Medieval Spanish Literature: Lyrical and Epic Poetry
Medieval Spanish Lyrical Poetry
Lyrical poetry served as a medium for poets to express their subjectivity, inner feelings, and personal experiences. Popular lyrical texts were often anonymous and transmitted orally. Written texts are preserved in Mozarabic, derived from the Latin language spoken by Christians within the territory occupied by Muslims.
Mozarabic Lyrical
Some folk songs were collected at the end of longer poems written in Arabic or Hebrew. These compositions were called moaxajas. The
Read More17th Century Spanish Baroque Poetry: Themes and Styles
17th Century Spanish Baroque Poetry
The Baroque poets reflect the contradiction between the ideal and light classical revival and a new pessimistic and disillusioned outlook.
Themes in Baroque Poetry
Love remains the favorite theme, but it is linked to a reflection on the transience of life, death, and the passage of time.
The passage of time is reflected in the short life of the rose and the lily, and in ancient ruins.
They continue using mythological themes, but choose tragic stories starring an antihero.
Read MoreSpanish Novels: 1940s-1950s and Novecentismo Analysis
The Novel of the 1940s
The novel reflects the bitter everyday life and an existential approach. The main themes are loneliness, maladjustment, frustration, and death. Marginal, uprooted, disoriented, and distressed characters abound.
- Camilo José Cela: The Family of Pascual Duarte. This work initiates tremendismo, exploring the story in its most crude aspects: poverty, violence, etc. Pascual Duarte is a peasant dominated by vengeful and violent instincts, who ends up becoming a serial murderer.
- Carmen
Caravaggio’s Final Years: Naples, Melancholy, and Masterpieces
Caravaggio’s Final Years in Naples
Movement heads in different directions, with a diagonal that takes us out of the scene on the opposite side. They are not smooth bodies or envelopes, but have spots that show the beginning of the decomposition of the body.
Naples, October 1609
He lives in the palace of Constance Sforza Colonna, Marchioness of Caravaggio (returns to his origins: his father was an architect of the Sforza family and protected by the Marquis of Caravaggio).
Some of his works were destroyed
Read MoreSpanish Generation of 1927: Poets and History
Generation of ’27: From Monarchy to Republic
The end of Primo de Rivera’s dictatorship was marked by a decrease in political repression and economic expansion. Dámaso Berenguer established the parliamentary model in 1931. The king abdicated and on April 14, the Second Republic was proclaimed. Led by Manuel Azaña, it undertook an extensive political program and faced the economic crisis of 1929. There was ideological polarization (fascism and communism). Elections were held in 1936, won by the Popular
Read MoreSpanish Literature: Generation of ’98 and Novel Innovations
The narrative before the Spanish Civil War saw renewal and innovations in realist novels. The focus shifted from action to perception, with fragmented narratives, dramatized dialogues, and bohemian characters.
Key Figures and Their Contributions
- Pío Baroja: Born in San Sebastián, Baroja’s works are anti-traditionalist, atheist, and turbulent. His novels feature maladjusted characters and Basque/Madrid landscapes. Dialogue is prominent, resembling theater.
- Miguel de Unamuno: Born in Bilbao in 1864,