Humanism, Petrarch, and Lyric Poetry in 15th Century Europe
Humanism and its Influence
Humanism: a cultural, intellectual, and political movement that attaches great importance to ancient Greco-Roman texts. It is essential to the study of humanities, with extreme interest in culture and classical languages. This movement was widespread in Europe during the 15th century and was crucial in the Renaissance aesthetic. The interest in the human becomes a key factor. Key humanists include Dante Alighieri and Francesco Petrarch.
Petrarch and Petrarchist Lyric
Petrarch
Read MoreThematic Analysis of Isabel Allende’s ‘The House of the Spirits’
Thematic and Formal Features in ‘The House of the Spirits’
The House of the Spirits is a generational story of the Trueba family, which the author considers a typical middle-class American family. Through this family, Allende seeks to portray the social classes, cities, and customs of Latin American life.
The plot centers on four generations of women who influence one man, Esteban Trueba, spanning from the early 20th century to the 1970s. The novel depicts a rigid patriarchal society built on traditional
Read More16th Century Spanish Novel: Picaresque and Cervantes
16th Century Novel Development
The 16th century saw remarkable development in the novel, with several sub-genres emerging. These included pastoral, Byzantine, Moorish, and picaresque novels, adding to the existing chivalry and sentimental genres. Many of these subgenres offered an escape from everyday reality through reading. However, the picaresque novel uniquely addressed the issues of poverty and amorality within Spanish society. It presented realistic accounts of human types in urban settings,
Read MoreCatalan Literature: Key Authors and Movements
Troubadours and Early Catalan Literature
Genres of Troubadour Poetry:
- Sirventes: Glorification of war.
- Cry: Lament for the death of a character.
- Poetic Debate: Debate between two troubadours.
- Pastorela: Amorous dialogue between a troubadour and a shepherdess.
- Alba: Tells of the separation of two lovers after spending the night together.
Notable Troubadours:
- Guillem de Berguedà
- Guillem de Cabestany
- Cerverí de Girona: Wrote in Provençal, with some authors writing in Catalan but with Provençal influences.
Spanish Baroque Theater: History, Characteristics, and Key Elements
Spanish Baroque Theater: History and Evolution
The roots of theater trace back to ancient Greece in the 5th and 6th centuries BC, with performances held in outdoor public theaters. Prominent Greek playwrights include Sophocles, known for tragedies like *Oedipus Rex* and *Antigone*, and Aristophanes, famed for his political comedies. The influential philosopher Aristotle, in his *Poetics*, analyzed both tragedy (set in the distant past) and comedy. He established key principles for tragedy: a five-
Read MoreSpanish Literature: Early 20th Century to Interwar Period
Juan Ramón Jiménez (1881-1958)
Born in Huelva, Juan Ramón Jiménez married Zenobia Camprubí in 1916. They returned to Spain after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. Two years after winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, he died in Puerto Rico. His works are characterized by a constant search for perfection and can be divided into three stages:
- Sensitive Stage: Marked by Modernism, this stage features the sonority of verse and Modernist symbols and motifs. Notable works include Platero and