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

Homilies d'Organyà

The Homilies d'Organyà are manuscripts explaining several passages from the Gospels. Five preserved fragments contain a portion of the Gospel followed by the author's subsequent explanation; the author is anonymous. There are variations and differences in language (Latin / Romance Catalan), in the type of text, and in the author's intent. They are an important component of the earliest samples of our written literary culture.

Ramon Llull

Work. Ramon Llull's production covers a multitude of forms, styles, themes, and contents. His output comprises the following blocks:

• Mystical works: "Book Lover and the Beloved (included in Blanquerna)" contains a dialogue between man and God.
• Works of doctrine and philosophy: "Book of Gentiles

Origins of Catalan Literature

Catalan literature emerged from Vulgar Latin in the 12th century. The earliest known texts include legal judgments from the 12th century and the Homilies of Organyà (sermons).

Medieval Catalan Literature (13th-15th Centuries)

From the 13th to the 15th centuries, Catalan literary works achieved a high standard compared to other Romance languages. Scribes were significantly influenced by Occitan poets of the 15th century.

Prose in Medieval Catalan Literature

• Religious and Moral Prose: Notable figures like Ramon Llull and Vincent Ferrer produced numerous works rich in lexical and syntactical complexity, revealing a deep Christian rhetorical culture.
• Narrative Background: This genre encompassed historical accounts, personal

17th-Century Spanish Baroque Literature

17th century: conceptismo and vital culteranismo arose from an underlying skepticism that caused a flight into two different and complementary tendencies: the conceptual and the cultivated, both breaking with the Renaissance style.

Culteranismo and Conceptismo

Culteranismo (associated with Luis de Góngora) seeks to create its own language, privileging formal beauty, brilliant color, and sensory effect. It uses the rhetorical and lexical resources inherited from the previous century but with greater care and refinement. Conceptismo, the complementary tendency, focuses on conceptual wit and density of meaning. Both tendencies mark a clear departure from Renaissance norms.

Baroque Poetry: Themes and Forms

Baroque... Continue reading "17th-Century Spanish Baroque: Góngora, Quevedo, Picaresque" »

Hispanic American Fiction: Magical Realism

The 1940s saw a focus on the unique American experience through an aesthetic blending realism and fantasy. This approach, known as magical realism, sought to capture the essence of the American world. It was a literary movement that renovated existing aesthetics tied to the European avant-garde, but with a distinct aim: to reflect American reality. In magical realism, the extraordinary is presented as ordinary, and the most fantastical events are grounded in everyday life.

This new reality is characterized by Hispanic stylistic innovation and a desire to unravel the American peculiarity through a synthesis of reality and fantasy. New themes emerged, including nature, the indigenous world, political issues,... Continue reading "Magical Realism in Hispanic American Fiction: Themes and Techniques" »

The Literary Review: Siguientes

Milagros de Nuestra Señora by Gonzalo de Berceo

Gonzalo de Berceo, considered the first known author in the Spanish language, created Milagros de Nuestra Señora, a cornerstone of the Mester de Clerecía. This significant work consists of twenty-five stories centered on the Virgin Mary. In these tales, the Virgin, moved by the devotion shown towards a sinner, intervenes to save their life or soul. Berceo's work is a notable example of literature from the Middle Ages.

Jarchas: Early Spanish Lyric Poetry

Dating from the 11th to 13th centuries, Jarchas are short lyric compositions, typically two to four verses long. These were included by Arab and Jewish poets at the end of longer poems, often in Mozarabic dialect,... Continue reading "Masterpieces of Spanish Literature: Medieval to Golden Age" »

The Life of Virgil

Virgil was born in Mantua in 70 BC into a modest family. At twenty years old, he went to Rome to perfect his knowledge of rhetoric. He could not practice oratory because he lacked the temperament and attitude; he was shy, suffered from poor health, and lacked stage presence. Despite his paternal history, he returned to Rome, explained his situation to Augustus, and was granted an indemnity and land in Campania. He spent the last days of his life in a villa in Naples that Augustus had gifted him.

In 19 BC, he traveled to Greece and Asia Minor to visit the locations described in his poem, the Aeneid, to correct its defects. He fell ill in Megara, Greece, returned to Italy, and died in Brindisi shortly after. Before his death,

A Spanish poet and storyteller, born in Seville in 1836, Bécquer is one of the most important figures of Romanticism. His Rimas are considered the starting point of modern poetry in Spanish, alongside his contributions to studio arts and painting.

His personal life was marked by unfortunate love.

Literary Contributions

He drafted "Letters from My Cell," a collection of beautiful scenic descriptions, and "Letters to a Woman," in which he expressed his theories on poetry and love.

He struggled financially, working for small newspapers before moving to larger publications where he wrote social commentary and his famous legends. By 1867, he wrote his famous Rimas and prepared them for publication. However, following the Revolution of 1868, he lost... Continue reading "Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer: Life and Romantic Works" »

1. Compare the personalities of Becky and Amelia, and include examples from the story that illustrated their similarities or differences.

Becky and Amelia have very different personalities. Becky is from a middle-class background and is very outgoing and open-minded, especially when compared to other women of her period. In contrast, Amelia comes from a rich family and is very shy.

Amelia has always had her life planned by her family. For example, her family planned her marriage with George Osborne, and Amelia has always been in love with him. On the other hand, Becky has always had to fend for herself. For example, she tries to find a good job and a rich husband.

2. In your opinion, how did Becky's background influence her behavior and the goals

Spanish Poetry in Exile: Voices of the Generation of '27

The Spanish Civil War and subsequent dictatorship led to the exile of many intellectuals and artists. Among them were prominent poets of the Generation of '27. With the notable exceptions of Gerardo Diego, Dámaso Alonso, and Vicente Aleixandre, many key figures wrote and published outside Spain, including Pedro Salinas, Luis Cernuda, Jorge Guillén, Rafael Alberti, Manuel Altolaguirre, and Emilio Prados. Juan Ramón Jiménez, also in exile, continued to produce his final works.

These exiled poets followed diverse paths, yet their productions were universally outstanding. Initially, their work was often filled with anguish, frequently addressing the theme of Spain. These authors continued... Continue reading "Exiled Voices and 1940s Currents in Spanish Poetry" »

Modernism: A Literary Movement

Modernism is a literary movement that champions art for art's sake, whose primary purpose is to celebrate beauty and evoke emotion in the reader. It is particularly evident in poetry.

Directions of Modernism

• Escapist: Characterized by legendary and exotic imagery.
• Intimate: Expresses lively, sad, and anxious moods.

Key Themes in Modernism

• Romantic Distress: Modernism shares significant affinities with the Romantic mood, including similar discomfort, rejection of a vulgar society, rootlessness, and loneliness.
• Escapism: Fleeing the world through dreaming, escape into space, and escape in time.
• Cosmopolitanism: An aspect of the need to escape; anywhere in the world can be considered a homeland.
• Love: Appears delicate, encompassing