Realism and Naturalism in Literature: Key Authors and Works
Realism: An Artistic Movement
Realism was an artistic movement that sought to represent reality in accordance with the interests of bourgeois society. The author became a realistic chronicler of the present and the immediate past, to which he dedicated every page of his works.
Key Characteristics of Realism
- Realistic authors shifted from individual romanticism to a focus on the social self.
- Presentation of everyday life in both the countryside and the city.
- Analysis and exposure of various environments
Chaucer’s Medieval Women: A Literary Analysis
Comparing Chaucer’s Clerk’s and Merchant’s Tales
Both The Clerk’s Tale and The Merchant’s Tale are set in medieval Italy within a feudal system. While the characters share a similar social status, their behaviors diverge significantly. This analysis will explore how they confront their problems, offering insights into their distinct personalities.
Religious Influence in Medieval Narratives
The influence and importance of the Church are profoundly present in both tales. Society is conditioned by cultural
Read MoreLiterary Genres, Linguistic Concepts, and Communication Skills
Literary Genres and Narrative Forms
The Fantastic Tale
The fantastic tale tells of everyday, common, and natural actions, but at times, it presents facts in a surprising and inexplicable way, often appearing amazing and supernatural. This situation causes confusion and anxiety in the reader. Within this genre, the impossible is possible. The space in which the characters live is often illogical.
Key Characteristics of the Fantastic Tale:
- The narrator’s subjective point of view, often centered on the
Baltasar Gracián: Philosophy, Style, and El Criticón
Baltasar Gracián: A Baroque Master
Baltasar Gracián, a poet and writer of the Spanish Golden Age, is considered a master of didactic and philosophical prose. His style, characterized by very personal, short sentences, is dense, concentrated, and polysemous. He mastered wordplay and ingenious word associations, resulting in a terse language, full of aphorisms, capable of conveying many ideas and meanings.
The thought of this Baroque author is profoundly pessimistic; he believed the world is hostile
Read MoreRafael Alberti: Poetic Evolution and Major Works
Rafael Alberti experimented with diverse approaches and trends, both in thematic treatment and the incorporation of new poetic forms.
Themes and Poetic Style
For Alberti, poetry was a unique form of communication, allowing him to convey life experiences by focusing on specific themes and motifs:
- Nostalgia: Present in his verses for the lost paradise (Cádiz and his homeland).
- Anguish: Arising from the loss of paradise and the need for a new quest.
- Social Commitment: The country’s situation led him to
Spanish Lyric Poetry: Evolution from 1970s to Today
Introduction to Contemporary Spanish Lyric Poetry
With the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, Spain began its transition to democracy. Key milestones included: the legalization of political parties in 1977, the promulgation of the Constitution in 1978, an attempted coup in 1981, and entry into the European Community in 1986. Key characteristics of Spanish literature in recent decades include a wide thematic and aesthetic range, diverse literary trends and movements, and a proliferation of
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