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

The Jarcha: Oldest Romance Poetry

The Jarcha is a unique form of popular lyric poetry from Muslim Hispania, often attributed to anonymous authors. These short poems served as the final part of a longer poetic form called the muwashshah, with examples dating back to the 10th and 11th centuries.

Jarchas were composed in colloquial Hispano-Arabic dialects or in the Andalusian Romance language, sometimes inaccurately referred to as Mozarabic. They were crafted by educated Arab and Jewish poets who drew inspiration from traditional Romance poetry. Poets could either derive them from popular folklore, adapt them to fit the metrical requirements of the muwashshah, or create new compositions based on established patterns.

Their immense importance lies... Continue reading "Medieval Spanish Literature: Jarchas, El Cid, Mester" »

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

20th Century Novel: Social and Experimental Forms

The Social Novel

Authors of the Social Novel contribute their works to change society, aiming to raise awareness among readers and transform the existing state of affairs. The genre experienced a significant moment during "the Roaring Twenties."

Key authors include Ernest Hemingway, known for works like A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bell Tolls.

A related group of Hispanic writers, often associated with Magical Realism, interpreted harsh reality by projecting fabulous elements onto a real background, integrating them into everyday life. Notable figures include Juan Rulfo (with Pedro Páramo), Gabriel García Márquez (One Hundred Years of Solitude), and Mario Vargas Llosa.

The Experimental Novel

The... Continue reading "Defining Literary Movements: Novel and Theatre in the 20th Century" »

Characteristics of the Lyric Genre

1. The disposition of the lyrical author is characterized by emotional expression. This emotional emphasis is a primary feature, and the works are generally short.
2. Unlike dramatic and epic works, the lyric genre does not tell a story. Any anecdotal elements or objects that appear serve to evoke excitement rather than form the knots of a plot.
3. In contrast to the explanatory nature of other texts, lyric poetry specializes in delving deeply into a single aspect or emotion.
4. The linguistic structure of lyric poetry typically empowers the text to be autonomous. It draws attention to itself through recurrences, all kinds of parallels, and semantic games.
5. Although versification is not an essential condition, it has become

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.