Portuguese Poetry: Franco Dictatorship (1936-1975)
Portuguese Poetry Between 1936 and 1976
After the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), the Franco dictatorship (until 1975) began. This authoritarian regime was characterized by a lack of basic freedoms, such as speech or assembly, to impose a single ideology and deny the linguistic and cultural diversity of Spain. Consequently, some authors connected with the Brotherhood and the Galicianist Party, such as Castelao, had to emigrate for political reasons and continued their literary work in America. Those
Read MoreAngel Gonzalez and Spanish Poetry After the War
The post-war period following the two World Wars deeply impacted art and thought, leading to a sense of pessimism. Spain faced economic hardship, cultural assimilation, censorship, the promotion of Catholic culture, and exile for many, including writers like Alberti (or death for Lorca). Many writers left Spain, impacting its literature, though the situation improved in the 1950s. In the 1940s, early works showed discontent, but were not overtly critical. The 1950s saw a loosening of censorship.
Read MoreRenaissance Literature: Love, Religion, and Count Lucanor
The Renaissance in Literature
Lyrical Renaissance
The Lyrical Renaissance focuses on love lyrics, exemplified by Garcilaso de la Vega. During this time, there was a separation between the natural and the supernatural. Garcilaso de la Vega was a prominent poet.
Life and Works of Garcilaso de la Vega
Garcilaso belonged to a noble family and served Charles I. He masterfully expressed feelings of love by describing the beauty of his beloved (Isabel Freyre). Formally, Garcilaso introduced metric structures
Read MoreMiguel de Cervantes and His Masterpiece: Don Quixote
Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes: In 1605, the first part of The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote appeared, a story that immediately attracted the interest of readers of the time. The hero, Alonso Quijano, and his adventures are the result of the intuition and experience of its creator, Miguel de Cervantes. Cervantes’s life demonstrates and teaches the human struggle between youth and the reality of their time, which also appears in Don Quixote. Published at the beginning of the 17th century,
Read MoreStages and Registers of the Latin Language
Because Latin was spoken and written from the 6th century BC (the time of the first written testimony) until the 8th century AD (when Romance languages appeared, and even then, it remained in worship), and because it was used by speakers of diverse geographical origins, social classes, and cultural backgrounds, two types of classifications can be made:
- A chronological classification, highlighting the different stages of the language.
- A classification based on the social class of speakers and the context
Gaucho Poetry and Martín Fierro: A Deep Dive
Gaucho Poetry: An Introduction
Gaucho poetry, a significant genre in Latin American literature, focuses on recreating the language and life of the gaucho, the nomadic and skilled horseman of the Argentine pampas. This literary form captures the gaucho’s way of life.
Stages of Gaucho Poetry
- First Stage (Anonymity): Characterized by anonymous minstrels who recited songs and poems spontaneously. No written records exist from this period.
- Second Stage (Transition): Marks the shift from oral recitation to