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

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

Ramon Llull's Epistola: A Poetic Analysis

This document discusses a significant poem by the Majorcan polymath, Ramon Llull, one of the greatest lyrical poets of his time. Among his works, the poem known as Epistola stands out. It possesses an autobiographical character, reflecting the style of a thirteenth-century troubadour whose compositions were performed publicly.

Llull's Background and Mission

Ramon Llull hailed from the nobility, a well-educated stratum capable of reading and writing. He famously abandoned his social status to preach to "infidel" ethnic groups, driven by a profound evangelizing desire.

The Epistola: Genre and Characteristics

The Epistola belongs to the literary genre of poetry, characterized by its use of verse and rhetorical... Continue reading "Ramon Llull's Epistola: Medieval Poetic Analysis" »

Mester de Clerecía: 13th and 14th Centuries

Characteristics and Content

The Mester de Clerecía is the set of works composed by clerics during the 13th and 14th centuries. These texts have ethical content and a didactic, religious purpose. The stanza employed is the cuaderna vía. They were transmitted orally because the majority of the population was illiterate.

Gonzalo de Berceo

Gonzalo de Berceo is the first known Castilian poet. The Miracles of Our Lady are stories of miracles in which the Virgin Mary protects and forgives. It is divided into two parts: an introduction and a set of twenty-five miracles.

1. Presentation
2. Devotee's difficulties
3. Appearances of the Virgin
4. Final reflections

The Book of Good Love

The Book of Good Love, written by Juan Ruiz,

Romanticism

Romantic poets had as their themes: rejection of the environment, emotional excitement, liberated longing, and communion with nature.

• Poetry: Intimate lyric poetry that expresses the frustrations of the poet.
• Narrative: Collected legends and historical themes.

José de Espronceda

He is a romantic liberal prototype, exalted. His poetry is a passionate hymn to freedom, with a brilliant, musical, and effective style.

Works: Sancho Saldaña, Blanca de Borbón, El Estudiante de Salamanca, El Diablo Mundo, Hymn to the Sun.

Style: Pompous and emphatic, brilliant musicality.

Late Romanticism

Intimate romantic lyricism reached its climax late, with Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer and Rosalía de Castro. Both favor a simple, lyrical, and introspective style.... Continue reading "Spanish Literature: Romanticism to the Generation of '98" »

Philosophy in Ancient Rome

Philosophy in Rome, while deeply rooted in Greek traditions, experienced a significant evolution. It was initially introduced and popularized through Scipio's circle, which embraced Panhellenism. While this cultural movement was welcomed, it faced strong nationalist opposition. Aspects of philosophy like logic and metaphysics received little attention in Rome. Conversely, ethics, focusing on practical life, immediately attracted Roman thinkers.

Stoicism and Epicureanism were the dominant philosophical schools influencing Roman thought, although Stoicism failed to permeate the masses. Stoicism laid the foundations of Roman humanism and later influenced Christian thought. Its implementation occurred through Scipio's circle,... Continue reading "Roman Philosophy: History, Figures, and Influence" »

Spanish Literature: 14th-16th Centuries

14th Century Narrative: Prose Fiction

Don Juan Manuel

Key Characteristics

• Genre: Historical-fiction prose, epic elements.
• Focus: Noble protagonist, pursuit of love, action, fantastic locations, drawing from Arthurian legend and the Trojan cycle.

Themes

• Vanity
• Hypocrisy
• Justice
• Moral and didactic intention

Style

• Concern for language
• Extensive vocabulary

Major Work

El Conde Lucanor (also known as Libro de Patronio or Libro de los ejemplos del conde Lucanor y de Patronio)

15th Century Developments

Jorge Manrique

Profile

A nobleman and soldier who aspired to make a name for himself in society.

Literary Output

• Love poetry
• Moral and burlesque poetry

Major Work: Coplas por la muerte de su padre

A meditation on the passage of time,... Continue reading "Spanish Literary Masters: 14th-16th Century Works" »