Garcilaso, Mysticism, Lazarillo, Cervantes: Spanish Literature
Garcilaso: Issues and Developments
The primary themes in Garcilaso de la Vega’s work are love, melancholy, and sadness. His poetry often connects with nature, presenting the locus amoenus (pleasant place) as a reflection of the poetic speaker’s inner world, a refuge for their pain. Other poems address themes of friendship, fate, fortune, and the need to master one’s passions. His early poems show a Petrarchan influence, incorporating elements of *cancionero* poetry while developing his unique lyrical
Read MorePostwar Spanish Novel: Evolution and Key Authors
Postwar Spanish Novel
The postwar novel in Spain underwent significant transformations, reflecting the country’s social and political changes. Initially, the novel was characterized by idealism.
Idealistic Novel
During the early years of the Franco regime, propagandistic novels glorified the war, the regime, and its ideological values. Examples include works by authors like Arnau and José Antonio Jimeno. There was also another form of idealistic conception, *Arrata*, which tried to move past the war
Read MoreBaroque Literature and Art: Pessimism and Opulence
Baroque Literature
Characteristics: Pessimism, worry about moral standards, the transience of life, the universal presence of death, and disappointment. Frequent contrasts of nature manifest the flawed reality. Baroque writers seek to create surprising and highly appreciated effects, and value originality. They use a complex style where rhetorical resources abound. The literary language gives rise to two streams:
- Culteranismo: Searches for formal beauty using cultisms and the creation of artifice.
Generation of ’27: Spanish Poetic Renaissance
Generation of ’27: A Spanish Poetic Renewal
The Generation of ’27 was a group of authors, primarily poets, who renewed Spanish lyric poetry in the 1920s and 1930s. They fused traditional and classic poetic forms with the most innovative and cutting-edge trends.
Members
The group included: Pedro Salinas, Jorge Guillén, Gerardo Diego, Rafael Alberti, Federico García Lorca, Luis Cernuda, Vicente Aleixandre, Dámaso Alonso, Emilio Prados, and Manuel Altolaguirre.
Common Ground
The members were aware of
Read MoreErechtheion of Athens: Architecture and History
The Erechtheion
Erechtheion
Authors: Mnesicles and Philocles
Location: Athens Acropolis. Presented, merely characterized, female figures on the south side, facing the main temple of the enclosure, the Parthenon.
Function: Religious, dedicated to Poseidon and Athena.
Epoch: Fifth century BC
Style: Ionic.
Material: Marble. This building is perfectly framed in nature, taking advantage of the irregularities of the terrain. This makes it a structure with an irregular and unique plant.
Supporting Elements
The
Read MoreRoman Civilization: Urbanism and Architecture
Roman Civilization: An Urban Civilization
Urban Propagation Model
With the extension of their domain across the Mediterranean, Central Europe, and the British Isles, Roman governors, magistrates, legionaries, settlers, and businessmen tried to reproduce the model of Rome. They reurbanized indigenous settlements into cities resembling Rome or created new ones, known as Coloniae. The Romans consistently planned and replicated this model with slight variations. Grouping the indigenous population into
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