20th Century Western World: Thought, Aesthetics, and Literature
Historical Periods of the 20th Century
The 20th century Western world underwent profound transformation, marked by two World Wars, the Russian Revolution, and the Cold War.
Panorama of 20th Century Thought
Three major schools of thought emerged: existentialism, psychoanalysis, and Marxism, often appearing intertwined.
Aesthetics in the 20th Century
Aesthetics evolved rapidly in the 20th century, with numerous artistic streams. Three major trends included social, experimental, and existential approaches.
Read MoreLife, Love, and Death in Miguel Hernández’s Poetry
Miguel Hernández’s poetry revolves around three main themes: life, love, and death. Love is reflected and expressed in different ways. In Perito en lunas, love is linked to nature. Sensitivity is lit; poems reveal natural vitality, always reflecting their sensitivity and vitality. After this sensual phase, Miguel Hernández finds his voice and his ‘wound’—love—with El Rayo que no cesa, which reveals the poet’s inner wound embodied in the ‘lightning’ and ‘knife’. Love is tormented passion. The
Read MoreLiterary Analysis: Exploring Lyric, Epic, and Dramatic Forms
Literary Forms: Lyric, Epic, and Dramatic
Lyric: Expresses feelings and thoughts.
Epic: Narrates real or imagined events, objectively, in verse.
Dramatic: Used in the theater, featuring dialogue and characters, and presenting conflicts to engage the audience.
Structure of Poetic Forms
Poetic structures can be divided into one, two, or three parts. It’s an art organized in:
- Minor verses (maximum 8 syllables)
- Major verses (more than 8 syllables)
Rhyme
- Consonance (gone, gone)
- Assonance
- No rhyme = loose verse
Verse
Read MoreSpanish 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