Manrique’s Couplets & the Spanish Ballad
Couplets of Don Jorge Manrique on the Death of His Father
Couplets of Don Jorge Manrique on the Death of His Father, which he composed as an elegy on the death of his father in 1476, is one of the most perfect and emotional funeral compositions of Castilian lyric poetry. This work is formed by 40 couplets of two broken-foot sextinas, also called Manriquean stanzas. In general, each stanza develops a complete idea in itself.
Regarding the internal structure, we can distinguish three parts:
- Couplets
European Avant-Garde Movements: A Post-WWI Analysis
European Avant-Garde Movements After World War I
After the First World War, a new understanding of art emerged in Europe, lasting until the Second World War. The most committed movements encompassed several key characteristics:
- Simultaneity: International movements that appear and disappear quickly.
- Antitraditionalism: Vigorously defending originality and rejecting the past.
- Experimentation: Breaking language rules, mixing text with icons.
- Irrationalism
- Independence: The poet translates the apparent reality,
Spanish Narrative Evolution: 1960s to Present
Stylistic Linear Narrative
Objectivity/Realism (narrator observer, direct language, dialogues, simple style). Temporary concentration.
Authors
Collective characters: Aldecoa Ignacio, Fernandez Santos, Sanchez Ferlosio, Caballero Bonald.
The Novel of the Year ’60
The publication in 1962 of Tiempo de Silencio (Time of Silence), by Luis Martín-Santos, started a new phase in Spanish narrative. Several factors influenced the development of this new narrative, such as:
- The influence of foreign reformers
- The
Roman Society, Culture, and Urbanism: A Comprehensive Look
Roman Society, Culture, and Urbanism
In the beginning, citizens were only the inhabitants of the city of Rome. However, as the Empire grew, people from other places demanded the same status. That’s how citizenship spread, first to the inhabitants of Italy and, in the 3rd century AD, with Emperor Caracalla, to all free men in the Empire.
Pyramidal Society
Roman society was organized as a pyramid with a minority of powerful and wealthy people at the top and a majority of ordinary people at the base.
Read MoreExperimental Literature: Poetry and Narrative Trends
Experimental Literature: Poetry and Narrative
Poetry of the 60s
As is customary knowledge, the poetry of this era explained in verses the presence of the intimate, a taste for memory, and the expression of subjectivity through the poetization of personal experience. Irony and humor are also used in a dispassionate way to move away from personal emotions, often employing mockery and satire, sometimes even targeting the figure of the writer.
In terms of style, there’s a remarkable attention to language,
Read MoreRomanization of Hispania: Culture, Provinces, and Legacy
Romanization of Hispania
Romanization is understood as the assimilation of Roman culture and way of life by the Roman Hispanians. The conquered peninsular territory was divided into provinces. In the time of Augustus, there were three provinces: two imperial and one senatorial. The imperial provinces were ruled by the emperor due to their potential for conflict. These were:
- Lusitania (Emerita Augusta)
- Tarraconensis (Tarraco)
The Senate controlled:
- Baetica (Cordoba)
Finally, in the 4th century, the peninsula
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