Medieval Spanish Literature: Lyric, Clergy, and Theater
Medieval Spanish Literature
Traditional Lyric (S. XIII-XIV)
- Jarchas (S. XI-XIV): Short poetic compositions in Mozarabic, included at the end of Muwashshahs.
- Predominantly four lines.
- A girl expresses her feelings of love for her beloved (habib).
- Confidantes are the mother and sisters.
- Cantigas de Amigo (S. XIII-XIV): Galician-Portuguese, with the theme of love in a female voice.
- The confidante is the mother, sisters, and elements of nature.
- The oldest ballads date back to the 12th century.
- Two versification
Medieval Literature and Epic Poetry: Key Features
Characteristics of Medieval Literature
Theocentrism and Religiosity: Life and literature were clearly marked by the dominant cultural position of religion. The church imposed its vision of the world: life as a transit of suffering, which would be rewarded with eternity. This feeling pervaded all walks of life.
Prevalence of Orality: The first literary manifestations had an oral origin, or were designed for public reading. This entails that they contain a large number of spoken resources: appeals to
Read More18th and 19th Century Spanish Literature: Key Movements and Authors
Neoclassicism in 18th-Century Spanish Literature
Neoclassicism’s main objective was to spread new ideas based on criteria of service, liberal use of reason, and a focus on humanity and commitment. It acknowledged a central axis to reason and good taste, rejecting repressed passion and sentimentality. Its literature is not literal and pretends moderation in study. Its task was to disseminate new ideas through education. Its thought is the desire to teach, delighting the city. Neoclassicism’s aesthetic
Read MoreAncient Greek Lyric Poetry: Origins, Themes, and Forms
Origin and Meaning
Poetry played to the sound of the lyre, from which it is named, also born in Greece, particularly in Asia Minor, the most advanced of the Greek world, and in the archaic period (seventh century BC), when development of the polis, to which has been closely the emergence of this new literary genre:
- In the polis, the economy is not based only on agriculture but there are other sources of wealth: Industry and commerce
- There are new classes that require more intervention in the affairs
Aeneid Structure: Books, Themes, and Characters
Structure of the Aeneid
The first six books of the Aeneid mirror Homer’s Odyssey. They describe the trials and adventures of the Trojans, who roamed the Mediterranean in search of the promised land that fate assigned to them:
- Book I: Aeneas, wandering for seven years after burying his father, departs from Sicily. Juno unleashes a storm that washes the Trojans up at Carthage, under the hospitality of Queen Dido, through the intercession of Venus, Aeneas’s mother.
- Book II: During a banquet, Dido asks
Spanish Generation of 1927: Poets, Playwrights, Prose
Generation of 1927
The Generation of 1927 refers to a group of Spanish writers and poets who emerged after 1920. This generation’s key components include generational traits, influences, and stylistic traits. We can distinguish between poets, playwrights, and prose writers.
Poets
- Pedro Salinas: His work can be divided into three stages:
- First stage: Mixes avant-garde modernist heritage, as seen in Fable and Sign.
- Second stage: Features humane, loving, and conceptually rich poetry, such as Voice Due to