The Enlightenment in Spain: Literature and Cultural Shifts
The Enlightenment gradually displaced the old regime. It gave rise to revolution during the French crisis. The Enlightenment and the War of Succession of Philip of Anjou and Archduke Charles were cultural and ideological movements that renewed the thinking and mentality of the 18th century.
Characteristics of the Enlightenment
- The desire for knowledge, utilitarianism, and the abandonment of the idea of absolute truths.
- Practical ideas and a new conception of reality.
- Ideas disseminated in the Encyclopedia.
Exploring Dramatic Subgenres: Tragedy, Comedy, and Drama
Dramatic Subgenres: An Overview
The Passive Voice
The passive voice is formed with the verb “to be,” acting as an auxiliary, and the past participle of the verb being conjugated.
Nonpersonal Forms
Nonpersonal forms lack person and number and include the infinitive mood. They also include the gerund and the participle, which function as a noun, an adverb, and an adjective, respectively.
Major Dramatic Subgenres
Dramatic subgenres are classified into two categories: major (tragedy, comedy, and drama) and
Read MoreCulteranismo and Conceptismo: Baroque Poetry in Spain
Trends in Baroque Poetry
Cultured Baroque poetry continued the legacy of Renaissance meters and maintained its achievements. Among these, the hendecasyllable verse, suitable for lyrical expression, and the sonnet and song, as more strophic poems, are to be highlighted. Poets formed two very distinct groups:
- Those who broke the classical balance between content and expression, i.e., culteranos and conceptistas, and, like Lope de Vega, harmonized both trends.
- Those who maintained the aesthetic ideal
Spanish Medieval Literature: Key Authors and Forms
Mester de Minstrelsy and Mester de Clergy
The Mester de Minstrelsy was a literary movement in which minstrels recited epic poetry from memory and oral transmission. This was the main genre of epic poems, intended to enlarge the figure of a hero.
The Mester de Clergy was a poetic school of clergy, characterized by educated, written transmission of religious and moralizing themes. It often used the frame narrative, the Bible, and writings of educated Latin authors.
Cuaderna Vía
Cuaderna Vía is an Alexandrian
Read MoreAncient Greek Sculpture: Evolution and Masterpieces
Greek Sculpture
Greek art seeks knowledge of man and, because of this, makes a rational study of the human body and idealized representations. Greek sculpture, in contrast to the Egyptian law which was based on strict and inflexible rules, evolved over time toward naturalism through three periods or stages:
Archaic Stage (7th-6th Centuries BC)
Its most important features are:
- Represents human figures (naked men and dressed women because the ideal of female beauty at the moment lies in decent attire)
Spanish Narrative: Generation of ’98 and Noucentisme
The Generation of ’98 and Noucentisme in Spanish Narrative
The Generation of ’98
The narrative of the Generation of ’98 emerged during an era dominated by a sense of crisis and cultural decadence. There was a rejection of positivist realism and rationalism. In 1902, four significant works were published in Spain:
- The Will by Azorín
- Love and Pedagogy by Unamuno
- Way of Perfection by Baroja
- Autumn Sonata by Valle-Inclán
These works initiated an innovative path in the novel, culminating in the following
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