La Celestina and El Conde Lucanor: 15th Century Spanish Literature
15th-Century Theater and the Rise of Profane Drama
With the growth of cities and the rise of the bourgeoisie, new forms of theater emerged. New elements were incorporated into profane theater. It gradually abandoned its liturgical character and became a genre of fun and entertainment, represented in the public squares.
Analyzing La Celestina
Genre and Authorship of La Celestina
La Celestina is a literary work that breaks the mold of its era. The first difficulty lies in its classification as a genre.
Read MoreSpanish Literary Movements: Realism to Novecentismo
The Realistic Novel: Features and Techniques
The realistic novel features detailed descriptions of environments and characters. While the position of the writers is not totally objective, they utilize resources such as irony, characterization, and comparison.
Key characteristics include:
- Use of the omniscient point of view.
- The narrator can make comments to influence readers.
- The narrator has knowledge of the characters’ feelings, thoughts, and dreams.
- Predominance of themes focusing on conflicts between
Literary Analysis: Hamlet’s Flaws, Renaissance Drama, and Piers Plowman
Hamlet’s Character Flaws and Impulsivity
At the beginning of the play, Hamlet makes a statement concerning mankind, which also refers to himself. This context suggests that Hamlet should not be blamed entirely for his faults, as he may have been born with inherent flaws that often prevent him from controlling his actions.
Hamlet’s fundamental flaw is his inability to act. This major defect reveals other faults in his character, including:
- Impulsiveness: Acting rashly despite his usual hesitation.
World Literature Themes and Author Analysis
Sappho and Her Poetry: “To an Army Wife in Sardis”
Importance and Influence
- Influenced Catullus, Horace, and other poets/critics.
- Unlike Homer, Sappho’s poetry is personal and direct, not a long oral epic.
Context of Composition
- Early Greek poetry was oral. Sappho lived when women could claim authorship.
- Poetry shows folk-song influence of Lesbos, simple and direct.
- Only two complete poems survive; the rest are fragments.
Lyric Poetry Characteristics
- Lyric is defined as personal, direct, and less formal.
T.S. Eliot, Woolf, Orwell: Modern and Contemporary Literary Analysis
Key Figures in Modern and Contemporary Literature
T.S. Eliot
Movement: Modernism (Poetry)Work: The Waste Land: The Burial of the Dead (1922).
Virginia Woolf
Movement: Modernism (Fiction)Works: A Room of One’s Own (1929), Lappin & Lapinova (1944), Kew Gardens (1919).
Philip Larkin
Movement: The Movement (Poetry/Fiction from the 1950s onwards)Works: The Explosion (1974), This Be the Verse (1971).
Samuel Beckett
Movement: Modernism (Theatre of the Absurd)Work: Waiting for Godot (1955).
George Orwell
Read MoreVictorian Literature (1832–1900): Authors, Genres, and Social Impact
The Victorian Age (1832–1900): Literature and Context
The Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century caused great changes in Britain. When Queen Victoria ascended the throne in 1837, many social problems existed. While the working classes remained very poor, the middle and upper classes grew rich and comfortable.
Many writers used their work to expose the problems hidden behind the facade of a successful society.
Victorian Prose: The Novel in the 19th Century
Victorian novels mainly developed
Read More