Children’s Literature: History and Evolution
A) A book written by author John Newbery in 1744, it belongs to the first half of the 18th century. Newbery’s *A Little Pretty Pocket Book* is most notable because it was a commercial, mixed-media text. Children’s literature is not a natural phenomenon but a social construct, born of the European Enlightenment of the 18th century. The evangelistic attitude dominated children’s books until the end of the 18th century and influenced, directly or in reaction, attitudes almost to the end of the
Read MoreValle-Inclán’s Literary Evolution: From Modernism to Grotesque
Valle-Inclán: Evolution From Modernism to Grotesque
Valle-Inclán’s work evolved from an elegant and nostalgic modernism to a critical literature based on a vicious distortion of reality. Salinas incorrectly linked him to the Generation of ’98, viewing him as a prodigal son. However, both his ideological assumptions and the radical novelty of his aesthetic place Valle-Inclán far from the positions adopted by the *noventayochistas* in their maturity. His career shares similarities with Antonio Machado’
Read MoreLyrical, Narrative, and Dramatic Texts: Key Features
Lyrical Texts: Characteristics and Devices
Lyrical texts are an expression of the author’s subjectivity. The expressive or emotive function of language predominates. Themes are universal, relating to human beings and their concerns. There is almost no action. Verse is generally used, and it is very common to see lexical repetition and the use of rhetorical figures.
Figures of Speech in Lyrical Texts
Phonetic Level
- Alliteration: Repetition of a sound in a short space.
- Paronomasia: Using words that are
Bronx Masquerade: Student Stories & Poems
Bronx Masquerade: A Story of Self-Discovery Through Poetry
Bronx Masquerade, by author Nikki Grimes, tells the story of a group of high school students in an English class.
Their teacher, Mr. Ward, is teaching them about the Harlem Renaissance. To put what they are studying into practice, he assigns them an essay. One student, Wesley Boone, known as the “bad boy,” asks if, instead of writing an essay, he can write a poem. When he completes his poem, Mr. Ward asks him to read it aloud to the class.
Read MoreNarrative Elements and Expressive Resources
Narrative: Definition and Key Elements
Narrative, a literary specialty, is dedicated to telling stories, events, and happenings in different modalities.
Basic Narrative Elements of a Work
- The Story: This consists of the various events that are recounted. We know it not only through the word of the narrator but also by the action of the characters.
- The Speech: This is the word of the narrator, i.e., the different procedures that a narrator uses to convey what happens in a narrative.
Types of Narrator
Read More19th-Century Spanish Literary Movements
Romanticism in Spain
Romanticism was introduced in Spain progressively and in different stages.
Characteristics:
- Free search: A quest for complete freedom.
- Subjectivism and individualism.
- Transformation: Feelings and ideals of life.
- Idealism: Absolute nature of life, expressing mood through storms, seas, etc.
- Return to the past: An attempt to escape from a distressing reality.
- Breaking the everyday world with the supernatural and mysterious.
- Momentum: The defense of progress, scientific progress, and history.