Key Concepts in Textual Analysis and Poetic Expression

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer: Poetic Themes and Rhyme Series

Bécquer's Poetic Work and Themes (1836-1870)

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1836-1870): His brief but profound poetic work, particularly his Rimas, is thematically divided into four series:

• Rhyme I-XI: Subject is poetry.
• Rhyme XII-XXIX: Subject is love.
• Rhyme XXX-LI: Subject is disillusionment.
• Rhyme LII-LXXVI: Subject is pain and anguish.

Textual Cohesion and Coherence: Core Linguistic Concepts

Understanding Textual Coherence

A text is considered coherent when all its parts relate to the same subject. Coherence is achieved through the proper organization of information on a particular topic and is closely related to the text's overall meaning.

Mechanisms of Textual Cohesion

Cohesion refers to the dependency relationship between different elements of a text, often across sentences. It is achieved through various linguistic resources, including:

• Ellipsis

  Ellipsis involves omitting an element that can be inferred from the context. It can be verbal (omitting a verb) or nominal (omitting a noun).

• Substitution (Synonymy)

  Substitution, or synonymy, is the replacement of a word with a different word that refers to the same object, action, or state.

• Discourse Markers

  Discourse markers are words or phrases that connect, organize, and manage the flow of discourse. Examples include 'now' and 'because'.

• Deixis

  Deixis refers to words or expressions whose meaning depends on the context of utterance, indicating elements like time, place, or person. It is a part of pragmatics. Words like you, here, today, and that are deictic expressions, which serve to point to people, situations, places, etc.

• Anaphora and Cataphora

  These are mechanisms by which an element refers to another text element:

  • Anaphora: Refers to an element that has appeared previously in the text.
  • Cataphora: Refers to an element that will appear later in the text.

• Theme and Rheme

  In a sentence, the theme intuitively corresponds to what is being spoken about, while the rheme is what is said about the theme.

• Lexical Cohesion: Repetition and Synonymy

  Lexical cohesion is achieved through the repetition of words, the use of synonyms, or ellipsis (where a word is intentionally omitted but understood).

• Lexical Cohesion: Hypernyms and Hyponyms

  Hypernyms are broad terms that encompass other more concrete or specific terms. For example, the word flower is a hypernym.

  Hyponyms are words with a more restricted meaning that fall under a broader hypernym. For example, carnation, rose, jasmine, marigold, and orchid are hyponyms of flower.

Figures of Speech: Metaphor and Metonymy

Metaphor

Metaphor involves transferring the meaning of a term from one object to another based on perceived similarities. In a metaphor, two distinct terms are presented as identical. Example: 'Our lives are the rivers.'

Metonymy

Metonymy involves transferring a name from one object to another based on a relationship of association or succession between them. Metonymy can occur in various forms.

Elements of Textual Analysis

Semantic Fields, Tone, and Register

When analyzing a text, consider:

• Semantic Fields: Groups of words related by meaning.
• Tone of the Text: The author's attitude (e.g., critical, appreciative, victimizing).
• Register: The level of formality (e.g., informal, formal, technical).