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

Literary Genres

Lyric

These are verses, expressing feelings, and are texts marked by subjectivity.

Lyric Subgenres: Traditional

• Ode: Song of worship.
• Songs: Theme of love poem.
• Elegy: Expressing a feeling of pain.
• Eclogue: Poem featuring shepherds, idealized nature.
• Satire: Criticizing someone/something.
• Epistola: Letter in verse form.
• Epigram: Burlesque composition.

Lyric Subgenres: Popular

• Song: Oral transmission.
• Zejel: Arabic tradition.
• Villancico, Lyric Romance.

Dramatic

Characters that dialogue.

Dramatic Subgenres: Classical

• Tragedies: Work that presents serious themes, serious conflict, tragic ending.
• Comedy: Everyday topics mixed with humor, happy ending.
• Drama: Everyday characters/situations, happy ending, mixed genre.

Dramatic Subgenres: Important Minor

• Autos

Medieval Period (476-1492)

The Medieval Period, extending from 476 to 1492, was marked by the Arab presence (711-1492) and diverse religious influences.

Features of Medieval Literature

• Oral Transmission: Transmitting stories through singing or recitation.
• Anonymity: Most works were anonymous.
• Didacticism: Literature often had a didactic function.

Traditional Lyric Poetry

Early medieval lyrical manifestations included ditties sung by people on holidays.

The Jarchas

Written in Mozarabic (11th century), these were brief lyrical compositions of 2-4 verses. Arab and Jewish poets of the peninsula included them at the end of poems written in Hebrew or Arabic. The theme was often a woman's lament to her lover.

The Cantigas de Amigo

Galician-Portuguese poets (... Continue reading "Medieval Spanish Literature: Characteristics, Works, and Authors" »

The Generation of 98

The Generation of 98 refers to the year of disaster for the loss of the last colonies (Cuba and the Philippines). The style is sober and expressive, while the baths are a concern for Spain, with sensitivity and emotion against the landscape.

Antonio Machado

Solitudes, Galleries and Other Poems (themes: time, man, love, death, and God), Campos de Castilla (land of Soria), New Songs (proverbs and songs). During the civil war: Death of the Wounded Child, The Crime Was in Granada (death of Garcia Lorca), Madrid, Madrid!, How Well Your Name Sounds!

Miguel de Unamuno (Essayist)

Poetry

Lyrical sonnets, Rosario, El Cristo de Velazquez, From Fuerteventura to Paris, ballads and songs of exile (poetic).

Novels

Fog, Love and Pedagogy, Peace

Generation of '27: A Poetic Fusion

Balancing Tradition and Innovation

The Generation of '27 achieved a unique equilibrium, blending avant-garde experimentation with established traditions. This fusion encompassed:

• Traditional and popular lyricism
• Classical influences, reflected in the pursuit of formal perfection
• Romantic influences, apparent in the immediacy of emotion
• Influence of Juan Ramón Jiménez's pure poetry
• Elements of avant-garde movements

Key figures who influenced this generation include Juan Ramón Jiménez, José Ortega y Gasset, and Ramón Gómez de la Serna. Stylistically, their poetic creation often involved associating poetry with unconventional subjects, exploring a diverse range of themes, both traditional and modern.

Key Poets

Medieval Spanish Prose

Prose Development in the Middle Ages

Latin was initially favored for written expression. However, Castilian steadily gained recognition for literary and scholarly works. Alfonso X and Don Juan Manuel in the 14th century solidified Castilian's role as a versatile language for diverse content.

The Prose of Alfonso X the Wise (13th Century)

Amidst the Reconquista, Alfonso X, though sometimes criticized for his limited military involvement, is recognized for his cultural contributions. He championed the arts and sciences, notably translating and adapting Arabic and Hebrew works. One of Alfonso X's key achievements was establishing Castilian as the official language and fostering the Toledo School of Translators. This ensured... Continue reading "Medieval Spanish Prose: From Alfonso X to Don Juan Manuel" »

Baroque Poetry: Themes and Innovations

Baroque poetry presents a variety of themes and issues, with innovations and an intensification of Renaissance expressive resources.

Topics and Trends

• Romantic Poetry: Retrieves the Petrarchan model (description of female beauty, frustrated love, mythology).
• Philosophical and Moral Poetry: Addresses disappointment, the brevity and transience of life, the concept of death, the censure of vices, and the pursuit of virtue.
• Religious Poetry: Includes spiritual reflection, repentance, and commemorative poetry.
• Burlesque Poetry: Abounds in parody and humor, even ridicule and personal attacks.

Formal Aspects

• Metrical: Poems and verses less Italianate.
• Style: Elaborate poetic language, extreme acuity, the concept (metaphor,

Types of Coordinated Propositions

Coordination

Copulative: y, e, ni

Disjunctive: o, u

Distributive: one...another, bien...bien

Adversative

Restrictive/Partial: but, however, most, but nonetheless, although

Exclusive/Full: but, before bien

Explanatory

that is, what's more, for example

Pronouns and Their Values

Personal: Buy a book for Martha

Reflexive: Shaves

Reciprocal: Pedro and I look at frames

Interest: Laura, take one

Language Types and Characteristics

Administrative Language

Used in public and citizen-facing documents. Examples: analysis, curriculum, resource management, circulars.

Legal Language

Governs citizen relations. Examples: laws, proclamations, decrees, lawsuits, judgments, edicts.

Scientific Language

Communicates research results. Features explanatory... Continue reading "Coordinated, Disjunctive, and Adversative Propositions in Language" »

Other Languages are Spanish: Galician, Catalan and Basque

Galician, which comes from Portuguese-Galician formed in the northwest, expanded south with the Reconquista. It had a flourishing literary culture in the Middle Ages, later declined, and reappeared with Romanticism. Currently, it is spoken in western Asturias, El Bierzo, and northwestern Zamora. However, it is in Galicia where the language is recognized as official.

The second language, Catalan, born in the northeast corner, was spreading through Catalonia, the Kingdom of Valencia, and the Balearic Islands. At first, it enjoyed a huge literary development that eventually fell into decay and resurfaced with the Renaixença. Today, it is the official language of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands,... Continue reading "Bilingualism and Diglossia in Spain: Languages" »

Pedro Calderón de la Barca

He wrote a theater of ideas, which deepened the moral and philosophical concerns of his era. The dilemmas reflected in his dramas include the passage of time, the misleading nature of reality, and honor (e.g., El Alcalde de Zalamea and Life is a Dream).

The Enlightenment (17th-18th Centuries)

Originating in England and France, the Enlightenment was a philosophical and intellectual movement that emphasized reason and individualism over tradition. It was characterized by:

• Defense of reason over faith
• Confidence in science and education
• The goal of eradicating superstition and ignorance

"Everything for the people, but without the people." This phrase reflects the enlightened despotism adopted by monarchs like Carlos III of... Continue reading "Spanish Literature in the Age of Enlightenment" »

Lazarillo de Tormes inaugurates a new literary subgenre: the picaresque novel. It takes the form of a pseudo-autobiographical story. The protagonist, of miserable origins, abandons his family environment and serves several masters. The main character has a picaresque character (astute, prudent, suspicious) and a strong desire to prosper. The story aims to explain a final state of dishonor.

Date and Authorship

The first editions kept are dated 1554, and all manuscripts are missing. No author is listed.

Literary Sources

• The Golden Ass, where the work of Apuleius influences the nature of the main character.
• Boy with Many Masters, a fourth book about the brave knight Rinaldo de Montalban, influences the autobiographical narrative process.
• Carat Loves