Spanish Generation of ’27: Key Authors and Works
Authors of the Generation of ’27
Pedro Salinas
Born in Madrid in 1892. He died in Boston in 1951.
He creates very simple poetry with a simple metric, using mostly assonant rhyme. He began with avant-garde and pure poetry, but Salinas is considered the great Spanish poet of love. His most important books are The Voice Due to You and Reason for Love.
Jorge Guillén
Born in Valladolid. He was devoted to university education. He returned to Spain and died in 1984.
He is the most important representative of
Read MoreGustavo Adolfo Bécquer: Rhymes and Poetic Themes
Bécquer’s poems are a sub-theme of love and indifference, influenced by Romanticism. For Bécquer, love is the feeling that moves people, but it has two sides: a troubled yet vital experience. Most of his legends are set in distant epochs, a favorite time for him. There is a presence of fantasy, using plausible elements. His style is simple and quite distant from ornate rhetoric, using many adjectives.
Bécquer only published 15 rhymes before he died; the collected works in the manuscript *The Book
Read MoreDon Juan’s Deceptions and Downfall in Seville
Don Juan’s Deceptions and Downfall
The play begins in Naples, where Don Juan has just seduced Duchess Isabela, simultaneously dishonoring her and mocking Duke Octavio, his supposed friend. Don Pedro Tenorio, Don Juan’s uncle and the Spanish ambassador, receives orders from the king to arrest the culprit. Don Juan confesses, and a furious Don Pedro threatens to kill him. However, Don Juan’s submissive gesture of offering his sword moves Don Pedro, who then helps him escape.
Don Pedro informs the king
Josep Maria de Sagarra: Life, Theater, and Literary Works
Josep Maria de Sagarra: A Literary Overview
Catalan theater was in crisis in the early decades of the 20th century. Some authors began to write works inspired by the model of French theater, reflecting the hegemony of the bourgeoisie, fleeing the realist tradition and raising their own conflicts and entanglements of family life. These crises led to the inclusion of critical elements.
Josep Maria de Sagarra (1894-1961)
Josep Maria de Sagarra met Charles and Ram Bank and studied Law at UB. In 1914, he
Read MoreThe Song of the Cid: Themes, Analysis, and Historical Context
The Song of the Cid: An Overview
The Song of the Cid tells the story of Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, a real historical figure born in 1043. The poem comprises approximately 3700 verses, grouped into monorhythmic series called ‘runs’. These verses vary in syllable count and are divided into two hemistichs by a strong pause. The rhyme is assonant.
Structure of the Poem
- Song of Exile: After passing through Burgos, the Cid leaves his wife and daughters at a monastery and heads towards Moorish lands.
- Song of the
Understanding Popular and Court Poetry of the 15th Century
Popular Poetry: Ballads
The romances, epic compositions, and arrangements defined in verses to be sung or recited use octosyllabic assonance rhyme pairs. These are different from ancient epics and are composed by individual authors.
The Ballad
A compilation from the fifteenth century, romances are anonymous and called old romances from the 16th century onward. They can be of biblical and classical origin, including stories from the Old and New Testaments, tragic events like the Trojan War, and the
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