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

Themes in Don Quixote

• Utopia and Reality: The conflict between an individual wishing to carry out his dream, "his madness," and an environment that prevents it.
• Justice: The hero is moved by a spirit of vengeance.
• Love: The need to find a beautiful lady who embodies Platonic love. Love will be the engine of many of his adventures.
• Literature: Don Quixote is in itself a repertoire of literary genres of his time.

Characters in Don Quixote

There are more than 700 distinct and individualized characters. They are well-rounded and outlined by dialogue.

Don Quixote

Don Quixote is a gentleman in his 50s who is driven mad by reading chivalric romances. He represents the crazy-sane trope and therefore has an obvious mental clarity that amazes all who hear him.... Continue reading "Don Quixote: Themes, Characters, and Literary Style" »

Spanish Poetry: A Reflection of Society and Change

This lyric responds to the socio-political situation of Spain, mirroring the novel's desire for immediate world transformation through the denouncement of injustice. It adopts a narrative tone, characterized by simplicity and a focus on lexical items over form, emphasizing what is told rather than how.

What is significant, compared to the lyric poetry of the 1940s, is the formal shift towards verse less bound by classical forms. This new poetry embraces a literary language that reflects the true pulse of contemporary society, incorporating hints of humor, irony, colloquialism, and synaptic breaks.

The Renovation and Experimentalism of the Sixties

The late 1960s witnessed a remarkable change, driven... Continue reading "Spanish Poetry: Social Commentary and Literary Evolution" »

Camilo José Cela

*La Familia de Pascual Duarte* (1942)

With La Familia de Pascual Duarte, Cela initiated a new approach to incorporating reality as a literary theme, showcasing the sordid and terrible aspects of life. This work opened a new path in literature, permeated by tremendismo, which dominated the postwar years. The novel caused a great impact, as it was far from being a story with moral character. The protagonist, a condemned man, recounts his life, full of terrible events, such as the murder of his own mother. The author takes up the tradition of 19th-century realism and the picaresque. The narrator is capable of deep thoughts. The story is in the first person, and the temporary vision implies a selective memory of events experienced.... Continue reading "Camilo José Cela and the Evolution of the Spanish Novel" »

Spanish Theater in the Early Decades of the 20th Century

Spanish Theater During the First Third of the Century

Spanish theater during the first third of the century catered to a bourgeois public. Consequently, innovative theater was often stifled due to conflicts with commercial barriers and established tastes.

The most prominent dramatic currents of this period were:

1. The theater that triumphed on stage continued the prevailing trends of the late 19th century.
2. The theater that sought innovation, with new techniques and approaches, as seen in the works of Valle-Inclán.

The Triumphant Theater: Benaventina Comedy

1. Jacinto Benavente is the most representative figure of the possibilities and limitations of the time. Notable work: The Vested Interests.
2. Verse

The Postclassic Period of Roman Law

The Postclassic Period was notably characterized by the popularization of law. This broad phenomenon involved a generalized impoverishment of legal culture, extending into various fields like linguistics, but particularly evident in the legal sphere, leading to what is known as vulgar Roman law.

While this decline was widespread in the Western Roman Empire, marked by Germanic invasions, the same cannot be said for the Eastern Roman Empire. In the East, major schools in cities like Constantinople and Alexandria saw jurists actively seeking to counter this decline by revisiting classical legal principles. This era in the East is often referred to as the Neo-East.

Factors Contributing to the Vulgarization of Roman

Valle-Inclán

Valle-Inclán's early works, published at the beginning of the century, such as the Sonatas, are modernist in genre and narrative style. The Sonatas feature the Marquis de Bradomín, whom Valle-Inclán defined as "an ugly Don Juan, Catholic and sentimental," representing the young, decadent, aristocratic modernist. His early plays also fall into this category.

In the 1920s, his playwriting culminates with the creation of a type of play called grotesques, which ridicules both Spanish society and human nature itself. The technique of the grotesque involves misrepresenting the truth to the point of absurdity, turning characters into puppets that represent human vices and weaknesses.

Notable works include: The Captain's Daughter, Don

The Roman Republic

From Monarchy to Republic

After the expulsion of King Lucius, Rome entered its republican period, lasting until 27 BC. The monarchy was replaced by a more complex system:

• Two Consuls: Elected annually, these two individuals shared equal power.
• Magistrates: Officials responsible for various functions, including censors, quaestors, and councilors.
• The Senate: Expanded to include commoners.

Expansion in Italy

Two major conflicts shaped Roman conquest in Italy:

• Samnite Wars (343-290 BC): Rome fought against various allied Italic peoples, ultimately achieving victory in 283 BC.
• Intervention of Pyrrhus (281 BC): The Greek colony of Tarentum sought aid from Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, against Rome. Rome's subsequent victory secured control

Home of San Pedro de Moissac

This architectural work, known as the "Home of San Pedro de Moissac," is a Romanesque-style piece dating back to the 12th century. The author is unknown. The primary material used is stone, similar to that used in the Church of Saint-Pierre in Moissac, Languedoc. The tympanum depicts the Apocalypse, with a grand Christ in Majesty at its center, surrounded by the Tetramorph (symbols of the four Evangelists). The scene is completed with the 24 elders of the Apocalypse, separated by the waves of the sea of glass, which are also present on the jambs. On the left jamb, Isaiah appears, while Saint Peter is represented on the mullion. Apocalyptic beasts are depicted on the mullion. The rosettes carved on the lintel are... Continue reading "Masterpieces of Romanesque and Gothic Architecture and Art" »

Publication and Initial Context

Luces de bohemia was first published in the journal España in 1920 and appeared in 1924 in book form with some modifications. Valle's intent is not to recreate specific historical facts; the work cannot be placed in a single given year, but rather captures the atmosphere of an era. The play presents a concrete historical and social picture within a specific time and space. The action takes place over a single, 'unreal' day, encompassing social unrest and repression.

Historical and Literary References

Characters, institutions, and events highlight the crisis of '98 and the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera. Despite the short timeframe of the work, there are many historical and literary references that do not strictly... Continue reading "Context of Valle-Inclán's Luces de Bohemia" »

Pío Baroja: Life and Personality

Born in San Sebastián in 1872, Pío Baroja studied medicine in Madrid but soon left his practice as a doctor. He published his first books in 1900.

• Until 1911, he published 17 novels, constituting the most important part of his production.
• His fame was consolidated: His life became increasingly sedentary. In 1935, he joined the Royal Academy. The Spanish Civil War surprised him in the Basque Country, from where he went to France. In 1940, he settled again in Madrid. He died in 1956.
• He was a man of lonely and bitter mood.
• He was pessimistic about man and the world. However, he could feel tenderness for deprived or marginalized beings.

This complete and utter sincerity is a fundamental feature of his temperament.... Continue reading "Pío Baroja: Life, Works, and Influence on Spanish Literature" »