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

Experimental Poetry and Renewal: 1950-1960

Topics: Everything deeply human: man, time, childhood, friendship, love, and everyday life.

Style: Greater variety than in the previous decade and more rigorous in their work with words.

Group or Generation of '50: Claudio Rodríguez, Ángel González, José Ángel Valente, Jaime Gil de Biedma, Gamoneda, José Agustín Goytisolo, Caballero Bonald.

• Claudio Rodríguez: His early career began with Don de la ebriedad. Later books include Conjuros and El vuelo de la celebración.
• Ángel González: Considered the most social of the poets of the Group of '50. His work shows a journey through different stages. His most important works are Tratado de urbanismo and Canciones para una breve biografía.
• Jaime Gil de

S18: Bourbon Suppression

After the succession of Gurria Mon and the enthronement of the Bourbons, the Catalan language was banned and persecuted. Charters, customs, and usages were abolished.

The Enlightenment

Dominated by rationalist ideas of progress and science, literature was primarily didactic and essayistic. Publications included grammatical and historical dictionaries, and catalogs of literary authors.

Poetry

Neoclassicism

Didactic and scholarly, imitating classical forms and themes. Poets also cultivated satirical poetry and narrative (e.g., John the Baptist Escorigüela, Anthony Cardona and February, and Joan Ramis).

Preromanticism

Characterized by a more intimate, subjective, and sentimental style. This led to the early Romantic authors of... Continue reading "Evolution of Catalan Literature: 18th Century Resilience" »

Luis de Góngora: Poetic Works

The poetry of Góngora practiced minor art and Petrarchist poetry. He explored various subjects, treating them with a high approach or parody.

Minor Art Poetry

• Growing Moorish ballads, pastoral, historical, and burlesque.

Sonnets

• The theme is loving, inciting the Petrarchist line, though modified by the consciousness of time.
• Others are burlesque.
• A third group addresses disappointment and the transience of life.

Major Poems

• Fable of Polyphemus and Galatea
• Soledades

Lope de Vega: Poetic Works

Lope de Vega was a man of extraordinary creative capacity in narrative, theater, and literature.

Romances

Lope was one of the creators of the new romance. He developed Moorish, pastoral, and loving romances. In his old age, religious and... Continue reading "Spanish Golden Age Poets: Góngora, Lope de Vega, Quevedo" »

Spanish Realism and Naturalism

Armando Palacio Valdés

A realist, his novels often depict an idealized world (the valley, farmers, villages). He addresses the conflict in the mines when it arises in these settings, and values traditional life.

Work: The Lost Village

Pedro Antonio de Alarcón

His stories are well-constructed and possess great narrative force.

Work: The Three-Cornered Hat

Juan Valera

An educated man, he achieved his intended purpose in his artistic works. His novels explore amorous and religious conflicts, and feature thorough psychological analyses of their protagonists.

Works: Pepita Jiménez and Juanita la Larga

José María de Pereda

An academic and novelist with traditional ideas, he described the landscape of his homeland, Cantabria.... Continue reading "Spanish Literature: Realism, Naturalism, and Modernism" »

Why Simón Rodríguez Was Considered Bolívar's Most Influential Teacher

Simón Rodríguez profoundly impacted Simón Bolívar by challenging his preconceived notions and exposing him to the realities of colonial life. He instilled in Bolívar an awareness of the injustices faced by slaves, blacks, and browns, prompting Bolívar to seek solutions and ultimately fight for the freedom of the Venezuelan and American peoples. Rodríguez's unconventional approach ignited Bolívar's passion for change.

The Philosophy of Civil Rights Inculcated by Simón Bolívar Rodríguez

Rodríguez believed that individuals must be prepared for citizenship, understanding the rights and responsibilities it entails. His philosophy emphasized:

• Education as a means to

Publius Ovid Naso: Life and Literary Legacy

Publius Ovid Naso was born in Sulmona (central Italy) in 43 BC into a wealthy family of the equestrian class. He studied rhetoric in Rome and completed his training with a long journey through the Hellenic world.

When he returned to Rome, he initially pursued a judicial career, but soon left it to dedicate himself entirely to poetry. He frequented the circle of Messalla Corvinus. His work is a reflection of the life of Roman high society, of which he was undoubtedly an outstanding figure.

Major Poetic Works of Ovid

Ovid successively devoted himself to various poetic genres:

Heroides

A collection of imaginary letters written in elegiac verse by heroines to their absent husbands or lovers. Ovid also added... Continue reading "Publius Ovid Naso: Roman Poet's Life and Enduring Literary Masterpieces" »

Spanish Baroque Literary Styles

Conceptism and Rhetorical Devices

The Baroque period, characterized by Conceptism (or Culteranismo), focused on the ingenious association of ideas, words, and concepts. This required great acuity of thought (agudeza de pensamiento).

• Dilogia: Word games utilizing multiple meanings.
• Paronomasias: Phonetic similarities used for playful effect.
• Antithesis (Puns): The contraposition of words and phrases.

Francisco de Quevedo: Satire and Desengaño

Quevedo is a central figure of the Baroque, known for his profound Conceptism.

• Desengaño (Disillusionment): Characterized by dualism, balancing a serious tone with a satirical side.
• Variety: Wide range of meters and themes.

Quevedo's Poetry Groups

His poetry is generally divided into... Continue reading "Spanish Golden Age Literature: Conceptism, Theater, and the Pícaro" »

Plato's Idealism and "The Republic"

Plato based his idealism on the claim that the true reality was not this sensible world, but the world of Ideas. This text primarily discusses his work, The Republic, which he wrote in two stages. The first book was composed during his youth, reflecting the ideas of Socrates, while the remainder was written in his mature stage. The Republic is dedicated to justice and is developed as a Socratic dialogue, notably with two sophist brothers (likely referring to Glaucon and Adeimantus).

Plato expounds on some of his fundamental ideas, including the existence of two worlds: the sensible world (perceived by senses) and the intelligible world (grasped by reason).

Key Concepts in "The Republic"

Book VI of The Republic... Continue reading "Plato's Philosophy: Ideas, "The Republic," Ancient Greece" »

Medieval Epic Poetry: The Mester de Juglaria

The first appearance of epic poetry is due to epic poems in which the deeds of heroes are recounted. These poems were anonymous and intended to publicize events, meant to serve as an example, and encourage the people. Their intention was to entertain. The dissemination of these songs was oral and was in charge of the troubadours, who went through the villages reciting these poems accompanied by musical instruments. The office of the minstrels is known as Mester de Juglaria and was based on oral sources. They used versos de arte mayor, assonance, and rhyme, plus fixed formulas. References to the auditorium were frequent. Castilian epic poetry is distinguished by its realism and the use of the epic... Continue reading "Mio Cid Poem: Medieval Epic Poetry in Castile" »

The Lyrical Primitive Origins

The lyrical primitive origins: the lyric is a short verse written in Mozarabic. Jarchas were recorded in the eleventh century.

Mozarabic Lyric

Mozarabic lyric: Popular lyric appears in al-Andalus in the form of brief poems of two to six lines written in Mozarabic. These are often short songs of love in which the speaker laments a slight or the absence of his beloved.

Songs, Addresses and Mockery

There are songs of lament addressed to a beloved friend, where a young lover laments the absence of his beloved, a mother, a friend, or other beloved figure. There are also mocking songs of nature or curse songs: through this lyrical satire a person makes fun of or criticizes another.

Castilian Lyric

Castilian lyric: These are... Continue reading "Medieval Iberian Lyric and Epic: Mozarabic to El Cid" »