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

Origins of Ancient Rome

On the Italian Peninsula:

• In the center, Latins were pastoralists and farmers.
• In the north, the Etruscans.
• In the south, the Greeks had founded colonies (Magna Graecia).

In the mid-eighth century (8th) BC, Latins gathered some tribes near the Tiber River. More Latins settled on seven hills (Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Capitoline, Palatine, Aventine, and Caelian) to protect themselves against frequent floods. There, they raised the first settlements and would create a city that would later become Rome, a major commercial enclave.

Roman Religion

The Romans deified natural phenomena and forces (numina). The oldest places of worship were sacred forests (lucia). It was also important to worship the domestic gods (lares) in private,... Continue reading "Ancient Rome: Society, Origins and Expansion" »

Modernism in Spanish Literature

Origins and Influences

Modernism, an artistic movement spanning from the 1880s to the First World War, marked a significant shift in Spanish literature. It emphasized aesthetics and artistry, emerging in Latin America from a desire for literary renewal. Key figures like Rubén Darío and José Martí spearheaded this movement.

French literary modernism, particularly Parnassianism and Symbolism, heavily influenced Spanish Modernism. Parnassianism, with its focus on "art for art's sake," championed formal perfection and the beauty of poetry. Symbolism, on the other hand, employed symbols to evoke ideas and emotions, using musical language and rhythm to convey hidden meanings.

Other notable influences include Becquer'... Continue reading "Modernism in Spanish Literature: A Guide to Its Origins, Themes, and Key Authors" »

Prose in the Sixteenth Century

Didactic or Humanist Prose

Didactic or humanist prose was used to teach, as exemplified by Juan Valdés in his work *Dialogue of Language*.

Religious Prose

Key figures in religious prose include:

• San Juan de la Cruz, who described in his prose the mystical experiences found in his poetry.
• Fray Luis de León, known for *The Names of Christ* and *The Perfect Wife*, a work on the role of the Christian woman.
• Santa Teresa de Jesús, author of *The Book of Life*, chronicling her life from childhood to the founding of her first convent, and her most important work, *Interior Castle* or *The Mansions*, where she recounts an allegorical vision: a castle with seven chambers that the soul must traverse to achieve mystical union

The Cultured Lyric of the 15th Century

During the 15th century, courtly poetry emerged thanks to the nobility's attachment to the arts and letters. It draws heavily on courtly love traditions.

Key Features of Courtly Love Poetry

• Subjection of Love: The poet is devoted to a lady without being able to avoid it.
• The beloved is upper class and unattainable. The lady does not desire the lover.
• The name of the woman is hidden to avoid calumny.
• The lover suffers from not seeing his beloved.
• Love ceases only with death.

This lyric is notable for its formal aspects.

Medieval Spanish Songbooks (Cancioneros)

Collections of poems by various authors. The most important are the Cancionero de Baena and the Cancionero de Estúñiga. They collected both cultured and... Continue reading "15th Century Spanish Lyric Poetry: Authors, Themes, and Masterpieces" »

The Spanish Novel in the Mid-20th Century: 1940s to 1960s

The Post-War Novel (1940s): Exile and Tremendismo

This period saw the rise of the social novel, committed to the political and social conflicts that culminated in the 1936 confrontation. This literary trend evolved independently and parallel to the narrative produced by writers who went into exile due to the Republican cause, continuing to write and publish from countries in America.

The Novel in Exile

The most prominent author of the novel in exile was Ramón J. Sender. His work is characterized by ideological commitment. A key work is Crónica del alba (1942).

Early Post-War Novel in Spain (Tremendismo)

The early post-war novel reflected the mood of existential pessimism in Spain:

• The Family

Ramon Llull: Pioneer of Catalan Literature

The earliest significant manifestations of Catalan literature are attributed to Ramon Llull (Mallorca, 1232/35-1316). As one of the first authors to extensively use a major Romance language, Catalan, he produced a vast body of work, comprising 234 titles. He also wrote in Latin, as it was the international language of culture; Arabic, to engage with non-Christians; and Old Provençal, in which he composed most of his poetic works. His prolific Christian work saw him complete 13 books in just four years.

Major Works by Ramon Llull

• Blanquerna (1278, 1294)

  This novel, one of the first significant works in a Romance language, depicts the ascending social forms of the bourgeoisie within a context of Christian

Francisco Quevedo

Francisco Quevedo y Villegas was born in Madrid in 1580. He became famous at a young age and participated in various political intrigues. He later retired, ill, to Torre Juan de Abad. He died in Villanueva de los Infantes (Ciudad Real) in 1645 and is considered the highest representative of the conceptismo style.

His style is characterized by a masterful use of language, irony, parody, puns, and metaphors. He also uses vulgar and colloquial expressions, adopting a playful attitude towards language. His works include:

• Love poems, both idealized and torn visions of love.
• Moral and philosophical poems addressing the passage of time, the transience of life, and death.
• Satirical and burlesque poems, which caricature different aspects

Poetry of Modernism

Modernism is an aesthetic renovation. It is a synthesis of Parnassianism, with its taste for the refined, and Symbolism, with its taste for music, a tendency to incorporate symbols and sensory images.

In Spain, it began with Ruben Dario. It is characterized by the pursuit of beauty to escape everyday realities.

Characteristics:

• The creator is disturbed by society, is inclined to solitude and privacy, and moves away from reality.
• It has an anti-bourgeois, anti-realist stance, and tries to create an anti-vulgar, aristocratic, elegant, and exotic art.
• Favorite environments are classical antiquity, the medieval world, and the legendary.
• It has a formal cult of beauty.

Themes

Themes range widely from classical to modern and medieval romance.... Continue reading "Modernist Poetry and the Generation of '98 in Spain" »

Virgil's Eclogues: Pastoral Poetry and Themes

This is a series of songs inspired by the Greek Idylls of Theocritus, praising rural life and alternating narrative with dialogues between shepherds. Their discussions are often too sophisticated to come from men of the field, but this style is befitting a work intended for a demanding audience.

It is important to note that this model would be continued by authors of the Renaissance and Baroque periods to recreate the pastoral genre, featuring writers such as Garcilaso de la Vega and Cervantes himself. The genre also popularized the pose of the lover and the ungrateful beloved sufferer, themes so dear to court poets.

In 39 B.C., Virgil selected ten initial fragments and titled them the Eclogues. The... Continue reading "Virgil's Eclogues: Analysis and Summary of the Ten Pastoral Poems" »

Gabriel García Márquez: An Introduction to Chronicle of a Death Foretold

The following discussion focuses on Chronicle of a Death Foretold by the acclaimed Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez. This author is a pivotal figure in the literary movement known as the Latin American Boom, which emerged in the 1960s.

The Latin American Boom: A Literary Revolution

During this period, Spain and the rest of Europe witnessed the surprising development of Latin American literature, which had hitherto been largely marginalized and unknown, despite its inherent importance. This phenomenon primarily concerned the novelistic genre and garnered significant critical acclaim, attracting a vast readership.

Specialists often mark the launch of the Boom to 1963,... Continue reading "Gabriel García Márquez: Chronicle of a Death Foretold and the Latin American Literary Boom" »