Spanish Baroque Literature: Golden Age Drama & Key Figures
The Spanish Baroque: A Cultural Movement
The Baroque was a cultural movement that developed in Spain in the seventeenth century, during what is called the Golden Age.
This period occurred under the reigns of Philip II, Philip IV, and Charles II.
This era was marked by political, economic, and social crises.
The political system of the time was an absolute monarchy, meaning all power rested with the monarch.
The country’s economy was in a very poor state due to epidemics, wars, and bad harvests.
As a result
Read MoreSpanish Poetry After the Civil War: Trends and Key Poets
Spanish Poetry After the Civil War
The Spanish Civil War caused many deaths and exiles, interrupting the natural evolution of Spanish literature. The regime imposed strict censorship on publications expressing even minimal dissent.
Post-War Poetic Trends
Post-war poetry saw two main trends: the rooted and the uprooted.
The Rooted
Represented by authors of the Generation of ’36, compliant with the regime, adopting a classical approach and heroic tone. Notable figures include:
- Luis Rosales (Retablo de Navidad)
El Cid: Origins, Structure, and Themes of the Epic Poem
Origin of Spanish Epic Poems
The origin of the epics has been linked to various sources: carmina maiorum (heroic songs of the Visigoths on the Germanic ancestors), the French epic, epic Arab-Andalusian, and popular folklore. The Spanish epics are part of the literary tradition of mastersingers or the art of the troubadours, so they are anonymous. We know of many ballads and songs thanks to the prosifications of medieval chroniclers.
Cycles of Songs
The epic poems related to the history of Castile are
Read MoreAnalysis of Gray’s Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
VOICE: St.1-9 1st voice st10- 2nd voice st11-23 1st voice st.24- 2nd voice st.25 3rd voice (”off—-St.29) st.30-32 -1st voice
MOOD: Melancholic. In the end: acceptance.
SUMMARY: Meditation upon the tombs of humble people, which leads the poet to meditate about his own death and ”the memory” he will leave once he dies. In this meditation, the poet opposes fortune and fame to knowledge and feeling, in favour of this last ones.
STANZAS:
Stanza 15. John Hampden,
Read MoreThe Dominate: Late Roman Empire (235-565 AD)
The Dominate (235 AD – 565 AD) was the despotic last phase of government in the ancient Roman Empire. It spanned from the establishment of the Empire in 27 BC to the formal collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD.
Crisis and Military Anarchy
In the year 235 AD, the last emperor of the Severan dynasty, which had maintained order, relative peace, and the outline of the Roman Empire, died. His death initiated a period characterized by military anarchy.
In the third century AD, Roman-dominated villages
Read MoreMesoamerican and Andean Civilizations: A Comparative Study
Mother Cultures in Mesoamerica
Contributed to the cultural development of Mayan and Aztec civilizations
Teotihuacan
They bet on urban planning and construction of large ceremonial centers.
Zapotec
They designed a solar calendar and a writing system based on figures – the city was better known as Monte Alban.
Toltecs
Contributed gods and sacrificial rites, and the ball game.
Olmec
They developed a calendar and an accounting system. Their heads were famous giant sculptures.
Cultures in the Andean Mother Region
These
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