Lope de Vega: Life, Works, and Theater in Spain
Lope de Vega: Life and Adventures
Lope de Vega was born in Madrid. His life was a succession of adventures, love, and literary and passionate character. He had economic troubles, speaking of the literary life of his time. He had controversies with Cervantes, and his love life was intense, like that of Góngora. After several marriages, ten children, and numerous lovers, in his last years he turned to religion. He became a priest. Much of his work focuses on a deep religious feeling.
He had very influential
Read MoreGalician Prose: 1936-1976 – Authors, Themes, and Evolution
Galician Prose: 1936-1976
The period between 1936 and 1976 in Galician prose was significantly shaped by the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and the subsequent Franco dictatorship (until 1975). This authoritarian regime suppressed basic freedoms, including speech and assembly, and imposed a single ideology, denying Spain’s linguistic and cultural diversity.
As a result, some authors associated with the Brotherhood and the Galeguista Party, such as Castelao, were forced into political exile, continuing
Read MoreSpanish Poetic Devices and Stanza Forms
Stanza Forms in Spanish Poetry
- Stopped: Assonant or consonant rhyme, aa/aa.
- Terceto: Three verses with eleven syllables, consonant rhyme, ABA.
- Alone: Minor assonant rhyme, ABA.
- Cuarteto: Four verses with eleven syllables, consonant rhyme, ABBA.
- Redondilla: Four verses with eight syllables, consonant rhyme, ABBA.
- Serventesio: Four verses with eleven syllables, consonant rhyme, ABAB.
- Cuarteta: Four verses with eight syllables, consonant rhyme, ABAB.
- Couplet: Seven to five verses, assonant rhyme, -aa.
- Seguidilla:
Portuguese Literature: Late 20th and Early 21st Century
The arrival of democracy in Portugal produced significant legislative and economic changes in Portuguese society, bringing about social change. These democratic advances enabled a clear cultural promotion. Two decisive factors in the emergence of new storytellers during the 1980s were the creation of business-minded publishers and the emergence of literary prizes for narrative. This led to a new and heterogeneous group of narrators, which literary critics called the “Promotion of Narrative Prizes”
Read MoreEnglish Grammar and Vocabulary Essentials
Mastering English Grammar and Vocabulary
Inversion in English
Inversion is a literary technique in which the normal order of words is reversed, typically for emphasis or stylistic effect. Here are some examples:
- Hardly had I got into bed when the telephone rang.
- Never had she seen such a beautiful sight before.
- Seldom do we see such / Seldom have I seen…
- Rarely will you hear such beautiful music.
- Only then did I understand why the tragedy had happened.
- Not only does he love chocolate and sweets, but he
New Criticism and Roman Rhetorical-Poetic Tradition
New Criticism
Under this name, taken from the work of John Ransom entitled The New Criticism (1941), refers to a current that occurred in the United States starting in the 1930s.
The New Criticism shows greater methodological dispersion, due in large part to the heterogeneity of its members. Their contribution is convergent with Russian formalism and stylistics in the dual commitment to propose a renewal of traditional literary studies and to do so in the sense of an immanent poetics. That is, the
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