

The literature of the peninsular autonomous communities in Spain is written in Spanish as well as in their own co-official languages. These communities include Galicia, Catalonia, the Basque Country, and the Balearic Islands.

Catalan Literature and the Modernist Movement

Catalonia played a vital role in the Modernist movement, especially through the figure of Santiago Rusiñol. The avant-garde also highlights leading figures such as Josep Maria de Sagarra, who developed significant work in journalism, essays, and fiction. In narrative, we highlight the writer Josep Pla, who focused on local literature using an accessible and lyrical language. His most important works include The Gray Notebook...

Introduction

The post-Civil War era in Spain witnessed a significant shift. Under the dictatorship, the nation experienced hardship, and many intellectuals, including scientists, poets, and researchers, sought exile as freedom of expression became endangered. Those remaining faced restricted creative expression, aligning their work with the regime's ideology. This isolation further hindered Spain's intellectual growth and acceptance of new ideas.

The Forties: Repression and Censorship

The 1940s were marked by repression, poverty, and widespread censorship, both civil and ecclesiastical. Democracy was suppressed, and any expression contrary to the regime's political and religious views was stifled.

Poetry of the Seventies

In 1970, José M. Castellet'...

Poetry

Postwar (1940s)

Interruption of cultural life due to the Civil War. Poetry rooted in compliance with the regime: El Escorial, Luis Rosales, Leopoldo Panero, José García Nieto. Uprooted poetry reflecting the hopelessness of existence: Bulrush, José Hierro, Blas de Otero, Dámaso Alonso.

Social Poetry (1950s)

Shift from existentialist despair. Key authors include: Gabriel Celaya (three stages), and Blas de Otero (lawyer, professor).

Poetry of the 1950s Generation

Focus on refined language and poetic themes. Key authors include: Jaime Gil de Biedma (Traveling Companions), Antonio Gamoneda (Uprising Still).

Theatre

Postwar (1940s)

Conventional theatre: José María Pemán. Humoristic theatre, often absurd and witty: Enrique Jardiel Poncela (based...

Enric Valor — Life and Work

Early Life and Recognition

Enric Valor was born in Castalla. He was a self-taught student of the Catalan language and literature. After the war he was jailed; accused during that period, he was only publicly recognized as one of Valencia's most important authors with the return of democracy.

Three Roles: Folktales, Novels, and Grammar

Enric Valor was an author of extraordinary importance in three ways: as a collector of folktales (rondallista), as a novelist, and as a grammarian.

Folktales and Themes

The tales are anonymous stories transmitted orally by the people of Valencia. Valor placed Valencia in real space and transformed it in literature: he did not merely collect tales, but gave people a literary voice with a...

Origins of the Galician Language

Galician, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Provençal, Italian, Romanian, and others are Romance languages. These are geographic varieties of Vulgar Latin (spoken Latin). Galician is the result of the evolution of Vulgar Latin in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula.

Key Linguistic Concepts

• Substrate: We call the substrate the influence of a native or indigenous language (which is eventually replaced) over another language deployed in the same territory.
• Adstratum: We talk about adstratum to refer to the reciprocal influence between neighboring languages or those that live in the same territory.
• Superstratum: We call superstratum the influence exerted on an aboriginal language by an invasive tongue.

The Pre-Roman Period

Under...

Classification of Narrative

Narrative can be divided into two groups according to the literary record: Cultured Narrative and Popular Narrative.

Cultured Narrative

This category includes two basic literary productions, widely cultivated through novels and short stories:

• Novel: The most complex narrative genre, combining all formal elements of narration. Novels are often classified by subject matter or the treatment of the narrative discourse.
• Short Story (Tale): A narrative shorter in extension than a novel, which can also combine all elements of narrative discourse. It is important to distinguish these from folkloric or popular oral tales, often referred to as rondalles.

Popular Narrative

This category encompasses various genres, with traditional...