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

J.V. Foix (1893-1987)

Josep Vicenç Foix, born in Sarrià in 1893, signed his works as J.V. Foix. He abandoned his law studies and dedicated his life to culture. Although his main activity was literature, he participated in politics as a nationalist, was interested in contemporary painting, and was involved in sports at the Catalan Flying Club. The roots of his native town, the countryside, Catalonia, and his faithfulness to his language are elements that give meaning to his work. He died in 1987.

His work includes articles on political and aesthetic considerations, such as "Some Avant-Garde Literature" (1925). His main work belongs to the poetic prose genre, as well as verse:

1. Poetic Prose: He planned to collect 365 pieces, but only 208 are conserved.

Key Aspects of Medieval Culture

Theocentricism: In medieval Christian society, everything revolved around religion, influencing lives and literature.

Middle Ages: A period spanning from the 5th to the late 15th century.

The Clergy: The literate class during the Middle Ages, driving education.

Feudalism: Production based on a natural and agricultural economy, tending toward self-sufficiency.

Orality: Medieval works often contain appeals to listeners and repetitions.

Monasteries: After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, written culture found refuge in monasteries.

Author Anonymity: Medieval books were manuscripts, and authors were often anonymous.

Secularization: In the late Middle Ages, written culture expanded beyond ecclesiastical walls.

Universities:

Catalan Literature: From Modernism to Noucentisme

Key Literary Works and Authors

"The Slope" by Clementine Ardiu reflects on the equilibria between the good and the bad in life. (19th Century).

"I would not be more than a bird alone," by Carles Riba, explores themes of nature, *tempus fugit*, and love. (Noucentisme).

"Súnion!" by Carles Riba, expresses ideals of democracy and freedom, and a perfect mental identification with the temple while in exile. (Noucentisme). "Mutilated Temple."

"Ode to Catalonia from the Tropics," by Agustí Bartra, conveys a longing for his country, which has become a strange land to him. "The furious tropic of the Silver Cross thrusts my face."

"Sun and Mourning," by J.V. Foix, deals with the clarification of his imaginary... Continue reading "Catalan Literature: Modernism to Noucentisme" »

Development of Prose in the 16th Century

The Renaissance aesthetic ideas soon blended prose fiction and didactic prose. It combined medieval traditions with innovative currents.

Didactic Prose: The Dialogues

This was a genre with great acceptance and was instrumental in the development of the novel. The most appreciated were those of Juan de Valdés and Alfonso de Valdés.

Prose Fiction Genres

Includes the pastoral, Moorish, and Byzantine genres.

Pastoral Novel

Los siete libros de la Diana (1559) by Jorge de Montemayor was published. This work is centered on the love of the protagonist for Diana. It exemplifies the most outstanding feature of the pastoral novel: the idealization of nature and love (characterized by a quiet and melancholic language)... Continue reading "Spanish Prose Development: 16th and 17th Centuries" »

Cervantes' Life and the Creation of Don Quixote

Cervantes was born in Alcalá de Henares. During his childhood and youth, he lived in Valladolid, Córdoba, Seville, and Madrid. He participated in the Battle of Lepanto and was captured by the Turks when he returned to Spain, spending five years in prison. Don Quixote was published in two parts: the first in 1605 and the second in 1615.

Part One

• First Outing: Alonso Quijano loses his mind reading many chivalric romances. He decides to imitate the heroes he reads about.
• Second Outing: Don Quixote travels with his squire, Sancho Panza. After various adventures, both return to their village.

Part Two

• Third Outing: He is defeated on the beach in Barcelona by the Knight of the White Moon. He returns home,

Valle Inclán: Modern Poetry

Valle Inclán is known for three books of modern poetry:

• Aromas of Legend (1907): A fusion of modernism with the mystical grounds of lyrical Galicia.
• The Passenger (1920): Deals with issues using imagination, magic, and astrology.
• The Pipe Kif (1919): Coloristic style, a caricature of the nonsensical.

His poetry is characterized by significant rhythms, rhyme, and color.

Juan Ramón Jiménez: Pure Poetry

Juan Ramón Jiménez's personal work is related to pure poetry and the aesthetics of silence.

Stage 1: Sensory

• Arias Tristes (1903)
• Jardines Lejanos (1904)
• Balada de Primavera (1907)
• Platero y yo (1914)

Stage 2: Intellectual

• Diario de un poeta recién casado (1916)

Stage 3: Exile

• Estación Total (1946)
• Dios deseado y deseante (1949)

Narrative Texts
- Developing a story: a succession of actions usually with a referential function, as well as poetic.
- The story is told by a narrator to convey facts as part of a fictional world.
- The mode of discourse is prose, but verse has also been used.

Subgenres
- Epic, romance, fable, story, novel.

Dramatic Text

They develop a story through the actions or words of the characters, without the intervention of a narrator. The appellative function predominates, and next to it, it's expressive.
The form of communication between characters through dialogue is in verse and prose.

Dramatic Subgenres
- Tragedy, comedy, tragicomedy, drama, autosacramentales, farce.

Lyric Poetry: Primitive

- Jarcha: Composed in Arabic or Hebrew, typically eight lines, but... Continue reading "Understanding Narrative and Dramatic Texts in Literature" »

Early Life and Education

Rosalía de Castro was born in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, on February 24, 1837. Her mother, Teresa Castro y Abbey, was a gentlewoman of dwindling fortune. There is no evidence to support the claim that her father was the priest José Martínez Viojo. Rosalía was named Rosalía de María Rita. She spent her early years in Padrón before moving to Santiago de Compostela in 1850. Rosalía received a higher level of education than was typical for girls of her time, studying French, drawing, and music at the Sociedade Económica de Amigos del País. She also participated in activities and meetings at the Liceo de la Juventud, where she made her theatrical debut and likely met Aurelio Aguirre and Eduardo Pondal.

Literary

Neoplatonism's Influence on Love and Beauty

Renaissance Neoplatonism elevated love and beauty to essential components for spiritual transcendence. This philosophy heavily influenced the era's love lyric. Petrarchism, introduced in the 16th century by Juan Boscán and Garcilaso de la Vega, became a prominent literary movement.

Garcilaso de la Vega: A Renaissance Gentleman

Garcilaso de la Vega, a model Renaissance gentleman, combined literary pursuits with military service. Despite his early death, he produced a diverse body of work, including sonnets, songs, elegies, and epistles written in blank verse (e.g., Epistle to Boscán). He broke with tradition by using unrhymed lines instead of the classical chained tercets for the epistolary genre.... Continue reading "Renaissance Neoplatonism and Spanish Lyric Poetry" »

Theme 1: Origin and development of the languages of Spain: Except for Basque (Euskera), whose origin is unknown (but which greatly influenced Castilian), all languages spoken in the Iberian Peninsula (Castilian, Galician, Catalan, and Portuguese) and some dialects (Leonese and Aragonese) derive from Latin. When the peninsula became a Roman province, it adopted the language of the invaders, Vulgar Latin. This is the origin of all the Romance languages (derived from Latin). Before Roman colonization, the Peninsula was inhabited by diverse peoples from two cultures, the Celtic and Iberian, each with several languages. The Romanization process, by which people entered the Hispanic Latino cultural world, was very slow and incomplete in some areas.... Continue reading "Spanish Languages: Origins, Evolution, and Dialects" »