Notes, abstracts, papers, exams and problems of Latin

Chivalric Literature: From Medieval Tales to Tirant lo Blanc

Books of Chivalry: At the center of these stories was the figure of a knight-errant, who was involved in a string of daring missions, following an ethical code. These missions of the knights took on a purely anecdotal and adventurous nuance, including courtly love, and religious or symbolic elements. The stories were always wrapped in a good dose of fantasy, magic, and wonderful items. Dissemination from the European area of Britain was early in our land, and over the fourteenth century: Blandín of Cornwall or The Fable. But our literature made the genre evolve into what is called the chivalric novel, more credible and realistic, reflecting the changes.

The New Chivalric Novels

Novell... Continue reading "Chivalric Literature in Valencia: From Medieval Tales to Tirant lo Blanc" »

Generation of '27

A Poetic Fusion in Spain

The Generation of '27 wasn't strictly a generation, but rather a close-knit group of poets within a larger historical generation. This larger generation included other poets (like Miguel Hernández), playwrights (like Alejandro Casona), novelists (like Francisco Ayala), and even artists from other cultural movements (like Luis Buñuel, Salvador Dalí, and Manuel de Falla). The poets of '27 were united by a fusion of ideas:

• Noucentisme (pure art, intellectual rigor, and careful style)
• Tenets of the avant-garde (especially Surrealism and Creationism)
• Deep respect for Spanish lyrical tradition (influenced by authors like Antonio Machado and Juan Ramón Jiménez)
• Secular ideology from their shared educational

Roman Architecture

The Romans adopted Greek architectural elements, but these elements merged with those of the Etruscans and the Near East (Mesopotamia, Persia, etc.).

In addition to the three Greek orders, they used two others:

• The Tuscan: This order comes from Etruscan art and resembles the Doric, but the shaft is smooth without edges and placed on a pedestal or podium.
• The Composite: The most characteristic feature is that it mixes the Ionian spiral scrolls with the acanthus leaves of the Corinthian in the capital. The shaft can be smooth and sharp and is usually also placed on a podium.

Roman buildings used other elements such as the arch, or semicircular arch, and the vault. These two elements allowed for a more even distribution of weight... Continue reading "Roman Architecture, Painting, and Mosaics: Key Features" »

The Metric, Language, and Style of the Poem of the Cid

Over 3,000 verses in the Poem of the Cid are grouped into assonant monorhyme stanzas of varying lengths, ranging from 2 to 90 lines. The lines are irregular and divided into two hemistiches by a strong caesura, often represented graphically by a separation. The most common hemistiches have 6, 7, or 8 syllables.

The poem's language emphasizes clarity, specificity, and simplicity of expression. Minstrel features include frequent invocations of listeners, exclamatory expressions suggesting an audience, and a steady narrative pace. The oral tradition also explains the free use of verb forms and the use of epic epithets and appositions, which magnify the heroes, especially the Cid. Parallels to... Continue reading "Poem of the Cid: A Literary and Historical Analysis" »

Poema del Mio Cid

An epic poem recounting the story of Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, El Cid, a Castilian nobleman of the 11th century. The poem details the loss and recovery of the Cid's honor after being unjustly banished by King Alfonso VI. It is divided into three parts:

Song of the Exile

The poem begins with the Cid and his subjects leaving their land. In exile, he engages in battles against both Arabs and Christians. This section portrays him as a warrior hero with great humanity.

Song of the Marriage

After several victories, the Cid conquers Valencia. He sends a share of the spoils to King Alfonso VI, who forgives him and arranges the marriage of the Cid's daughters to the Heirs of Carrion.

Song of the Afrenta of Corpes

The Heirs of Carrion, accused... Continue reading "Medieval Spanish Literature: El Cid, Miracles, Love, and More" »

Social and Historical Context of the 1920s

The literature of the 1920s in Buenos Aires was disseminated and discussed, with a clear distinction made before the public. Writers were grouped into two main streams:

Florida Group

(Street of leisure) This group looked towards Europe and the aesthetic developments of the postwar period.

Boedo Group

(Street factory) This group looked towards Russia and embraced the dream of universal revolution.

Buenos Aires in 1920

The city rapidly transformed into a modern setting due to heavy immigration, which revolutionized society, especially the porteña population. The majority of immigrants were Spanish and Italian, but there were also other nationalities. Immigrants and their children benefited from increased literacy... Continue reading "1920s Buenos Aires: Literary Movements, Youth, and Borges' Symbols" »

Literary Language

Literary use of language: In the poetic function, literary language dominates, influencing both the content and its expression.

Characteristic Features

They can be grouped into two categories:

1. Deviation from the norm: A departure from normal language use.
2. Connotative or suggestive language: Language that suggests meanings through subjective associations, prevalent in lyrical poetry via metaphors or symbols.

Verse and Prose

Literary works are presented in two rhythmic forms: verse and prose. Verse adheres to a fixed rhythmic structure, while prose is not subject to a specific pattern.

Literary Genres

Lyric

The author expresses their subjectivity, feelings, or thoughts in the first person. It is often expressed in verse and includes original... Continue reading "Literary Language, Genres, and Forms" »

Realism

From the second half of the nineteenth century, a new movement began, Realism, which represented a reaction to the Romantic writers of Romanticism. Instead of seeking a subjective contemplation of reality, the authors gave a more objective, realistic view. Throughout Europe, a series of social changes were taking place, including the emergence of the proletariat. Realist writers began to report the negative consequences of these changes.

Characteristics of Realism:

• They prefer factual descriptions and dialogues that characterize the characters.
• The protagonists are ordinary men and women.
• Works have a social intent and subject matter drawn from reality.
• Narrative grows mostly.
• In France, Balzac and Flaubert are highlighted, with Madame Bovary.

Influences

A) Hispanic Roots: Literary modernism was born in Latin America with authors like José Martí and Rubén Darío.

B) The Influence of Parnassianism and Symbolism:

• Parnassianism: Parnassians sought, above all, the formal perfection of the literary work. It represents an attempt to escape from the reality of their time through the creation of an artificial reality where only beauty matters.
• Symbolism: Symbolism is an art form against which reality is merely represented. Symbolists intend to go beyond what can be perceived by the senses. Their mission is to find those other realities that exist behind the apparent reality and struggle with language to suggest them to the reader through the musicality of the text (literary resources).

C)

Literary Movements and Correspondence

Future: Traditional and Aesthetic Rejects

Celebrating life, based on its two dominant themes: Machine and Movement. Thus, any expressive environment (visual arts, architecture, planning, advertising, fashion, film, music, poetry).

Caligrama

Text lines that are a drawing.

Dadaism

The absurdity reflects society. It is the start from scratch, breaking all the schemes proposed or prior practice.

It is an inartistic, antiliterary, and antipoetic movement questioning the existence of art, literature, and poetry.

Surrealism

(Boris Vian) Reality beyond the standards imposed by the author.

Surrealism was a great revolution in language and the provision of new composition techniques.

Generation of '98

• Features: The authors are