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Literary Foundations: Genres and Figures

Understanding Literature: Definition and Context

Literature is an art form that uses beautiful words as its tool. It is a historical product; every literary creation is the result of an author living in a specific time. Thus, a poem, a novel, or a play can only be fully understood if we know the historical circumstances in which they were composed, as they reflect the mentality and ideas of their era.

Classifications of Literary Works

• By Language: English Literature, French Literature, German Literature, Italian Literature, etc.
• By Nationality of Authors: Argentine Literature, Mexican Literature, Spanish Literature, etc.
• By Territorial or Cultural Origin: American Literature, etc.

The Multifaceted Purposes

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

Moral Reflection: The Poems of Jorge Manrique

His most representative work is the Coplas por la muerte de su padre (Stanzas on the Death of his Father).

Metrics

Manrique uses the so-called Manriqueña couplet (copla de pie quebrado), a stanza variety of 12 lines grouped into two sextets with a broken foot. The lines are octosyllabic (8 syllables), except for the 3rd and 6th lines of each sextet, which are tetrasyllabic (4 syllables). The rhyme scheme is typically abcabcdefdef.

Structure

The work is generally divided into three parts:

1. A doctrinal exposition of a philosophical nature, focusing on the destructive and relentless power of fortune, time, and death.
2. Reinforcement of the doctrinal exposition, citing examples of prominent figures from the

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" »

Literary Terms Defined

Poem

Poem: the textual unit.

Verse

Verse: the unit of measure, rhythm, and rhyme.

Measure

Measure: takes into account the number of syllables.

Rhyme

Rhyme: the final sound matching two or more verses from the last vowel.

Rhythm

Rhythm: the right combination of stressed and unstressed syllables within the verse, which imparts musicality.

Stanza

Stanza: the unit formed by the combination of verses with no predetermined measure and a particular rhyme. Often lyrical.

Eglogue

Eglogue: contains the expression of the feeling of love put into the mouth of shepherds in the middle of idealized nature.

Elegy

Elegy: expresses the pain of death.

Ode

Ode: expresses feelings like love or sadness in many different shades.

Satire

Satire: censorship or critique,... Continue reading "Literary Terms, Concepts, and Devices Explained" »

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" »