Theatrical and Literary Genres: An Analysis

Theatrical Genres

Theatrical genre: Writings are intended to be performed, not read. They often lack direct dialogue and can be written in prose. Key elements include:

  • Stage directions indicating character movements and feelings.
  • Excerpts to convey characters’ thoughts, aiding reader comprehension.

Major Theatrical Subgenres

  • Tragedy: Characters of high social class struggle against fate. Written in verse, often featuring mythological heroes.
  • Comedy: Depicts everyday life with comic situations and happy
Read More

Catalan Literature Under Franco: Suppression and Resilience

Catalan Literature Under Franco

1. In early 1938, Minister of Interior Severiano Martinez Anido banned the public use of languages and dialects other than Spanish. Franco’s regime caused a complete break in linguistic standardization and cultural development.

The war’s end led to the extinction of republican institutions and the systematic elimination of cultural agencies. The post-war intellectual landscape was catastrophic. Catalan culture suffered an intense process of ‘espanyolització’ (Castilianization)

Read More

15th Century Spanish Literature: Key Authors and Movements

15th Century Spain: A Time of Change

The fifteenth century was a time of significant change for Spain. After internal crises in the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile, and the Hundred Years’ War, things improved politically with the marriage of Isabel I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. During their reign, critical events took place, such as the end of the Reconquista and the discovery of America. This era saw trade development and the growth of cities, favoring the bourgeoisie. Culture became a

Read More

Dualism and Naturalism in 19th-Century Realist Novels

Religious and Ideological Dualism

One of the major themes in realist and naturalist novels is the clash between different conceptions of the world, offering a dualistic approach to life. One of the most prominent dualisms is shown through the confrontation between clericalism and anticlericalism. The defense or attack on religion often focuses on the clergy that officially represents it. Moreover, the political vision of the literary message was also observed after 1868, and authors reveal their

Read More

Catalan Language: Eastern Dialects and Their Features

Catalan Eastern Dialects: Phonetic, Morphosyntactic, and Lexical Traits

General Phonetic Traits

  1. **Neutralization of unstressed /a/, /e/, /o/, /u/:** “Bridge” (pont) and “roof” (teulat) are pronounced as “puntet.”
  2. **Closed /e/ and /o/ from Vulgar Latin (including an intermediate neutral vowel, still present in Balearic):** “Clean” (net), “cold” (fred), “onion” (ceba), “pear” (pera), “hair” (cabells).
  3. **Intervocalic or final /d/ is not pronounced when not preceded by [j]:** “Lame” [koiʃ].

General Morphosyntactic

Read More

Spanish Literary Movements: Realism, Modernism, and the Generation of ’98

Spanish Literary Realism

Spanish literary realism, a literary and ideological movement, marked a break with Romanticism. It is based on the use of detailed and thorough descriptions, with lists and concrete nouns, the use of long paragraphs and complex subordination, providing an almost magnetic playback of popular speech without idealizing it, and the use of a style characterized by “invisible” language to express characters, events, and situations objectively without calling attention to the writer.
Read More