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

Bernat Metge

His stepfather introduced him to the Royal Chancellery, where he held important positions and eventually became secretary. Metge was one of the writers significantly influenced by humanism. His most important work is Lo Somni (The Dream), in which he appears and tells the king that he is not in hell.

Jaume Roig

He authored Espill (Mirror) or Llibre de les Dones (Book of Women), a work written using the medieval technique of the noves rimades (new rhymes). He employed short verses and a fast pace. The work is divided into four books where the protagonist recounts her life, detailing various marriages. The woman is depicted as a collection of defects, almost as a human evil. This work has been considered a precedent to the Spanish picaresque... Continue reading "Literary Giants of Catalan and Valencian Heritage" »

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

Miguel Hernández: A Literary Journey

Early Influences and the Echo of Góngora

In 1927, the 300th anniversary of Luis de Góngora y Argote's death was commemorated. Poets across the nation paid tribute to him, much like they had for Lope, Quevedo, and Calderón. For Miguel Hernández, a newcomer to literary circles, this event solidified his vocation. Many analysts observe a temporary influence of Góngora in Hernández's early work, *Perito en Lunas*. However, Hernández did not merely imitate. He discovered a profound resonance with the richness of the Baroque language. Like Góngora before him, he amplified the meaning of words, lending even greater power to his writing. During this period, Hernández achieved success where his contemporaries... Continue reading "Miguel Hernández: Life and Poetic Evolution" »

Formal Texts: Definition and Examples

A formal text, such as a request, is written to a person in a managerial position of importance within an institution or government agency. A certificate is a document that officially recognizes a fact. The record (minutes) reflects what was discussed or agreed upon at a meeting. A report is a statement of facts or data on the status of an issue.

Elements of the Castilian Language Lexicon

The lexicon is the set of words in a language's vocabulary. Depending on their origin, the lexicon can be comprised of:

• Heritage: Words from Latin present in the language since its origins.
• Learned words: Words from Latin and Greek introduced into Castilian after the language's formation. Example: ocular (from oculus).
• Doublet:

Galician Prose: Early 20th Century

The creation in 1916 of the first Brotherhood of Speech, in Corunna, by Antón Vilar Ponte, marks the beginning of a new era of splendor in Galician literature. Galician literature opened up to genres other than poetry, which had been predominant, embracing narrative and theater, as well as essays, scientific research, and political discourse.

The intellectuals of the Brotherhoods published the magazine Our Land, created publishing houses such as Céltiga or Home, and strengthened nationalist ideology, based not so much on past history, but on language and culture, which they consciously defended and developed in their articles, essays, and speeches. Among the prose writers of the Brotherhoods, Joseph East Meis... Continue reading "Galician Prose in the Early 20th Century: Brotherhoods and Generation We" »

SE Usage in Spanish: Pronominal and Non-Pronominal

SE as a Pronoun with Direct or Indirect Object Function

1. SE as a Personal Pronoun

SE can substitute for him, her, it, or them when used as an indirect object pronoun alongside a direct object pronoun that begins with the letter "L" (lo, la, los, las).

Example: Vicente (Indirect Object) gave her a book. → Vicente (Indirect Object) told her about it (Direct Object).

2. SE as a Reflexive Pronoun

In reflexive constructions, the action of the subject is performed upon the subject itself. If a noun phrase (NP) already fulfills the role of the direct object, SE functions as an indirect object. Otherwise, SE acts as the direct object.

Examples:

• Eduardo (Direct Object) shaves himself.
• Margarita (Indirect

Antonio Machado

Soledades, Galerías y Otros Poemas

Antonio Machado's lyrical production, the most important poet of the Generation of '98, includes Soledades, Galerías y Otros Poemas. Published in 1903 under the name Soledades, it was revised, rewritten, and reissued in 1907. In it, Machado aligns traditional Castilian poetry with Romantic poets and Modernism (both in its lexicon and by the artificial pose of sighing in the gardens, made fashionable by Verlaine), going beyond the Modernist aesthetic.

Themes

The work raises two somewhat contradictory imperatives: essentiality and temporality. We see a subjectivity that seeks to identify with readers, universalized, and meditate on the passage of time and the trail it leaves in your life. The focus... Continue reading "Antonio Machado: Life and Literary Works" »

The Evolution of Languages in Spain

Articulation:

• Bilabial: p, b, m
• Labiodental: f
• Interdental: z
• Dental: t, d
• Alveolar: s, l, r, n
• Palatal: c
• Velar: k, g, j

Articulatory Section Modification:

• Occlusive: p, b, t, d, k, g
• Fricatives: f, z, s, y, j
• Affricates: c
• Lateral: L
• Vibrant: r
• Nasal: n, m

Vowel Sounds:

• Central, Open: a
• Anterior, Middle: e
• Above, Closed: i
• Later, Media: o
• Back, Close: o

Sonority:

• Sonorous: b, d, g, m, n, l, r
• Deaf: k, c, d, f, j, p, s, t, z

1. Pre-Roman Languages

Before the advent of different languages, Latin was spoken in the Iberian Peninsula. With the invasions came different languages. With Romanization, these languages, except Euskera (Basque), were disappearing.

2. Romanization Process

A process of Romanization arose. When the Romans arrived,... Continue reading "Evolution of Languages in Spain: A Historical Perspective" »

Baroque Comedy: Key Features

The Golden Age of Spanish Theater

The Golden Age of Spanish literature is synonymous with "play." Lope de Vega, a central figure of this era, championed the principle of artistic freedom. He refused to submit to the rigid rules of classical theater and rejected the three dramatic unities (time, place, and action).

• Events could unfold in different times and places.
• Plays were divided into three acts, with time jumps between acts.

Diverse Themes and Conflicts

Baroque comedies drew inspiration from various sources, including literary tradition, Spanish or universal history, the lives of saints, and social customs. Most conflicts revolved around two central themes:

• Love: The primary catalyst for dramatic tension.
• Honor: Individuals

Machado and Lorca: A Comparative Analysis

Antonio Machado: Lyricism and Modernist Expression

Machado: We are presented with a lyrical composition expressing the author's subjective world, encompassing feelings, sensations, and personal expressions. This expression is structured in verse, incorporating rhyme and rhythmic features. (Characterization as a literary genre, subgenre, is: verse or prose). The author is Antonio Machado, known for his work....

General Characteristics of Modernism in Machado's Work:

• Beauty as an aesthetic and vital principle: The poet aims to transform life into art.
• Creation of a literature of the senses.
• Revival of forms like the Alexandrian or eneasílabo verse.
• Embrace of the bizarre as beautiful.
• Exploration of melancholy