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Jorge Carrera Andrade (1903-1978)

Jorge Carrera Andrade was born in Quito, Ecuador, in 1903. A distinguished public servant, he served as an ambassador, diplomat, minister, and vice-chairman of the House of Culture. He also participated in the founding of the Social Christian Party.

His main poetic works include:

• Juan sin Cielo (Juan without Sky)
• Estanque Inefable (Ineffable Pond)
• El Aro de Silencio (The Wreath of Silence)
• El Papel de la Manzana (The Role of the Apple)
• Lugar de Origen (Place of Origin)
• Microgramas (Micrograms)

His prose works include:

• El Sendero del Sol (The Path of the Sun)
• Viajes y Libros por Países (Travels and Books by Country)
• Interpretaciones Latinoamericanas (Latin American Interpretations)

His spiritual and poetic development unfolded... Continue reading "Ecuador's Poetic Masters: A Literary Journey" »

Garcilaso de la Vega

Considered the prototype of the courtly lover, Garcilaso de la Vega renews poetic concepts and introduces a new sensibility. He recuperated classical forms and introduced new metrical forms.

Themes

• Petrarchan Conception of Love: Impossible love, inspired by his beloved; uses the Petrarchan ideal of feminine beauty to describe it.
• Idealized Nature: Refined and harmonious. A desire to escape from court life and a longing for rest and peace leads to the description of the locus amoenus (pleasant literary topic).
• Mythology: Recreates myths that combine love, despair, and death.

Style

Sober and simple style without artifice, expressing feelings naturally and with literary elegance. Recovers concepts like carpe diem to emphasize the... Continue reading "Key Figures and Literary Styles of the Spanish Golden Age" »

Theater Triumphs

Bourgeois Comedy or Drama — Benavente

• Bourgeois comedy or drama — Benavente.
• Bourgeois comedy often has intentions of social criticism. The two most important works of the author were Los intereses creados ("Vested Interests") and La malquerida. In the first, using the environment and the characters of the Commedia dell'Arte, the author expresses the view that humans are corrupt and hypocritical. The second addresses the issue of incestuous love; although it is a work of great strength, it is not matched with the use of persuasive language. Benavente's works represent manners and gentle criticism of bourgeois society, and the provincial interior often portrays aristocratic palaces...

Poetic Drama in Verse

• Poetic drama in verse.

The Novel in the Generation of '98

As indicated in the chapter on the Generation of '98, the novel is the most important genre for many cultured members of this group. The subjects they prefer are Spain, the causes of decay, history, people... further reflection on man and his destiny. These authors do not care about the history of great characters, but for what Unamuno called the intra-historia, i.e., 'the quiet life of thousands of people without history.' Another key element in the novels of the Generation of '98 is the description of the landscape as a reflection of a particular mood.

With regard to form, these authors rely on simplicity and clarity, fleeing empty rhetoric and long sentences. The most important thing is the plot, background,... Continue reading "Generation of '98: Key Novelists and Literary Features" »

Luis Cernuda

Under the influence of Surrealism, Cernuda abandons metrical regularity. Visionary poetic images abound in his work. These images are also used to express love, which excludes homosexual choices.

Forbidden Pleasures

This work maintains dream images and incorporates prose poems. It is a voluntarily hermetic book. Cernuda attacks repressive society and defends rebellion against the rules, which allows access to forbidden pleasures.

Donde Habite El Olvido

In the poems of Donde Habite El Olvido, the pain intensifies. The duality between the angel and the devil represents the duality between reality and desire. However, desire is the source of creation because it represents the need to create, live, and love.

Jorge Guillén

Jorge Guillén... Continue reading "20th Century Spanish Poetry" »

Lyric Poetry: Forms and Evolution

Lyric poetry presents two main forms:

• Traditional Lyric

  These texts are almost always anonymous, with their first manifestations appearing in the 11th century. They are short songs, often filled with jarchas, characterized by simplicity and expressiveness. They emphasized a collective dimension, focusing on rural areas and common topics.

  Traditional Lyric: Key Aspects

  • Topics

    Serves as an expression of feelings or situations rooted in collective existence. Examples include love songs, albadas, wedding songs, harvest songs, and work songs (e.g., March and May songs).

  • Geographical Scope

    Includes jarchas, Galician-Portuguese lyric, and traditional Castilian lyric.

  • Metrics and Style

    Characterized by simple metrics, short

Federico García Lorca: Poetic Excellence and Mastery

Federico García Lorca combined a prodigious artistic intuition with a fine sense of music and rhythm. His poetry is marked by elaborate mastery in the art of verse. We can note the influences of Arabic-Andalusian poetry in his work. His striking images and metaphors contributed significantly to the renewal of Spanish poetic language.

Two themes are repeated insistently throughout his career: his frustrated love and the tragic sense of life. Metrically, both new and traditional forms coexist in his verse.

The Three Stages of Lorca's Poetic Career

We can distinguish three major stages in Lorca's poetic development:

Stage 1: Early Works and Lost Innocence

• This stage includes his first two books:

Jorge Manrique: Nobleman and Poet

Jorge Manrique was a nobleman and soldier who aspired to be a prominent figure in aristocratic society. He cultivated poetry in his spare time, focusing on themes of courtly love (repeating topics, vocabulary, and poetic forms) and moral burlesque. His most famous work, Coplas por la muerte de su padre, consists of forty stanzas, each a pair of six-line stanzas (sextillas) with a specific broken rhythm (pie quebrado). These poems exhibit medieval features while also heralding the Renaissance.

Coplas por la Muerte de su Padre

The Coplas meditate on the passage of time, the fleeting nature of worldly possessions, and the equalizing power of death.

Key Themes in the Coplas

The work explores several interrelated themes:... Continue reading "Jorge Manrique's Coplas: Time, Death, and Fame" »

Spanish Literature: Post-War Periods (1940s–1960s)

The Poetry of Exile

This stream constantly addresses the issue of Spain, characterized by a nostalgic approach. The tone sometimes becomes angry and even insulting toward the victors of the Civil War.

Poetry of the Immediate Post-War (1940s)

Poetry was the field exhibiting the greatest diversity and artistic wealth during this decade. Dámaso Alonso distinguished two primary streams:

• Rooted Poetry: Focused on traditional forms and themes, often supporting the regime's values.
• Uprooted Poetry: Expressed existential anguish and social concern, often using harsher language.

Social Poetry of the 1950s

Social poetry developed as an evolution of the Uprooted stream, becoming key to social realism. It is... Continue reading "Spanish Literature: Post-War Periods and Key Authors (1940-1960)" »

Narrative Verse Subgenres

• Epic: A poem celebrating heroic deeds (e.g., Iliad, Odyssey).
• Chanson de Geste: Oral epic extolling a local or national hero (e.g., Song of Mio Cid).
• Romance: Short poem, often in octosyllabic verse with assonance.

Prose Narrative Subgenres

• Novel: Extensive story in a specific time and space (e.g., Don Quixote).
• Story: Short narrative with a condensed plot (e.g., Jungle Tales).
• Legend: Fictional story based on historical or pseudo-historical events (e.g., Legends).
• Apologue: Story conveying moral codes (e.g., The Count Lucanor).
• Epistle: Doctrinal, philosophical, or moral text in letter form.
• Fable: Anecdote with personified animals and a moral lesson.
• Essay: Text presenting the author's viewpoint on a topic.

Theater

Actions are... Continue reading "Literary Genres and Language Functions" »