Alvaro Cunqueiro and Anxeles Bellows: Galician Literature
Alvaro Cunqueiro’s Narrative
In the novels and short stories by Alvaro Cunqueiro, we find an originalísima mixture of reality and fantasy. In each of his books, fantastic characters coexist with other facts that might well be part of everyday life.
The characters of his works are, in many cases, the old myths of other cultures. So, in Merlin and Family, the protagonist is the same wizard Merlin who accompanied King Arthur in their legendary adventures. In If the Old Sinbad Returned to the Islands,
Read MoreGeneration of ’98: Spanish Literature in Crisis
Generation of ’98
The Generation of ’98 emerged from three circumstances:
- The political, economic, and moral crisis in Spain in the late 19th century.
- The exhaustion of narrative forms of the realistic and naturalistic movements.
- Foreign influence on the thinking of writers.
For these reasons, the writers expressed their protest against the decadent habits of Spanish society and proposed a complete overhaul of its social and moral behavior. All authors developed a neo-Romantic ideal of character. Idealism
Read MoreBucolic Poetry and Satirical Epigrams: A Literary Analysis
Bucolic Poetry
Latin bucolic poetry has its roots in Greece, in the work of Theocritus of Syracuse. At the beginning of Hellenism, Theocritus writes her romances, which in Greek means “little pictures”, pictures that inspire peasant painters and writers worldwide.
The rustic and country setting is seen as a locus amoenus, a kind of paradise away from the city with its noise and haste. A wild place where man gives vent to her sensuality. Perceived by the senses, the chirping of birds, the prairie grass
Read MoreMiguel Hernández: Life, Death, and Love in Poetry
In all the biographies of Miguel Hernández (MH), his life and work are inseparable. MH was convinced that life is accepting reality as a penalty, a succession of injuries. Life is but a machine of destruction.
Most of his poems contain a certain insouciance, a conscious, and in certain limited circumstances, natural optimism. His life goes one way (dreams of devoting himself to poetry) and his work another (looking at the world through his admired poems). Many poems pay homage to nature with exulting
Read MoreValencia Poet’s Identity: War, Love, and Existentialism
Civil: This poet’s work is a blend of history, geography, and politics, focusing on the people of Valencia and their recent past. The poet, deeply rooted in the village of Brujassot, uses detailed, realistic, and ironic language to explore their identity. The poems often allude to the poet’s connection to Brujassot and its people. The focus is on the war and its aftermath, portraying the poet’s childhood experience as a time of fear, corruption, and suffering for the losers.
Commonplace: The verses
Read MoreSpanish, Catalan, Galician, and Basque: A Linguistic Journey
The Evolution of Spanish
Spanish, a major global language, is spoken throughout Spain and is the official language of 19 Latin American countries and the USA. Castilian originated during the Reconquista. The first known texts in Castilian are the glosses. During the reign of Alfonso X the Wise, Castilian developed as a written language. Linguistic unification began with Ferdinand and Isabella. The 16th and 17th centuries saw Spanish become more dominant, boosted by the conquest and colonization of