Spanish Language and Literature

Language and Dialect

Language: The fundamental instrument of social communication among members of a particular linguistic community, it serves as the hallmark of this community.

Dialect: Each of the language modalities present in different regions within its domain.

Horizontal Bilingualism: The balance of two or more languages in similar or comparable social situations, where both hold the same social and cultural prestige.

Diglossia: The imbalance between two or more languages where one enjoys greater social prestige and effectively dominates the other with which it coexists.

Cohesion in Language

Cohesion: A necessary condition for coherence. Cohesion is studied in spoken and written language. Methods of achieving cohesion include:

• Lexical Recurrence: Repetition and synonymy.
• Deixis, Anaphora, and Cataphora: Deixis refers to extra-textual elements (time, place, and person). Anaphora and cataphora are used to avoid repetition by replacing an item with a pronoun. The pronoun appears after the item in anaphora and before in cataphora. In this case, the reference is intratextual.
• Connectors: These elements link parts of the text, expressing relationships such as addition, denial, or consequence.

Literary Movements

Parnassianism: Advocated for the formal renewal of poetry, focusing on rhythm, meter, themes, and an impassive artistic approach.

Symbolism: Explored the expression of inner emotions, seeking to uncover the hidden mysteries of nature and life through sensory experience.

Antonio Machado

Antonio Machado's poetry is characterized by its depth, evident in the themes he explores: personal experiences, memories, the Castilian landscape, concern for Spain, anxieties about time, and the inevitability of death.

In terms of meter, he favored popular forms, with a particular fondness for the silva, alongside romances and sonnets. His style is marked by a lack of rhetorical complexity, prioritizing direct communication of his deepest emotions.

Machado's early works reveal an author aligned with Modernism. However, the modernist poems in Soledades were removed from the re-edition Soledades, Galerías, y otros poemas. The allure of the city and dreamlike evocations are reflected in the stillness and silence of his work. An intimate, melancholic tone and the symbolism of recurring motifs prevail. Yet, the influence of Modernism is apparent in the metrics, lexicon, imagery, and the emphasis on musical and chromatic aspects.

Machado is best known for Campos de Castilla. Here, his emotional response to the Castilian landscape leads to a distinct expressive style.

Juan Ramón Jiménez

Juan Ramón Jiménez's poetic journey is defined by his complete dedication to poetry and the relentless pursuit of beauty. His work evolved from initial connections to Modernism to a highly personal and unique style. This involved a process of purification, shedding postmodern remnants and embracing a new poetic vision guided by intellect and aimed at a select audience.

The first stage, the sensitive stage, extends to 1915 and encompasses works with modernist influences. Smooth musicality, twilight landscapes, and gardens feature in Poemas, Arias Tristes, and Jardines Lejanos. Sonetos Espirituales expands the verse and heightens sensory experiences, marking his most modernist period. During this time, he also wrote the poetic prose work Platero y yo.

The intellectual stage, beginning with Diario de un poeta recién casado, paves the way for pure poetry. External elements are incorporated, prose and verse intermingle, and the ornate decoration and musicality disappear. Language seeks to capture the essence of things, and the poem is simplified to convey sensations transparently.

The third stage, the sufficient stage, unfolds in exile. With Espacio Temporal, he explores abstract, complex, and hermetic poetry.