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

The Voyages of Christopher Columbus

First Voyage (1492-1493)

On his first voyage, Columbus departed from Palos de la Frontera with two caravels, the Pinta and the Niña, and the nao Santa Maria. After calling at La Gomera, ostensibly to repair a rudder while awaiting the trade winds that would facilitate navigation to the west, he set sail. After two months at sea and facing mutiny attempts from the crew, he reached land on October 12, 1492, which he named San Salvador. He skirted the islands of the Bahamas and visited Cuba and Haiti, which he christened La Española (Hispaniola). Off its coast, the Santa Maria ran aground, and its remnants were used to build Fort Navidad. Columbus befriended the natives and their chief. He returned to Spain... Continue reading "Christopher Columbus: The Four Voyages to the New World" »

Relative Pronouns in Latin

Singular and Plural Forms

Five Declensions Overview

Vocabulary Lists (Pages 16-21)

Page 16

• agmen, agminis (n.): column of troops
• confertus, -a, -um (adj.): tight, crowded
• confirmo, -as, -are (v.): to ratify, confirm
• expeditus, -a, -um (adj.): without baggage
• impetus, -ūs (m.): violence, attack
• implacabilis, -e (adj.): implacable, inexorable
• necessarius,

The 17th Century in Spain: A Period of Transformation

Economic and Political Landscape

The 17th century in Spain, under the rule of the Austrias (Philip III, Philip IV, and Charles II), was a period marked by significant decline and continuous military conflicts with other European powers. Monarchs inherited a country teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. By the end of the century, Spain had lost its hegemony and experienced population stagnation.

Economically, Spain was predominantly rural (approximately 80%). The largely illiterate peasant population faced widespread disappointment and discontent. A powerful and dominant noble class further exacerbated social inequalities. The era was also plagued by devastating epidemics, including the plague,... Continue reading "Spanish Golden Age: 17th Century Society, Art, and Literature" »

Spanish theater faced significant restrictions due to the new socio-political situation following the Civil War. Many intellectuals went into exile, and a rigid censorship was established on all performances, though it softened over time. The rise of cinema, and later television, drew the public, primarily the bourgeoisie, away from the theaters, leading to what is often referred to as the 'crisis of theater'.

The 1940s and Early 1950s

The initial years following the Civil War were characterized by low literary production. Writers largely kept themselves apart from overt political and ideological influence, focusing instead on human themes. Three main currents emerged:

• Bourgeois Comedy: These plays featured elaborate theatrical constructions,

Spanish Romanticism and Costumbrismo

Key Authors and Works

• Ramón de Mesonero Romanos: Known for costumbrista works like Escenas Matritenses.
• José de Larra: Famous for his critical "Articles" ("Artículos"), including El castellano viejo and Vuelva usted mañana.
• Serafín Estébanez Calderón: Wrote Escenas Andaluzas.

Early European Influences

Spanish Romanticism was influenced by European figures such as Chateaubriand, Henry Fielding, Daniel Defoe, and Sir Walter Scott. Lyrical influences include Lord Byron, while Victor Hugo impacted theater, and Alexandre Dumas influenced novels with works like The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers.

Notable Romantic Writers

• José de Larra: Also noted for his youthful contributions.
• Enrique Gil y Carrasco:

Romantic Theater

Romanticism pretended to be a drama that could shake the audience. People are represented by protagonists with a hovering mystery.

Characteristics

• The focus is usually love.
• The outcome combines the tragic and the comical, verse and prose.
• Use of measured action.
• The action transpires in different places and scenarios, and temporal skips can occur.
• Secondary actions.

The Student of Salamanca

Félix de Montemar, a Don Juan, seduces and abandons Elvira, provoking her death. Following a mysterious woman, Félix contemplates his own funeral and is brought to the "somber mansion". There, he discovers the lady is but the skeleton of Elvira, with whom Montemar marries before dying.

José de Espronceda

(1808-1842) was born in Almendralejo (Badajoz)... Continue reading "Romanticism in Spanish Literature: Authors and Works" »

Cervantes' Don Quixote: Social Documentary and Literary Synthesis

The work is a dense social documentary of its era. In it appear real places, characters, historical events, and all kinds of social groups like pastoralists, bandits, and priests. The characters of the protagonists, Don Quixote and Sancho, evolve along the work. Through dialogue, each one acquires features: Don Quixote (the idealistic, crazy one) ends up being more realistic and disillusioned, while Sancho loses much of his rusticity.

Literarily, Don Quixote is a very attractive novel. It constitutes a synthesis of all previous literature: pastoral novel, novel of love, Moorish novel, and maintains the fiction of chivalric romance. Cervantes uses literature within literature: literary... Continue reading "Don Quixote's Structure and the Three Textual Modalities" »

Spanish Theater: 1940 to Today

The harsh conditions following the Spanish Civil War significantly impacted literary creation. The theater experienced an intense crisis, with authors becoming scarce due to strict censorship.

Triumphant Theater in the Postwar Period

The triumphant theater in the immediate postwar period suggests a clear continuity with the forms and dramatic themes that existed before the Spanish Civil War. This era includes authors who viewed theatrical shows in the style of Jacinto Benavente, Jose Maria Pemán, Luca de Tena, and Calvo Sotelo. Besides high comedy, the dramatic landscape of the postwar period shows a clear trend toward humor in theater. The most outstanding representatives are Jardiel Poncela and Miguel Mihura.

Jardiel

Literary Texts

Literary texts allow us to affirm their literariness. The issuer can be an external circuit to the internal one of the author and may or may not be the author. The receptor, the reader, in every literary work is created by the implied reader within the work itself. Communication in literature presents differences because the receptor is also an issuer, and they are in different communication situations.

The literary message differs from other texts because its sole purpose is not practical. The literary character of a work creates a new reality, a different world, not a real one. The reader considers it true or false according to their task.

The ordering of contents is conditioned by the modes of discourse (narrative, description,... Continue reading "Characteristics of Literary and Argumentative Texts" »

The Renaixença: A Cultural Revival Movement

The Renaixença was a revival movement where Romantic ideals permeated all areas:

• Social: Favored the middle class.
• Economic: Related to the Industrial Revolution.
• Political: Cultural nationalism emerged, focusing on the recuperation of Catalan literature.

The First Generation of Romantic Poets

Romanticism emerged in Germany and England, but reached Catalonia in the mid-nineteenth century. Its function was to create a new art based on imagination, contrary to reason and the imposition of standards.

In 1833, Buenaventura Carles Aribau published the first romantic poetry in Catalan in a magazine. His example was followed by other authors, leading to the restoration of the Floral Games in 1859.

The Restoration