Notes, abstracts, papers, exams and problems of Latin

Old Ballads and Their Significance

The Old Ballads represent a collection of ballads sung at the end of the Middle Ages. Popular interest in these ballads, which highlight the most important poets of the 16th and 17th centuries, continued. Cultic poets continued the tradition of written romances, and new romances emerged. Oral ballads, also known as modern romances, have been recognized from the late 19th century until today.

The origin of these romances can be traced to the late Middle Ages, stemming from the decomposition of *Songs of Gesta*. Most romances share common features, such as:

• Repetitions
• Didactic simplicity
• Enumerations
• Objective and impersonal narrator
• Lack of didacticism
• Abundance of Q&As

Romances are classified into several categories:... Continue reading "Old Ballads, Jorge Manrique, and La Celestina: Spanish Literature" »

Historical Context: The Reign of Isabella II

The reign of Isabella II began in 1833 with the support of the liberals and lasted until 1868, ending with the first revolution against the monarchy. The last 30 years of the 19th century encompassed the Sexenio Democrático, the Bourbon Restoration, and the Disaster of '98.

Literature: Structuralism and Modernism

In the second half of the 19th century, two new literary currents emerged: Realism and Naturalism.

Realism

Realism originated in France in 1848. Its main characteristics are:

• Objectivity: The artistic work aims to accurately reflect reality and its characters.
• Lifelike Characters: Characters seem taken from real life, described with psychological complexity.
• Recognizable Scenarios: Readers can

Luis Cernuda (1902-1963)

Born in Seville, Cernuda also lived in Madrid and Salinas. As a student, he strengthened his friendship with members of the Generation of '27. He supported the wartime Republic. In 1938, he exiled himself to Mexico and never returned. A personality characterized by a lonely and painful sensitivity, he was vulnerable. His homosexual condition may explain his disagreement with the world and his rebellion, which is reflected in his life and his work.

Themes

• Loneliness
• Longing for a habitable world
• Craving for perfect beauty
• Love, reflecting the influence of Romantic writers

Style

His poetic language emerges from a triple rejection: of rhythms that are too marked, of rhyme, and of language rich in bright images.

Work

The Reality

Lyrical Poetry

Anthem

A composition expressing heightened feelings.

Ode

Similar to a national anthem but more personal.

Song

A composition of an amorous, vibrant, enthusiastic, and optimistic nature.

Satire

Censorship of faults or defects in a humorous and short manner.

Elegy

Expresses the pain produced by a death or other misfortune.

Popular Lyrical Poetry

• Song
• Joy (about a saint or holy person)
• Christmas Carol (Villancico)
• Corrandes (songs that accompany work)

Narrative

In Verse

• Epic: Heroic protagonists of noble lineage, told by the people.
• Songs of Feat: Of medieval origin, featuring popular characters.
• Heroic Poems: Short poems written by an author about a hero.
• Religious Poems: Poems with moral, philosophical, and religious themes.

In Prose

• Novels: Classified

Subject, Complement, and Attributes

Subject: Ask who? the VBO

Complement Direct (CD): What? Replaced by "what" the "of" the

Complement Indirect (CI): Who? For whom? Replaced "him, they"

Attribute: VBOs copulative replaced only by "what"

Complement Agent: Only passive sentences, and forever preposition subject active.

Circumstantial Complements

• Weather: When?
• Place: Where?
• Manner: How?
• Company: With whom?
• Aim: For what?
• Denial: Is not it?
• Affirmation: OK?
• Quantity: How much?
• Object: With whom?

Complement Predicative of the Verb (PVO)

Question how? is replaced by the CPNC or CD.

Charge

Always Function Preposition (any preposition).

Complement Regime

Verbs that always require a preposition.

Coordinate Clauses

It's that part of prayer that is the same as another bone... Continue reading "Analyzing Spanish Grammar and 20th Century Literary Movements" »

Post-Civil War Spain

Repression and Exile

The Spanish Civil War concluded with overcrowded prisons filled with Republican political prisoners. Many Republicans, committed to the Republic, fled Spain through the Pyrenees, with an estimated 400,000 seeking refuge in France. Their return was complicated by the difficult situation France faced during World War II. Spanish emigration to the Americas also became a notable episode of the war. Expeditions of emigrants, including prominent writers and intellectuals, journeyed to Mexico. France also became a haven for Spanish exiles, while in Mexico, Republican activity resumed, with Republican courts convened as late as 1945 by the Republican government-in-exile.

Franco's Repression

Franco's dictatorship... Continue reading "Spanish Post-Civil War: Repression, Emigration, and Economic Hardship" »

The Life and Death in the Poetry of Miguel Hernández

The life and work of Miguel Hernández are inseparable. His biography is a determining factor in his lyrical creation. His poetry goes through phases, beginning with a carefree life, whose destiny is configured by tragedy. His existence is marked by the dualism of life and death, a division mixed in Songbook of Ballads and Absences.

According to Jesús Christ Riquelme in his book, Miguel Hernández, life and death are joined in two ways:

• The existentialism of the philosopher Heidegger
• The sense of solidarity of the death-seed.

The poems of his teens have a natural optimism, where the poet sees things as if they were alive, "the stone threat." In this period, he identifies death with the arrival... Continue reading "Miguel Hernández: Life, Death, and Poetry's Dualism" »

Generation of '27: A Blend of Avant-Garde and Tradition

The Generation of '27 was a group of Spanish authors who mixed avant-garde elements with features of traditional Spanish poetry.

Characteristics:

• Formal renewal, using rich vocabulary
• Metric renovation, without metric freedom
• Varied subject matter

Key Authors:

• Pedro Salinas: His writing is a way of union with the absolute. The formal simplicity contrasts with the complexity of its meaning.
• Gerardo Diego: His poetry mixes tradition and renewal, avant-garde and traditional forms.
• Federico Garcia Lorca: His poetry blends the popular with the cult, inspiration with meticulous work. His work shows the frustration of man who cannot get what he wants. Notable works include "Poet in New York". He also

Social and Political Commitment

In Madrid, Miguel Hernández experienced the coup against the Second Republic. He solidified his socio-political stance by joining the Communist Party. This commitment crystallized in his works Wind Village and The Man Stalks. Hernández was passionately rooted in solidarity with humanity. His poetry leans more towards social commentary than political rhetoric. Inspired by the 'winds of the people,' he engaged in solidarity actions and spoke out against injustice and exploitation. Until the war broke out, he wasn't strictly a revolutionary poet. The ballad form became his vehicle to encourage the fight. As time progressed, his vision of reality grew starker.

Wind Village (1937)

Wind Village is a thematically unified... Continue reading "Miguel Hernández: Poet of Social Commitment and Despair" »

Renaissance Transformations in the Iberian Peninsula

During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, profound changes occurred in the Iberian Peninsula, transforming our understanding of the world. The fifteenth century marked the transition from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern period. These transformations were political, economic, social, and cultural. In this century, a desire for knowledge of the classical world of Greece and Rome awakened, resulting in the stream of thought called Humanism.

La Celestina, written in the late fifteenth century by Fernando de Rojas, tells the love story that takes place in an unnamed city. The plot unfolds as follows:

1. Infatuation of Calisto: Calisto, a young knight, falls for the beautiful Melibea.
2. Appeal