Passive Voice: Morphology, Syntax, and Semantics
Passive Voice
Passive Voice (PV) is a complex linguistic phenomenon that can be defined at several levels:
Morphological Level
At the morphological level, the PV markers are attached to the lexical verb (the auxiliary verb BE and the affix -EN), showing the past participle of the lexical verb.
John wrote the letter. (Active voice) S+V+DO
The letter was written by John. (Passive voice)
Syntactic Level
At the syntactic level, the active Subject (S) and Direct Object (DO) change their position and status.
Read MoreAnalyzing Rafael Alberti’s ‘Nocturnal’: A Poem of Repression
‘Nocturnal’ is a poem by Rafael Alberti, a writer of the Generation of ’27, written during the Franco regime and the suppression of freedom of expression in the post-war era. The characteristics of this movement include admiration for literature, the search for beauty through imagery, and expressions of helplessness and anger.
Theme: Social Problems and Lack of Freedom
The central theme of this poem is the social problems experienced at that time and the lack of freedom of expression. Let’s analyze
Read MoreGarcilaso de la Vega and San Juan de la Cruz: Spanish Renaissance Poetry
Garcilaso de la Vega
Garcilaso de la Vega’s poetic career can be divided into three creative periods:
- The first period shows the influence of song-poetry, with compositions alternating between octosyllabic and the first Italian forms. His verses from this period lack Petrarchan elements, but abound in topics of *cancionero* love poetry, often employing puns.
- The second stage is characterized by the internalization of Petrarchan love. He describes his feelings of love and uses nature as a framework
Late Romanticism in Spanish Literature: Bécquer and Rosalía de Castro
Late Romanticism: Mid-19th Century
In the second half of the 19th century, there were great poets who represented a continuation and evolution of Romanticism.
Late Romanticism: Bécquer and Rosalía de Castro
Authors such as Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda or Carolina Coronado eliminated the exaggerated rhetoric and shaped a new lyrical expression fully based on naturalness and balance of images, thoughts, and emotion. In the same metric as other romantics, they combined various meters and stanzas (
Read MoreAnalysis of a Sonnet: Themes of Pain and Love
MEASURE: The poem is a sonnet, adhering to the genre’s characteristics: 14 verses grouped into two quartets and two triplets, all in hendecasyllables. The last verse of each triplet repeats a rhyme that also appears in the first and last lines of the two quartets. Thus, the last verse of each of the four stanzas shares the same rhyme, a variation from the classic metric scheme. The rhyme scheme is 11A.
Analysis of the Form
The poem begins with dark tones, creating a somber environment devoid of joy.
Read MoreAunt Jennifer’s Tigers: Understanding the Poem
Symbolism of Aunt Jennifer’s Fluttering Hands
Why do you think Aunt Jennifer’s hands are ‘fluttering through her wool’ in the second stanza? Why is she finding the needle so hard to pull?
Aunt Jennifer’s hands are fluttering because they reflect her dominated and suppressed spirit. She is physically and emotionally drained and finds it hard to pull the needle. Her hands are heavy with the weight of the wedding ring, which symbolizes the hardships and difficulties of her life.