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

Galician New Narrative: 1960s-1970s

A heterogeneous group of authors and works from the 1960s and 1970s, including Gonzalo Rodríguez Mourullo, Xosé Luis Méndez Ferrín, Carlos Casares, and Xosé María Queizán, provided a thorough review of the trends of the preceding narrative.

Common Features

The authors, often with university degrees, were closely linked to nationalist ideology and knowledgeable about European narrative trends.

Narrator

Often a first-person narrator, focusing on introspection or detailed examination.

Protagonist

Often appears uprooted and overwhelmed by their own conscience or unknown circumstances.

Space

Becomes indefinite and intangible, contrasting with specific, known locations. Rural space dominates, acquiring symbolic importance... Continue reading "Galician New Narrative: Authors & Features (60s-70s)" »

The Roman Republic: Foundations of Ancient Governance

Tradition holds that after the expulsion of the Etruscan king Tarquinius Superbus, the Roman Republic was established. Its first two rulers were Lucius Junius Brutus and Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus. With the end of the monarchy, a republican system of government was installed, based on citizen choice. This system, which included citizen assemblies and magistrates (some with judicial roles), along with the Greek model, serves as a direct historical reference for modern democratic political systems.

The Roman Republic's governmental structure was characterized by three core principles for its magistrates: annuality (holding office for one year), collegiality (sharing power with at least one... Continue reading "Roman Republic and Senate: Governance in Ancient Rome" »

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)

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