Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Latin

Bécquer's Late Romantic Works

Poetry

Rimas

Bécquer's most famous work, Rimas, is a collection of 79 short poems characterized by their intimate tone, simple vocabulary, and assonant rhyme. These poems explore themes of love, inspiration, disillusionment, and loneliness. They are grouped into four series that trace the arc of a love story:

1. The Mystery of Poetry (1-11)
2. Hopeful and Joyous Love (12-29)
3. Love's Disillusionment (30-51)
4. Loneliness and Emptiness (52-79)

Bécquer's style avoids the loudness and effects of earlier Romantic poetry, favoring a soft rhythm and evocative language.

Characteristics

• Influence of popular poetry: Short, direct verses with assonance and repetition.
• Influence of Symbolism: Exploration of interior experiences and the ineffable

Geography of the British Isles and United Kingdom

Map of the British Isles, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom (UK):

• England: London, Liverpool, Manchester, Oxford, Cambridge.
• Scotland: Edinburgh, Glasgow.
• Wales: Cardiff.
• Northern Ireland: Belfast.
• Republic of Ireland: Dublin.

Writing Cardinal Numbers in English

• 123: One hundred and twenty-three
• 1,543: One thousand five hundred and forty-three
• 10,876: Ten thousand eight hundred and seventy-six
• 346,098: Three hundred and forty-six thousand ninety-eight
• 9,986,345: Nine million nine hundred and eighty-six thousand three hundred and forty-five
• 256: Two hundred and fifty-six
• 9,876: Nine thousand eight hundred and seventy-six
• 98,065: Ninety-eight thousand sixty-five
• 976,865: Nine hundred and seventy-six thousand

Employment and Career Development

• Apply for a place (v)
• Appoint (v)
• Become an apprentice (v)
• Commission someone to do something (v)
• Full-time job (n)
• Graduate from (v)
• Homeless shelter (n)
• Internship (n)
• Low-paid (adj)
• Mentor an intern (v)
• Part-time job (n)
• Permanent position (n)
• Placement (n)
• Supervise someone (v)
• Take on (a job) (phr v)
• Temporary job (n)
• Turn down (a job) (phr v)
• Tutor someone (v)
• Unpaid (adj)
• Volunteer (v)
• Well-paid (adj)
• Win a scholarship (v)
• Part-time (n)
• Thesis (n)

Professional Occupations

• Brain surgeon (n)
• Camera operator (n)
• Company director (n)
• Dog groomer (n)
• Drone pilot (n)
• Estate agent (n)
• Flight attendant (n)
• Software designer (n)
• Statistical analyst (n)
• Tattoo remover (n)
• Train driver (n)
• Video editor (n)
• Yoga instructor (n)

Personality and Character

Influences and Lines of Spanish Poetry

The process of rehumanization converged in several poetic lines, extending influences from the past:

• Romanticism: Drawing back to Bécquer and Garcilaso.
• Surrealism: Exemplified by poets like Aleixandre, Lorca, Cernuda, and Alberti.
• Social and Revolutionary Poetry: Influenced by Neruda, Alberti, and Miguel Hernández.
• Transcendent Poetry: Which sought to emulate the artistic quality of the poets of the Generation of '27.

Spanish Poetry in Exile: Three Main Groups

Poetry written in exile from Spain is generally grouped into three categories:

1. The Generation of '27.
2. The Generation of '14.
3. A third group whose work was constructed entirely while in exile.

The Generation of 1936: Rooted and Uprooted Poetry

Dámaso Alonso... Continue reading "Spanish Poetry Generations: Movements from '27 to Post-Franco Era" »

Characterization

• Prince Prospero: The main character, a wealthy and arrogant noble who believes he can avoid the deadly plague, the Red Death, by isolating himself and his courtiers in a fortified abbey. He is characterized by his hubris, decadence, and indifference to the suffering outside his walls.
• The Red Death: Personified as a spectral figure, the Red Death represents the inescapable nature of death. The figure appears at the masquerade ball, embodying the inevitability and impartiality of death.

Themes

The central theme of The Masque of the Red Death is the inevitability of death. Poe illustrates that no amount of wealth, power, or isolation can protect individuals from mortality. The story also touches on themes of denial, the folly of... Continue reading "Poe's Masque of the Red Death: Plot, Themes, and Characters" »

Work and Career Vocabulary

• apply for a place (v) – solicitar una plaza
• appoint (v) – nombrar
• become an apprentice (v) – convertirse en aprendiz
• commission someone to do something (v) – encargar a alguien que haga algo
• full-time job (n) – trabajo a tiempo completo
• graduate from (v) – graduarse de
• homeless shelter (n) – refugio para personas sin hogar
• internship (n) – prácticas
• low paid (adj) – mal pagado
• mentor an intern (v) – guiar a un becario
• part-time job (n) – trabajo a tiempo parcial
• permanent position (n) – puesto fijo
• placement (n) – práctica laboral
• supervise someone (v) – supervisar a alguien
• take on (a job) (phr v) – aceptar (un trabajo)
• temporary job (n) – trabajo temporal
• turn down (a job) (phr v) – rechazar (

Pre-Columbian Civilizations of the Americas

Christopher Columbus did not arrive in an empty land. Over centuries, great civilizations developed there, known as pre-Columbian cultures. While they had differences, they also shared many commonalities:

• Economy: Agriculture was the primary economic foundation.
• Craftsmanship: They produced intricate objects from ceramic, fabric, and gold.
• Urbanization: They built cities featuring significant architectural structures.
• Social Hierarchy: Priests and warriors occupied the top tiers of hierarchical societies.
• Expansion: They focused on territorial growth.
• Religion: All religions were polytheistic.
• Advancement: They achieved great cultural and scientific developments.

Some cultures, such as the Olmecs, Zapotecs,... Continue reading "Pre-Columbian Civilizations: Aztecs, Mayas, and Incas" »

Introduction to Middle English Linguistics

This text belongs to the period of ______ Middle English, more specifically the ______th century. This can be observed because of numerous morphosyntactic, lexical, orthographic, and phonological features that I will discuss in what follows.

Key Linguistic Definitions

Leveling: When the form or suffix of a word is leveled to other words in the same paradigm.

Extension: When the form or suffix of a word in one paradigm or category is extended to other paradigms or categories.

Weakening process: Unstressed vowels become /ə/ and later ∅.

• Nasals /n/ /η/ in final position become ∅.

Diacritic marking: Use of a grapheme to express the value of another.

Sandhi rules: Specialization phenomenon in which two forms... Continue reading "Middle English Linguistic Evolution and Morphosyntax" »

Sebastian F. Ramallo Asensio (Universidad de Murcia)

"Militum deinde quod eos non conlaudavit virtutem eruptio hostium, non altitudo moenium, Stagni inexplorata non vada, non castellum in high Tumulo situm, non munitissima arx deterruisset quo minus transcenderent omnia perrumperentque."

(T. Livy, XXVI, 48, 4)

This text from Livy's History of Rome clearly expresses components of the defensive apparatus of the city founded by Hasdrubal: the height of its walls, the unexplored shallow lagoon, the fortress located on a high hill, and the well-defended citadel. These components, coupled with the excellent conditions of its harbor and its strategic position on communication routes to Africa and Italy through the Balearic Islands (Appian, 19), made... Continue reading "The Defensive Walls of Carthago Nova: History and Archaeology" »