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

The Renaixença: Catalan Literary Rebirth in the 19th Century

The Renaixença was a broad Catalan cultural and ultimately political literary movement. Its promoters sought to recover cultured literary expression in the Catalan language, to define a distinct Catalan identity, and to incorporate some of the most significant trends of contemporary European literature, particularly Romanticism and Realism.

This movement had its precedents in scholarly studies of the 18th century, culminating in Josep Pau Ballot's Grammar and Apology of the Catalan Language in 1815. Its emergence is often associated with the publication of Bonaventura Carles Aribau's poem, Oda a la Pàtria, in 1833, which is usually regarded as the starting point of the Renaixença.... Continue reading "Catalan Literary Revival: From Renaixença to Modernisme" »

Ovid's Metamorphoses: Roman Epic and Mythology

The Life of Publius Ovidius Naso

Early Life and Poetic Career

Publius Ovidius Naso (43 BC-17 AD) was born in Sulmona, Central Italy, into a wealthy family of equestrian rank. While very young, he was sent to Rome to study eloquence. He then traveled to Athens, Asia Minor, and Sicily.

On his return to Rome, he was introduced into intellectual circles. He held various public offices but ultimately rejected politics to pursue poetry. He had a natural talent for writing poetry and achieved great success.

Exile by Emperor Augustus

Ovid's personal life and poetry led to his unfortunate sentence to banishment. In 8 AD, he was the subject of an accusation, and Emperor Augustus exiled him to Tomis. He had to... Continue reading "Ovid's Metamorphoses: Roman Epic, Mythology, and Legacy" »

Renaissance Humanism

Influences of the Renaissance: Humanism was a cultural movement that arose in Italy in the 14th century and extended throughout Europe until the finals of the sixteenth century.

Characteristics:

• Individual self-valuation.
• Affan for the physical and intellectual education of the youth.
• Reading and imitation of classical authors.
• Love for old books, especially original texts.
• Intimate religiosity.
• Aspiration to a clear and simple literary style without excessive expression.

Important Humanist Figures:

• Erasmus of Rotterdam (1469-1536): His travels led to a movement called Erasmianism, which had followers in Spain during the reign of Charles V.
• Petrarch (1304-1374): The Italian writer and poet most influenced the development of the Renaissance.

Renaissance Transformations in the Iberian Peninsula

During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, profound changes occurred in the Iberian Peninsula, transforming our understanding of the world. The fifteenth century marked the transition from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern period. These transformations were political, economic, social, and cultural. In this century, a desire for knowledge of the classical world of Greece and Rome awakened, resulting in the stream of thought called Humanism.

La Celestina, written in the late fifteenth century by Fernando de Rojas, tells the love story that takes place in an unnamed city. The plot unfolds as follows:

1. Infatuation of Calisto: Calisto, a young knight, falls for the beautiful Melibea.
2. Appeal

Spanish Literary Movements: Realism

Realism: It was a new way of narrating that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century.

General Features of Realism

• Reflection of Life: Sought to reflect contemporary everyday life.
• Characters: The characters belong to the middle class (bourgeoisie), and the author usually delves into psychological aspects.
• Narrative Technique: The narrative technique generally presents an omniscient, third-person narrator.

Benito Pérez Galdós

Galdós is characterized by his openness to irrational elements, as well as by a sharp, Cervantine wit.

Narrative Techniques Used by Galdós

1. Frequent dialogues reflect the everyday speech of the time.
2. Use of free indirect style, which allows capturing the thoughts of the character in the third person.

Irony in Lazarillo and the Ironic Protagonist

The narrator-protagonist addresses himself with subtle irony when describing how much he has suffered. He is also ironic concerning his final status and marriage.

Masters of Irony

• The Blind Man: "I was informed that he was healthy and cured," when in December, he washed him with wine, causing him wounds.
• Maqueda, the Cleric: "Take, eat, triumph, for the world is yours," by giving him uses that the bread he had previously gnawed on had given him.
• The Squire: "God has put me in your path after me, a good prayer," knowing that with him, misfortune was going to happen.

Topics

• Honor: It depended on the consideration that others had of someone.
• Religion: Five of the masters belonged to the ecclesiastical estate.

1.4. Stages of Roman Conquest of the Peninsula

First Stage (218–206 BC)

During the Second Punic War, Rome was attacked in Italy by Hannibal. To cut off his supplies, a Roman army landed in Emporiae (Ampurias) and advanced southward along the coast, eventually taking Carthage and Cádiz. Rome occupied the entire Mediterranean area and the Ebro Valley, defeating Hannibal.

Second Stage (155–133 BC)

This period involved the Lusitanian Wars and Celtiberian conflicts. The inhabitants of the interior offered great resistance to the Romans, making the conquest very difficult and costly.

• The Lusitanian leader Viriato successfully employed guerrilla techniques until his assassination in 139 BC.
• Intense resistance also came from the Celtiberians; the siege

Juan Ramón Jiménez
The life and work of JRJ will form part of our Noucentisme Gde1914.
Your personality: he was egocentric and hypersensitive. He sought solitude, reflection, and a quiet life.
From a young age, he knew that his fate was indisputably linked to poetry, to the relentless pursuit of beauty and knowledge through words. JRJ always believed poetry was a minority genre due to the difficulty of language. His work is not as easy to read; its conceptual density grows and becomes inscrutable as it progresses.
Poetic Path
There are several Juan Ramón Jiménezs that correspond to different evolutionary phases of his writing.

1. The Sensitive Period (1986-1915)

Obsession with death inspired his best poetry; he tried to shoo it away with... Continue reading "The Life and Work of Juan Ramón Jiménez: A Poetic Journey" »

Literary Currents: Modernism and Generation of '98

Modernism (Late 19th Century – World War I)

Modernism began in the late 19th century and concluded around the First World War (1914–1918). A principal representative was Rubén Darío.

Characteristics of Modernism:

• Rebellion against bourgeois aesthetics, considered prosaic and outdated.
• Preference for poetry over prose.
• Desire for escape, leading modernists to set their work in exotic locales and ancient times.
• Intense eroticism in the expression of love.
• Alternation between melancholy, rebelliousness, and vitality.
• Search for poetic language through rhythmic and sensory facilities.
• Metric renewal: Rubén Darío revived forgotten syllable counts, such as 9, 12, or 14 syllables.

Generation of '98

The... Continue reading "Key Figures and Characteristics of Early 20th Century Spanish Literature" »

Formation and Expansion of the Crown of Aragon

The Dynastic Union and Territorial Growth

• The formation and expansion of the Crown of Aragon became constant by the end of the 13th century.
• The dynastic union between Aragon and Catalonia was solidified by the wedding of Ramon Berenguer IV and Petronilla of Aragon.

Jaume I (The Conqueror) and Major Conquests

The Reign of Jaume I (1229–1245)

Jaume I (James I) undertook significant campaigns between 1229 and 1245. The distribution of conquered land was crucial, and Jaume I established new land charters (furs).

• A kingdom with its own jurisdictions was enacted in 1261.
• Conquests: Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia, and the Duchies of Athens and Neopatras in Greece.

Legal and Linguistic Developments

• Libro del Consulado