18th-Century Poetry and Neoclassical Theater: Key Features
Eighteenth-Century Poetry and Theater
In the 18th century, three main currents emerged in theater:
- The Baroque tradition, which gradually gave way to neoclassical ideals.
- A return to the classics, emphasizing Enlightenment ideas and didacticism.
- The Pre-Romantic movement, focusing on social concerns and freedom.
Poetry of this era also displayed diverse trends: Rococo, Pre-Romantic, and Enlightenment styles. The Enlightenment style embraced Enlightenment ideals, aiming to educate and uplift, resulting
Read MoreRamón C.: 20th Century Portuguese Literature
Ramón C. and 20th Century Portuguese Literature
Ramón C., in the early years of 20th-century Portuguese literature, is identified with the genre’s lyrical themes: Agrarianism, Celticists, withdrawal, and civic stagnation. These themes continued in the work of followers of the three great masters of Rexurdimento. Ramón C. played a role in updating poetry, since his work incorporates new elements of European aesthetic poetry.
His influences include Greco-Latin tradition from the late European Romanticism,
Read MoreSalvador Espriu’s Poetic Exile: Themes and Analysis
Salvador Espriu: A Poem of Exile and Loyalty
Author: Salvador Espriu
Date: 1954, more than twelve years after the end of the Civil War and more than six years after the Second World War.
Theme: This poem begins by discussing the desire to leave one’s homeland, to emigrate northward, because the speaker believes the land is cowardly, savage, and old, while the place to go is cultured, noble, and clean. The poem also explains that if this dream were to come true, citizens, whom they call brothers, would
Read MoreLiterary Terms: Epic Poems, Sonnets, and More
Epic: Poems of adventures, narrative, containing a lot of passion and many events. Originally a spoken poem, it was later written down. Early Literacy adopted the Epic Poem’s form. Epic poems were normally sung by scops, who were professional poem singers, often accompanying the poem with music, typically a harp.
Sonnet: A lyric or poetic form. Lyric opposes epic as it has a brief form and emotional content. This contrast can be seen in “Beowulf.” Lyric is more intimate, domestic, focused on
Read MoreRomanticism in Literature: Spain in the 19th Century
Romanticism in Literature
Romanticism was a cultural and artistic movement that emerged in Germany and England in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It represented a unique perspective and laid the foundations of the ideology of the bourgeois liberal state. From a historical perspective, its arrival in Spain was delayed compared to the rest of European countries. It constituted a revolution on a cultural and social level, reflected in events such as the rise of the bourgeoisie and the increase
Read MoreBaudelaire’s Correspondences: Unveiling the Poet’s Aesthetic Creed
Correspondences: Baudelaire’s Aesthetic Creed
Critics agree that “Correspondences” embodies the poet’s aesthetic credo, outlining his artistic principles. This manifesto sets forth the fundamental tenets of symbolism, influencing later French poetry. The sonnet is a pivotal moment in poetry history.
Nature is a “temple” where living pillars murmur sometimes indistinct words; Man approaches it through forests of symbols, which observe him with familiar glances. This concept suggests that nature is
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