Modernist Literature: Key Authors and Their Masterpieces
James Joyce: Father of Modernism
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916) offers a distanced, selectively framed treatment of its subject. The central figure is Stephen Dedalus, whose name evokes the mythical Greek craftsman, serving as an image of the artist. “Fight” is a key motif throughout the novel.
Ulysses (1922) chronicles the events of a single day in the lives of two heroes. Incidents are elaborated, paralleled, and parodied, creating a comprehensive portrait of Dublin city. Leopold
Read MoreJuan Ramón Jiménez: Life, Poetry, and Evolution
Generation of ’14
The Generation of ’14, or Noucentista school, occurred in the 1920s and had a different intellectual climate. It is characterized by:
- Intellectuals are usually academically trained.
- Attitude of Europeanist research.
- Awareness of the reality of the country.
Their method is based on rigor and high standards. They abandoned the passionate tone. The intellectuals were considered a select minority. This led to a kind of literature in which the intellectual and conceptual took precedence
Read MoreEnglish Grammar Essentials: Nouns, Pronouns, Verbs & More
English Grammar Fundamentals
The noun on the predicate is an object.
Any word to describe a verb
Objects:
Direct: What
Indirect: Whom
Prepositional Object:
The vs. a/an
The: specific: singular and plural
a/an: general – singular
Personal Pronouns
Subject Pronouns
I
You
He
She
It
We
You
They
Objective Pronouns
me
you
him
her
it
us
you
them
Possessive Adjectives
my
your
his
her
its
our
your
their
Possessive Pronouns
mine
yours
his
hers
its
ours
yours
theirs
Reflexive Pronouns
myself
yourself
himself
herself
itself
ourselves
yourselves
themselves
Last
Read MoreJose Cadalso and 18th-Century Spanish Theater: A Deep Dive
Jose Cadalso: A Literary Figure of the 18th Century
Jose Cadalso stands as one of the most interesting figures of 18th-century Spanish literature, both as a man and a writer. Like many others of his time, Cadalso’s work spanned various genres, but it is in prose where he truly made his mark. Born into a wealthy family of Basque origin in Cadiz in 1741, he died in Gibraltar in 1782. As a teenager, he made many trips to Europe, acquiring knowledge of several languages. He joined the army, where he
Read MoreAmerican Literary Movements: Transcendentalism, Romanticism, Realism, and Naturalism
Transcendentalism
- American version of Romanticism.
- Individualism: self-esteem -> pantheistic love (denial of God’s personality and identification of God and nature).
- Humanization of God
- Nature: Every particle of the universe contains the universe.
- Equality.
- Ecological thinking: Native American beliefs “sacred nature”/holistic perspective/ mother Earth (main protagonist, personification of Nature).
- Elogy of love: Passion. /Love is freedom
- No separation of body and spirit: Fusion or union between
Rubén Darío and Pío Baroja: Literary Titans of Their Time
Rubén Darío
Rubén Darío distinguished two types of literature: evasion and rootedness. A cosmopolitan, he declared his love for both America, France, and Spain. His personality was marked by loneliness and a fear of death. Among his activities, he excelled in diplomatic and journalistic roles. He began writing in his adolescence (1878-1881 and 1885). In his youth (1881-1887), he published two works, *Thistles* and *Rhymes*, considered transitional works. The following year, he published *Azul*
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