Literary Periods: Middle Ages to Realism Analysis
Middle Ages: Theocentrism and Community
The Middle Ages were characterized by theocentrism; theology was the main focus. Favorite reading material included the Bible and the lives of saints. Salvation was considered the path to heaven. Individuals felt integrated into a community: the Church and the Kingdom. Literary creation was anonymous, and artistic creation was collective.
Baroque Period: Decay and Contrast
During the Baroque period, Spain began to lose control of the seas, marking the start of military and political decay. There was criticism of the last monarchs. The phrase “Dodsworth v Spain shuts itself” suggests isolation. The style featured exaggeration and contrast in both prose and verse. Life was dominated by pessimism, and literature sought to advise and guide.
Cervantes’ Don Quijote
Don Quijote aimed to ridicule the romances of chivalry. The first adventures appeared in 1605 when Cervantes was 57. The book was very successful, and Public Fernandez Alonso continued the work in 1614. It tells the story of a nobleman who has lost his reason due to reading too many chivalric novels. As the novel progresses, the protagonist shows increasing intelligence.
Argument and Structure
- Argument: A gentleman, driven mad by reading so many chivalric novels, believes himself to be a knight. He sets out to right wrongs and meets with public derision. Sancho Panza accompanies him on his wacky adventures.
- Structure:
- The First Part: Quijote travels alone and becomes a knight.
- The Second Part: He is accompanied by Sancho Panza. The protagonist views reality from his foolish perspective.
- The Third Part: He achieves celebrity status and no longer deceives himself.
Narrative Elements
- Narrator: There is more than one narrator; four can be distinguished: 1) The Arab historian. 2) The Moorish Aljaimado. 3) Cide Hamete Benengeli (implied by the context of the Arab historian). 4) There are also partial narrators.
- Time: The development is linear, with no specific historical references.
- Space: Location is not strictly required, only that it concludes in Barcelona.
Language and Style
The novel uses a plain and simple style. Key features include:
- Originality and significance.
- Burlesque imitation of chivalric language.
- Polyphony: Hyperliterate Baroque rhetoric, archaic vulgar popular language, argumentative discourses, and political language.
Lope de Vega: Poetic Versatility
Lope de Vega was born in Madrid into a poor family. He studied at Alcalá University. He volunteered in the conquest of the Azores and later enlisted in the Invincible Army. He was banished due to his scandalous affair with the actress Elena Osorio. He married Isabel de Urbina and, after her death, remarried Juana de Guardo.
Lope de Vega’s Plays
Lope de Vega was an excellent poet who cultivated different tones and themes, including religious feeling and pain over death. He used a clear style.
Naturalism and Themes
His work often displayed Naturalism: the writer observes and then describes human behavior, often implying determinism. Aspects of raw and gloomy reality and social criticism are present. While El perro del hortelano (The Dog in the Manger, implied by context, though not explicitly named) is not strictly realistic, it uses an omniscient narrator who reveals the characters’ thoughts through the free indirect style. Descriptions focus on characterization and psychological study, often using lowercase for descriptions.
Topics in his Work:
- Adultery.
- Love and religion.
- Clerics tempted by human love.
- City politics versus rural reality.
- Religion.
Realism: Observation and Objectivity
Realism began in France around 1850. The terms realism and realistic were utilized. The movement sought exact, meticulous, and precise observation, aiming for objective treatment. The writer observes reality in order to translate it as faithfully and accurately as possible.