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

Gabriel García Márquez and the Latin American Boom

The novel, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, was written by Gabriel García Márquez, who was born in Colombia in 1928 and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982. García Márquez belongs to a group of storytellers who drove the Latin American narrative in the 1960s (known as the Boom).

Key Characteristics of the Boom Narrative

The most significant features of this literary movement can be classified into:

• Magical realism
• The incorporation of the subconscious
• The presence of death
• The breakdown of linear time
• Illogicality
• Experimentation with language
• The sacred meaning of the body

Chronicle of a Death Foretold: Genre and Themes

This is a short novel that blends elements of the news story and detective... Continue reading "Analyzing Chronicle of a Death Foretold Structure and Style" »

Influences

A) Hispanic Roots: Literary modernism was born in Latin America with authors like José Martí and Rubén Darío.

B) The Influence of Parnassianism and Symbolism:

• Parnassianism: Parnassians sought, above all, the formal perfection of the literary work. It represents an attempt to escape from the reality of their time through the creation of an artificial reality where only beauty matters.
• Symbolism: Symbolism is an art form against which reality is merely represented. Symbolists intend to go beyond what can be perceived by the senses. Their mission is to find those other realities that exist behind the apparent reality and struggle with language to suggest them to the reader through the musicality of the text (literary resources).

C)

Fernando de Rojas: Author of La Celestina

Fernando de Rojas (La Puebla de Montalbán, Toledo, 1470 – Talavera de la Reina, Toledo, 1541) was a Spanish dramatist, renowned as the author of the tragicomedy, La Celestina. This work is considered one of the top achievements in Spanish literary history and marks a crucial, transitional point between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

Birth, Converso Heritage, and the Inquisition

Rojas was born into a family of conversos (Jewish converts) who faced repeated scrutiny and trials by the Inquisition for secretly practicing Judaism. Rojas actively assisted his family members, known as Marranos, affected by these persecutions. Documents related to his own accusations by the Inquisition strongly support... Continue reading "Fernando de Rojas: Life, Authorship, and La Celestina's Literary Legacy" »

Bernat Metge

His stepfather introduced him to the Royal Chancellery, where he held important positions and eventually became secretary. Metge was one of the writers significantly influenced by humanism. His most important work is Lo Somni (The Dream), in which he appears and tells the king that he is not in hell.

Jaume Roig

He authored Espill (Mirror) or Llibre de les Dones (Book of Women), a work written using the medieval technique of the noves rimades (new rhymes). He employed short verses and a fast pace. The work is divided into four books where the protagonist recounts her life, detailing various marriages. The woman is depicted as a collection of defects, almost as a human evil. This work has been considered a precedent to the Spanish picaresque... Continue reading "Literary Giants of Catalan and Valencian Heritage" »

The Baroque Artistic Style

The Baroque is an artistic style that reflects the pain of human existence.

Historical and Social Context: 17th Century Spain

The seventeenth century was defined by Absolutism, characterized by monarchical power and the appearance of validos (a sovereign's trusted person who had access to the government).

Key Monarchs of the 17th Century

• Philip III: Characterized by his inability and disinterest in governing the country, leading to a loss of political prestige and evidence of economic crisis.
• Philip IV: Showed more interest, but suffered from a severe economic crisis.
• Charles II: His reign is considered the darkest period in Spanish history. He died without issue.

Social Strata in the Baroque Period

• The Nobility: Lived off

Literary Movements and Correspondence

Future: Traditional and Aesthetic Rejects

Celebrating life, based on its two dominant themes: Machine and Movement. Thus, any expressive environment (visual arts, architecture, planning, advertising, fashion, film, music, poetry).

Caligrama

Text lines that are a drawing.

Dadaism

The absurdity reflects society. It is the start from scratch, breaking all the schemes proposed or prior practice.

It is an inartistic, antiliterary, and antipoetic movement questioning the existence of art, literature, and poetry.

Surrealism

(Boris Vian) Reality beyond the standards imposed by the author.

Surrealism was a great revolution in language and the provision of new composition techniques.

Generation of '98

• Features: The authors are

Miguel Hernández: A Literary Journey

Early Influences and the Echo of Góngora

In 1927, the 300th anniversary of Luis de Góngora y Argote's death was commemorated. Poets across the nation paid tribute to him, much like they had for Lope, Quevedo, and Calderón. For Miguel Hernández, a newcomer to literary circles, this event solidified his vocation. Many analysts observe a temporary influence of Góngora in Hernández's early work, *Perito en Lunas*. However, Hernández did not merely imitate. He discovered a profound resonance with the richness of the Baroque language. Like Góngora before him, he amplified the meaning of words, lending even greater power to his writing. During this period, Hernández achieved success where his contemporaries... Continue reading "Miguel Hernández: Life and Poetic Evolution" »

Formal Texts: Definition and Examples

A formal text, such as a request, is written to a person in a managerial position of importance within an institution or government agency. A certificate is a document that officially recognizes a fact. The record (minutes) reflects what was discussed or agreed upon at a meeting. A report is a statement of facts or data on the status of an issue.

Elements of the Castilian Language Lexicon

The lexicon is the set of words in a language's vocabulary. Depending on their origin, the lexicon can be comprised of:

• Heritage: Words from Latin present in the language since its origins.
• Learned words: Words from Latin and Greek introduced into Castilian after the language's formation. Example: ocular (from oculus).
• Doublet:

The 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries marked a period of significant decline for Galician literature, often referred to as the 'Dark Centuries.' During this time, the Galician language was limited almost exclusively to oral use, losing much of its written application.

Historical Context: The Dark Centuries

Political Landscape and Language Suppression

At the end of the 15th century, the struggle for the Castilian crown between Joanna la Beltraneja and Isabella the Catholic divided the nobility into two factions: secular and ecclesiastical. This political status quo was maintained through the 17th century and further strengthened in the 18th century with the Bourbon dynasty, leading to the imposition of Spanish in all official spheres of life.

Cultural

Galician Prose: Early 20th Century

The creation in 1916 of the first Brotherhood of Speech, in Corunna, by Antón Vilar Ponte, marks the beginning of a new era of splendor in Galician literature. Galician literature opened up to genres other than poetry, which had been predominant, embracing narrative and theater, as well as essays, scientific research, and political discourse.

The intellectuals of the Brotherhoods published the magazine Our Land, created publishing houses such as Céltiga or Home, and strengthened nationalist ideology, based not so much on past history, but on language and culture, which they consciously defended and developed in their articles, essays, and speeches. Among the prose writers of the Brotherhoods, Joseph East Meis... Continue reading "Galician Prose in the Early 20th Century: Brotherhoods and Generation We" »