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

The Generation of '27: Key Poets, Themes, and Influences

Federico García Lorca's works are characterized by a blend of inspiration and technique, revolving around central themes such as the tragic destiny of humanity and the impossibility of complete human fulfillment. In his early phase, influenced by Bécquer, Machado, and Juan Ramón Jiménez, he aimed to convey a tragic perspective on love and death, exemplified in Gypsy Ballads. Later, breaking with traditional verse in Poet in New York, he reflected the impact of the city and warned against a dehumanized world. He was also significantly influenced by Rafael Alberti and Surrealism.

We can distinguish a lyrical neo-populism in which he speaks of his nostalgic sea (Sailor on Earth) and Surrealism,... Continue reading "Generation of '27: Key Poets, Themes, and Influences" »

Internal Monologue

The internal monologue is a relatively new expressive form that appeared in North America at the end of the nineteenth century. A great expressive instrument, such as the novel Ulysses by James Joyce (1922). The interior monologue is a form of expression without restraints; sentiment is free. In a digressive way, we go from one topic to another by association of ideas. Originally, in English, it is called "Stream of Consciousness," favoring images that can literally represent what is said, especially with the changes characteristic of indirect speech. The monologue is usually long. The final chapter of Ulysses is the most famous interior monologue. It invents a formula to avoid censorship, where the brake is the existence... Continue reading "Understanding Internal Monologue and Miguel Delibes' Works" »

Baroque Prose

In the seventeenth century, prose used satire and caricature to criticize society. The preferred style was the concept, which, with its expressive concentration and verbal games, lent itself particularly well to the authors' purpose. Francisco de Quevedo and Baltasar Gracián are highlights of this kind of prose.

Picaresque Novel

As for prose fiction, there is the rise of the picaresque novel with the publication of works including Guzmán de Alfarache by Mateo Alemán, and El Buscón by Quevedo, which more or less faithfully follow the model of Lazarillo de Tormes. Another important work is El Criticón by Baltasar Gracián, an allegorical novel that offers a distinctly pessimistic worldview. But the most outstanding novel of this... Continue reading "Baroque Prose, Theater, and Lyric Poetry: A Cultural Snapshot" »

Languages of Spain: A Multilingual Nation

Spain is a multilingual country. Castilian is the official language throughout Spain, while Catalan, Galician, and Basque are co-official in their respective autonomous communities. These are known as co-official languages.

Castilian Spanish: The Official Language

Castilian, also known as Spanish, is the language everyone should know and can use throughout the state. It is one of the most spoken languages in the world due to its extensive expansion in Central and South America.

Origins of Castilian

Castilian is a Romance language derived from Latin. The first written documents that have survived are the Castilian Glosses of Emilianenses and Silos. There are also some written in Basque, leading to the belief... Continue reading "The Spanish Language: History, Evolution, and Global Impact" »

Miguel de Cervantes: Life and Works

Miguel de Cervantes had a very eventful life. After an altercation, he fled to Italy. As a soldier, he was wounded in his left hand at the Battle of Lepanto. Upon his return to Spain several years later, he was captured by Turks and taken to Algiers, where he attempted to escape multiple times. He was released five years later after a ransom was paid through the Trinitarian Friars. Back in Spain, he served as a supply curator in Andalusia. The imprisonment Cervantes suffered allowed him to meet all kinds of people, whom he later portrayed in his varied work.

Poetry and Theater

Most of his poetry is Renaissance in style, naturally employing the verses, meters, and themes introduced at the beginning of the century.... Continue reading "Miguel de Cervantes and Don Quixote: Life, Works, and Literary Impact" »

Spanish Romantic Literature: Authors and Prose

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer: The Rimas

The Third group (Rimas XXX-LI) is about the failure of love. The woman is the executioner of the poet's illusions, and her portrait becomes bleak.

The Fourth group (Rimas LII-LXXIX) shows loneliness and anguish. The world is a hostile place, and the poet is isolated within himself.

Technical Aspects of the Rimas

The most important technical characteristics of the Rimas are their brevity and condensation, simple rhetoric, and symbolism of the reality of love. The stanza form of the poems is free, but with a predominance of assonance rhyme and verses of seven (heptasyllable) and eleven (hendecasyllable) syllables.

Rosalía de Castro: Life and Works

Rosalía de Castro (... Continue reading "Key Figures and Prose of Spanish Romanticism" »

Miguel de Cervantes: Life and Works

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616) was born in Alcalá de Henares and died in Madrid. His life was marked by adventure and hardship. In 1570, he traveled to Italy, where he was deeply influenced by the art, literature, and culture. He served as a soldier, fighting against the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto (1571), where he sustained a severe injury to his left hand. On his return to Spain, he was captured by Turkish pirates and spent five years as a prisoner in Algiers. After being rescued by Trinitarian Fathers, he returned to Madrid and began writing plays to alleviate his financial struggles.

Cervantes lived in various locations, working as a tax collector, and faced imprisonment due to irregularities... Continue reading "Cervantes: Life, Works, and Don Quixote" »

Federico García Lorca

Gypsy Ballads: Romance of the Black Sorrow

This poem from Gypsy Ballads (Romancero Gitano), specifically the "Romance de la Pena Negra" (Ballad of the Black Sorrow), features the Gypsy protagonist Soledad Montoya. At dawn, she searches for love, freedom, and joy, yet seems only to know grief and mourning. Soledad Montoya symbolizes the sorrow and marginalization of the Roma people. The narrator's voice speaks of loneliness, acting as a companion to Soledad. The poem employs various literary devices:

• Metaphors: e.g., "the spurs of the roosters dig / searching for the dawn" (las espuelas de los gallos / cavan buscando la aurora) refers to the rooster's crow signalling dawn.
• Symbols: e.g., the horse often represents passion

Poets at the Turn of the 1960s to 1970s

The poets at the turn of the 1960s to 1970s adopted a more intimate, individualistic, and dualistic stance. They were more concerned with personal freedom and their own destiny. The end of Francoism, the creation of publishing houses, new literary prizes, the relaxation of censorship, and the recognition of linguistic rights facilitated the work of poets of the 1970s. This period involved social and cultural consequences suffered from the war, experiencing the culture of mass media and the youth of the 1960s, and revolting in the street fight against Francoism. They also had more information about European culture.

Characteristics

• Break with realism
• Culturalism
• Ideological and moral transgression
• Return to

Vocabulary Expansion: Uncommon Words and Definitions

Expand your vocabulary with this list of uncommon words and their definitions:

• Apocrypha (n/adj): The parts of the Bible called into question; of spurious authorship or intent; false.
• Arabesque (n): A sinuous, spiraling, undulating, or serpentine line or linear motif.
• Assiduous/Assiduity (adj/n): Constant, tireless, diligent, persistent.
• Balustrade (n): Railing or barrier.
• Banal (adj): Devoid of originality; clichéd or hackneyed.
• Celerity (n): Swiftness or speed.
• Clavichord (n): A soft keyboard or organ music instrument.
• Cloying (adj): Trying too hard to be nice and in the process evoking disgust.
• Coalesce (v): To grow together; to join together.
• Collude (v): To act together with a shared understanding;