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

Spanish Theater Before 1936

Before 1936, three main trends dominated the commercial theater scene: the Burgtheater, the comic theater, and the modernist movement.

The Burgtheater

The Burgtheater focused primarily on social customs, set in urban environments and aimed at middle and upper-middle-class audiences.

• Jacinto Benavente: A playwright of great technical perfection who critiqued the defects of high society. He became the chronicler of the middle class. His greatest success, The Unloved Woman, explores the passionate love of a stepfather for his stepdaughter. His most recognized work is the puppet comedy The Bonds of Interest. Benavente’s works blend serious aspects with realism and fantasy, utilizing colloquial dialogue.

Modern Drama

Modern

Spanish Post-Romanticism: Bécquer and Castro

In the second half of the nineteenth century, the influence of German poetry came to Spain. These compositions mimic the rhythm and resources of popular lyrics. Far from the complaint and ornamentation typical of earlier Romanticism, this movement culminated in a trend known as Post-Romanticism.

Rosalía de Castro: Galician Post-Romantic Poet

Born in 1837 in Santiago de Compostela, Rosalía de Castro is a foundational figure of the movement.

Major Works by Rosalía de Castro

• Cantares Gallegos (Galician Songs)

  Written in Galician, the author uses traditional forms to evoke the customs and mores of her land. Social issues, such as migration, often feature a vindictive tone.

• Follas Novas (New Leaves)

  Also

Benito Pérez Galdós: Life and Major Novels

Benito Pérez Galdós. He was born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. From a very young age he lived in Madrid, dedicated to literature, and was elected to the Royal Spanish Academy. He failed in his candidacy for the Nobel Prize because of opposition from Spanish conservatives.

Classification of Galdós's novels

Galdós's novels can be classified into the following groups:

• Early novels: Galdós does not hide his sympathy for liberal Spain: La Fontana de Oro, Doña Perfecta, Gloria, Marianela, La familia de León Roch.
• Contemporary Spanish novel: Fortunata y Jacinta, which portrays the social life of Madrid at the time. It is Galdós's finest depiction of settings and social types, with masterful use of dialogue

Spanish Literature Since 1975

It is not easy to draw the lines of Spanish literature in the years of democracy, first of all because it lacks historical perspective and has followed a variety of trends and currents. However, below are some of the characteristics of different genres in recent years.

Evolution of Spanish Poetry

Among the salient features of poetic trends of recent years, critics have pointed to intimacy, surrealism, and neo-romanticism. These currents are exemplified by the "Novísimos" (the brand new), who led avant-garde and experimental poetry in the so-called Venetian or culturalism movement. This movement was inspired by art and the most diverse cultural manifestations.

• Antonio Colinas: Some authors, such as Antonio Colinas,

Life of Lope de Vega

Lope de Vega was born in Madrid. Of humble origins, he was self-taught and worked as a secretary for various nobles. In 1579, he wrote a satire against his former lover, Elena Osorio, and her family after she abandoned him.

In 1614, grieving the death of his wife and his son, Carlos Félix, he was ordained as a priest. Although he initially stopped writing, he fell in love again in 1616 and resumed his literary career. He lived with Marta de Nevares and had a daughter with her. Three years after the death of Marta, the loss of another son, and the kidnapping of one of his daughters by a knight, Lope de Vega passed away.

Literary Narrative and Poetry

Lope de Vega cultivated abundant lyrical poetry, focusing on traditional themes,... Continue reading "Lope de Vega: Life, Literary Works and Theatrical Innovation" »

The Generation of '27

The Generation of '27 is a group of Spanish poets who gathered in 1927 to pay homage to Luis de Góngora on the tercentenary of his death.

Features:

• Re-addition of Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, whom these poets, along with Juan Ramón Jiménez, would recognize as a precursor to their "naked poetry."
• These poets recovered the Spanish folk tradition while also embracing the avant-garde.
• They felt the influence of early avant-garde movements like Ultraism and Creationism.
• Regarding metrics, they used traditional stanzas such as romances, ballads, sonnets, and silvas, and they can be considered initiators of free verse.
• There is also the classic footprint of Bécquer and Góngora.
• Their poetry is transcendent, human, and passionate.
• Their

Humanism and the Royal Chancery

Humanism: James I created the Royal Chancery, an office where laws were drafted and translated into Latin, Aragonese, and Catalan. Under Peter, King of Aragon, this institution established a concept of state intertwined with religion. By the sixteenth century, a model of written Catalan emerged—the second major standard after Ramon Llull—referred to as a Koine or standard language. This educated form was used to avoid confusion, ensuring that everyone serving the Chancery across different territories used the same linguistic power.

The Rise of Humanist Writers

In the early 15th century, the first great writers appeared, such as Bernat Metge (referred to as the "Doctor"). He served as the first chancellor and... Continue reading "Catalan Humanism and the Great Medieval Chronicles" »

Poetic Forms and Baroque Literary Devices

• Seventeenth-Century Metrics:
  • Italian hendecasyllables
  • Castilian octosyllables
  • Romances (with Baroque preferences)
• Literary Devices:
  • Metaphors
  • Paradoxes
  • Cultisms
  • Puns
  • Hyperbole

Culteranismo: The Góngora Style

A literary style characterized by:

• Extensive use of cultisms (words derived from Latin and Greek)
• Complex Latinate syntax (hyperbaton)
• Elaborate metaphors and hyperbole
• Frequent alliteration

Conceptismo: Wit and Intellectual Depth

A style focused on the ingenious association of ideas, featuring:

• Emphasis on ideas over words
• Rationalist lexicon
• Creation of unexpected compositions and word derivations
• Sharp metaphors, antithesis, and oxymoron

Luis de Góngora: Master of Culteranismo

Góngora's work is known for its:

• Pictorial

Galdós — Leading Spanish Realist Novelist

Galdós: One of the best storytellers of the Castilian language and the most representative author of the realistic novel. His Episodios Nacionales are inspired by nineteenth-century Spanish history, and his novels that come from the observation of his own era are aimed at improving the life of the country. These novels are divided into three groups.

Thesis Novels

Thesis: Moved by their progressive spirit. Through symbolic characters, the reader notes the clash between liberal ideology and conservatism. Doña Perfecta.

Contemporáneas

Contemporáneas: From his position as omniscient narrator, he provides information about the problems that Spanish society had not yet resolved. Fortunata and Jacinta.

Spiritual

The Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is the historical period of Western civilization between the 5th and 15th centuries. Its onset is conventionally located in 476 with the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and its end in 1492 with the discovery of America, or in 1453 with the fall of the Byzantine Empire.

Late Antiquity Transition

Historians now prefer to qualify this break period between Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Thus, between the 3rd and 8th centuries, there is usually talk of Late Antiquity, which was a major transition in all spheres:

• Economic: The replacement of the slave mode of production by the feudal mode of production.
• Socially: The disappearance of the concept of Roman citizenship and the definition of the medieval estates.
• Politically: