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

Medieval Spanish Literature Foundations

The Jarchas: Early Romance Lyric Poetry

The jarchas are short songs from the 11th and 12th centuries written in Mozarabic. They represent the earliest manifestation of Romance lyric poetry in Spain. They consist of a few verses placed at the end of Arabic and Hebrew poems called moaxajas. In these verses, a woman, often addressing an informant (like her mother or sister), expresses her feelings about love.

Galician-Portuguese Lyric Poetry

Galician-Portuguese lyric poetry was influenced by the learned and courtly poetry cultivated in Provence (France) and developed during the 13th and 14th centuries.

Types of Cantigas

• Cantigas de amigo: Love poems with an intimate tone. Similar to the jarchas, a young woman

The Augustus of Prima Porta Statue

Dating and Context of the Sculpture

The statue known as the Augustus of Prima Porta is a marble copy of an original bronze sculpture. It is believed that the original bronze was created around 20 BC, based on the iconography that appears on the breastplate. The marble copy, however, was likely completed around the year 14 AD, indicated by the fact that Augustus is depicted barefoot, signifying his deification after death.

Roman Portraiture: Realism to Idealism

Roman sculpture is primarily focused on portraiture. The practice of the death mask (imago) heavily influenced early sculpture, determining the sharp features of the nose, chin, cheek, and mouth often seen in portraits. In imitation of these wax images,... Continue reading "Augustus of Prima Porta: Imperial Idealization and Symbolism" »

Roman Theater

It is a literary genre of ancient Roman literature. It emerges from the adaptation of Roman schemes observed in Greek dramatic theaters. The Greek colonies in Italy, attracted by its beauty, copied schemes of tragedy and comedy.

Dramatic Manifestations:

• The Atellans: Improvised representations with humorous and burlesque themes. The characters were fixed, and characteristics were determined.
• Fescennine Verses: Representations of dialogue full of irony during games. The actors wore masks.
• Mime: Actors and actresses representing eroticism with comic situations.
• Pantomime: Dramatic pieces based on dance and mime, represented by a single actor embodying the various characters in the play.

Roman Comedy

Based on Greek New Comedy, it adapts... Continue reading "Roman Theater: Comedy, Tragedy, and Key Playwrights" »

Song of the Mio Cid

Model Values:

• Loyalty to the King: El Cid is faithful and loyal to the king. El Cid undertakes a war policy that leads him to conquer Valencia.
• Consideration and Honor: Rodrigo gets the royal pardon and his daughters marry into royal lineages, wedding the princes of Navarre and Aragon.
• Personal Effort and Faith in God: Based on personal effort, Rodrigo's virtue stems from Christian faith, loyalty to his king, justice towards his subjects, love for his family, and courage under fire.
• Measure: In all his actions, the Cid is wise and shows affection appropriately.

Authorship and Composition Date

The Song of the Cid is preserved in a manuscript that ends with a note stating that Per Abbat wrote it in May of the year XLV.

Structure of

Spanish Poetry After 1936: Key Movements

Miguel Hernández: War Poetry & Transition

Miguel Hernández's poetry, inspired by the poets of the Generation of '27, represents a transition and significant influence in war poetry. The author reflects the experience of war and its hardships, which deeply moved him. His poetry employs few clever tricks, focusing instead on metaphor and symbolism. Thus, the poet's procedures and feelings are inseparable.

Rooted Poetry: Optimism and Tradition

The poets of this trend were creative youth themselves. They grouped around the journal Garcilaso. They exhibit great optimism, clarity, and order in their poetry, sharing a coherent, orderly, and calm worldview, free from chaos and distress. They live in the contemplation... Continue reading "Spanish Poetry After 1936: Key Movements and Influences" »

Modernism: Key Features

Key Features: Modernists embraced beauty in all forms, focusing on creating beautiful objects and spaces, and expressing intense feelings and emotions. They contrasted vulgarity with the aristocratic, often symbolized by the swan. Their rejection of the reality they inhabited led to a fascination with the past (classical world, myths, medieval, Renaissance, 18th century, and Hispanic past) and distant, exotic lands.

Issues at the End of the Century

Issues at the End of the Century: Spain faced a profound political and social crisis in the late 19th century, culminating in the Disaster of 1898 (Spain's military defeat by the U.S. after the Cuban insurrection), which resulted in the loss of its last colonial possessions (... Continue reading "Modernism and the Crisis of the 19th Century in Spain" »

The Italianate Lyric

The Italianate lyric introduced new forms and themes into Spanish poetry:

Key Topics of the Italianate Lyric

• Love: Conceived as a psychological process in which the beloved is idealized.
• Nature: Seen both as a manifestation of the harmony of God's creation and a confidante of the poet.
• Mythology.

Metrics and Strophic Forms

The hendecasyllable verse, imported from Italian poetry, brought new compositions and strophic forms:

• The Sonnet (verses arranged in two quatrains and two tercets).
• The Heroic Verse Poem.

Genres Recovered from Classical Literature

Various genres of classical literature were recovered:

• The Ode: Suitable for existential, moral, and philosophical reflection.
• The Epistle: Allows the expression of domestic and family issues.

Spanish Literature: The Postwar Period (1939-1975)

Historical Context of Postwar Spain

The period begins in 1939, establishing in Spain the dictatorial regime of General Franco, which lasted until 1975.

• In 1977, the first democratic elections were held, and in 1978, the Constitution was adopted. Democracy was restored under the monarchy of Juan Carlos I.

Social Transformations and Economic Boom

The postwar years were initially tough economically.

• Economic Boom (1950s): Starting in the 1950s, an economic boom led to the country's modernization and opening toward Europe. This enabled a more critical attitude toward the dictatorship among certain social sectors.
• Post-Franco Changes (1975 onwards): Following the death of Franco in 1975, significant social

Tradition and Vanguard

Miguel Hernández was not a man of learning; his life was a struggle against difficulties and shortcomings. In November 1931, hopeful, he traveled to Madrid with his teenage poems, which he brought back in 1932, disappointed by his failure to implement completely renovated literary ideas. His poetry writing became much more complex, with a *culterano* accent. This poetry is the fruit of his reading of the Baroque, Góngora, and the *gongorists* of the Generation of '27.

In 1934, he returned to Madrid to try again, and this time he accessed the literary world, thanks to influences from Sijé. It was a fertile time, open to everything and everyone; his assimilative capacity was absolute. His circle of friends expanded.

Miguel... Continue reading "Miguel Hernández: Life, Poetry, and Commitment" »

Josep Maria Benet i Jornet: A Playwright's Evolution

Josep Maria Benet i Jornet's early theater was realistic, characterized by reflection on the individual and the society that surrounds them. His work later evolved to explore more intimate and existential themes.

Key Realistic Plays

• Berenàveu a les fosques (1972)
• Quan la ràdio parlava de Franco (1979)

Children's Theater Contributions

He also cultivated children's theater with works like:

• Supertot (1975)
• El somni de Bagdad (1977)

Awards and Other Works

Benet i Jornet received the National Prize for Literature in the dramatic literature category in 1995 for his play Morir. Additionally, he was the first scriptwriter for telenovelas produced by Catalan television.

Enric Valor: Grammarian, Folklorist,