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

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Follas Novas (1880): Second Book of Poems

This subject forms several different procedures and meaningful perspectives. The work stands out for its meter, its themes, and its structure.

Metrical Innovation and Themes

• Meter: Free verse is very innovative, since the author experiments with new metric combinations that anticipate the renovation carried out by the modernists years later.
• Themes: It is very often about two major themes developed in free verse: Portuguese society and the existential "I" of the author. It is a combination of intimate and social poetry, but one could also speak of a small group

Literary Terms Defined

Poem

Poem: the textual unit.

Verse

Verse: the unit of measure, rhythm, and rhyme.

Measure

Measure: takes into account the number of syllables.

Rhyme

Rhyme: the final sound matching two or more verses from the last vowel.

Rhythm

Rhythm: the right combination of stressed and unstressed syllables within the verse, which imparts musicality.

Stanza

Stanza: the unit formed by the combination of verses with no predetermined measure and a particular rhyme. Often lyrical.

Eglogue

Eglogue: contains the expression of the feeling of love put into the mouth of shepherds in the middle of idealized nature.

Elegy

Elegy: expresses the pain of death.

Ode

Ode: expresses feelings like love or sadness in many different shades.

Satire

Satire: censorship or critique,... Continue reading "Literary Terms, Concepts, and Devices Explained" »

Post-Civil War Spain

Repression and Exile

The Spanish Civil War concluded with overcrowded prisons filled with Republican political prisoners. Many Republicans, committed to the Republic, fled Spain through the Pyrenees, with an estimated 400,000 seeking refuge in France. Their return was complicated by the difficult situation France faced during World War II. Spanish emigration to the Americas also became a notable episode of the war. Expeditions of emigrants, including prominent writers and intellectuals, journeyed to Mexico. France also became a haven for Spanish exiles, while in Mexico, Republican activity resumed, with Republican courts convened as late as 1945 by the Republican government-in-exile.

Franco's Repression

Franco's dictatorship... Continue reading "Spanish Post-Civil War: Repression, Emigration, and Economic Hardship" »

Romanization: Involves the incorporation of all these peoples into the Latino cultural world, which resulted in the disappearance of their languages, as Latin imposed itself just as in other areas of Romania.
Romance languages: Different languages in Europe formed as a result of the fragmentation of Latin throughout the Middle Ages.
The Castilian: Originated in the realm of the Kingdom of Castilla. This conquered Kingdom of León and Aragon and thus extended its tongue by the 16th century. Many factors influenced the evolution of Castilian, including the unification of America and colonization. The final stabilization occurred in the 18th century when the Royal Spanish Academy was founded.
Bilingualism: Involves the use of two languages.
Dialect:

The Life and Death in the Poetry of Miguel Hernández

The life and work of Miguel Hernández are inseparable. His biography is a determining factor in his lyrical creation. His poetry goes through phases, beginning with a carefree life, whose destiny is configured by tragedy. His existence is marked by the dualism of life and death, a division mixed in Songbook of Ballads and Absences.

According to Jesús Christ Riquelme in his book, Miguel Hernández, life and death are joined in two ways:

• The existentialism of the philosopher Heidegger
• The sense of solidarity of the death-seed.

The poems of his teens have a natural optimism, where the poet sees things as if they were alive, "the stone threat." In this period, he identifies death with the arrival... Continue reading "Miguel Hernández: Life, Death, and Poetry's Dualism" »

Generation of '27: A Blend of Avant-Garde and Tradition

The Generation of '27 was a group of Spanish authors who mixed avant-garde elements with features of traditional Spanish poetry.

Characteristics:

• Formal renewal, using rich vocabulary
• Metric renovation, without metric freedom
• Varied subject matter

Key Authors:

• Pedro Salinas: His writing is a way of union with the absolute. The formal simplicity contrasts with the complexity of its meaning.
• Gerardo Diego: His poetry mixes tradition and renewal, avant-garde and traditional forms.
• Federico Garcia Lorca: His poetry blends the popular with the cult, inspiration with meticulous work. His work shows the frustration of man who cannot get what he wants. Notable works include "Poet in New York". He also

Miguel de Cervantes: A Life of Trouble

Early Life: Youth in Spain, the trip to Italy, and his return home.

• Lived in Valladolid, Cordoba, Seville, and Madrid, where he trained under the Erasmian writer Lopez de Hoyos.
• In 1569, he moved to Italy and participated in the Battle of Lepanto, where he lost the use of his left hand.
• Cervantes and his brother were taken captive to Algiers, where he remained a prisoner for five years.
• He tried his luck in various jobs.
• He was jailed twice; during his second stay in prison, Don Quixote was engendered.

Cervantes as a Novelist

Cervantes wrote many poems but realized he lacked a gift for poetry, as seen in The Journey of Parnassus (1614), which praises Spanish poets. Theater was his great vocation, resulting in... Continue reading "Miguel de Cervantes: Life and Literary Legacy" »

Social and Political Commitment

In Madrid, Miguel Hernández experienced the coup against the Second Republic. He solidified his socio-political stance by joining the Communist Party. This commitment crystallized in his works Wind Village and The Man Stalks. Hernández was passionately rooted in solidarity with humanity. His poetry leans more towards social commentary than political rhetoric. Inspired by the 'winds of the people,' he engaged in solidarity actions and spoke out against injustice and exploitation. Until the war broke out, he wasn't strictly a revolutionary poet. The ballad form became his vehicle to encourage the fight. As time progressed, his vision of reality grew starker.

Wind Village (1937)

Wind Village is a thematically unified... Continue reading "Miguel Hernández: Poet of Social Commitment and Despair" »

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" »