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

Infant Cycle of Rooms

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Miguel Hernández: A Poetic Journey Through Life and Loss

The poetry of Miguel Hernández begins as exultant, richly nuanced, chromatic, and Mediterranean, exuding a festive air. As his life progresses, his writing takes on a gray tint, becoming an invaluable document unmasking material and moral misery, suffering, and the tragic final denouement.

Early Vitalism and the Shadow of Loss

The tragic denouement was always present in his personal life: he experienced the deaths of three of his sisters as a child, followed by the loss of Sijé, Ramón Manuel (his firstborn), and then his poetic production for Ramón. His early Orihuela works, published in newspapers, reflected a carefree vitalism, an uncompromising freedom, and a sunny optimism, much... Continue reading "Miguel Hernández: Poetic Evolution Through Life, Love, and Loss" »

Stages of Roman Literature

• Archaic: 5th Century BC - 1st Century BC (Cicero's Speech)
• Classical: 1st Century BC, with two phases:
  • Ciceronian (Republican)
  • Augustan (Empire)
• Postclassical: 1st Century AD - 2nd Century AD
• Decadent: 2nd Century AD - 5th Century AD (Marcus Aurelius, Fall of Rome)

Literary Genres

Prose and Verse

Epic

Narrates heroic deeds. Authors: Virgil, Ovid.

Theater

Coming to Rome after the conquest of Magna Graecia. Includes tragedies and comedies. Authors: Seneca, Plautus.

Lyricism

Transmits feelings. Subgenres emerged in the 2nd Century BC:

• Eclogue: Pastoral themes
• Elegy: Political and social issues
• Epigrams: Funerary inscriptions on monuments, and offerings in praise of gods and the dead
• Ode: Expresses elevated affairs of life

Satire

Attacks... Continue reading "Roman Literature: Eras, Genres, and Key Authors" »

Latin American Literary Giants

• Mexico: Juan Rufo (Pedro Paramo), Carlos Fuentes (The Death of Artemio Cruz)
• Guatemala: Miguel Angel Asturias (Lord of the Presiding Spirits and Men of Corn)
• Cuba: Alejo Carpentier (The Kingdom of This World)
• Colombia: Gabriel García Márquez (One Hundred Years of Solitude)
• Peru: Mario Vargas Llosa
• Chile: José Donoso (The Obscene Bird of Night)
• Uruguay: Juan Carlos Onetti (The Shipyard)
• Paraguay: Augusto Roa Bastos (I, the Supreme)
• Argentina: Jorge Luis Borges and Julio Cortázar (Hopscotch)

Postwar Spanish Theater

• Max Aub, Alejandro Casona (The Liberation of Women, The Lady of Dawn)
• Joaquín Calvo Sotelo (The Wall)
• Edgar Neville
• Enrique Jardiel Poncela (The Thieves Are Honorable People)
• Miguel Mihura (Three Hats)
• Alfonso Paso

Nativist or Crioyista Position in Venezuela

Francisco Lazo Martí: Birth in 1869

Lazo Martí, a poet and physician, practiced his profession in the towns of the central plains, including San Fernando de Apure. He was also a founder of the periodical El Legalista (1892), through which he supported the Revolución Legalista and Joaquín Crespo.

His works include Silva Criolla, Crepusculares, Veguera, Flor de Pascua, and Consuelo.

He had an exaltation of the inspirators of the countryside, a rejection of the city, and a malignant contemplation of the landscape, agriculture, and flora.

Silva Criolla (1901) prompted a literary sentiment that contributed to the symbolic representation of the Venezuelan plains at the end of the nineteenth and early twentieth... Continue reading "Nativism and Modernism in Venezuelan Literature" »

Early 20th-Century Spanish Theater

This era of theater emerged as a reaction against the spirit and critical vision of the Generation of '98, which challenged traditional Spanish history. These authors displayed a nostalgic view of the past, often focusing on iconic figures like El Cid, the Catholic Monarchs, the Great Captain, or the Tercios of Flanders.

The Comic Theater

This form of theater was favored by the working class and encompassed a wide range of performances, including short, one-act plays known as sainetes, which flourished under Carlos Arniches. These plays often featured a diverse cast of characters and their everyday struggles, reminiscent of 17th-century Golden Age comedies. Within this genre, tragedias grotescas, such as "La... Continue reading "20th-Century Spanish Theater: From Tradition to Modernism" »

Modernism in Spanish Literature

Modernism represented a rebellion against bourgeois aesthetics, characterized by a "desire to flee in time-intense eroticism, melancholy," and influences from French Parnassianism and Symbolism. It sought a new poetic language and metric renewal, becoming the most cultivated poetic genre of its time.

Key Authors and Works of Modernism

• Rubén Darío: Notable works include Azul..., Prosas profanas, and Cantos de vida y esperanza.
• Antonio Machado:
  • Early modernist stage: Works like Soledades y otros poemas, characterized by a more intimate style.
  • Later stage: Closer to the poetry of the Generation of '98, exemplified by Campos de Castilla.
• Juan Ramón Jiménez:
  • First stage: Influenced by the Romanticism of Bécquer, with

Notable Spanish Authors and Their Works

Medieval Period

• Gonzalo de Berceo: Miracles of Our Lady
• Alfonso X (the Wise) (1221-1284): General Chronicle, The Great and General History
• Don Juan Manuel (Count) (1282-1348): A Book of the Knight and the Squire

Pre-Renaissance and Renaissance

• Juan de Mena (1411-1456): The Maze of Fortune
• Jorge Manrique (1440-1479): Verses on the Death of His Father
• Juan del Encina (1469-1529): Christmas Eclogue
• Fernando de Rojas (1475-1541): La Celestina (also known as Callisto and Melibea)
• Garcilaso de la Vega (1501-1536): Ode to the Flower of Gnidos

Spanish Golden Age

• Fray Luis de León (1527-1591): Various Poetic and Prose Works
• Fernando de Herrera (1534-1597): Sonnets, Songs, Elegies, Pastorals
• Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-

The Decline of the Roman Empire

The fall of the Roman Empire, a process of decline, culminated in the fragmentation of the Western Roman Empire in the year 476. For centuries, Rome was the dominant power, its influence extending across the Mediterranean region, from the Rhine and Danube rivers to the Sahara, and from the west of Hispania to Mesopotamia. The rise of Christianity, which would become the official religion, and the vastness of the empire, however, presented significant challenges. Over time, the immense empire suffered a prolonged crisis that led to its eventual demise. The once-mighty empire, exhausted after centuries of expansion and effort, began to show symptoms of decline:

• Corruption among high-ranking officials
• Citizen apathy

Cerverí de Girona's "Malcasada"

This 13th-century Catalan poem, "Malcasada," by the troubadour Cerverí de Girona, reflects a popular lyrical style reminiscent of the Cantigas de Amigo. Cerverí's innovative use of rhyme and meter (7/7/4 syllables with AAB/CCB rhyme scheme) distinguishes his work. The title, added later, doesn't originally belong to the poem. The poem's speaker, a woman, advises against marriage, expressing a preference for her lover. The poem unfolds in three parts:

1. Verses 1-2: Expresses the speaker's lack of love for her husband (senyor).
2. Verses 3-14: Offers advice against marriage.
3. Verses 15-20: The speaker recounts a past encounter with her lover and criticizes her husband.

The poem's parallel structure and simple language... Continue reading "Medieval Catalan and Mallorcan Poetry: A Comparative Analysis" »