18th Century Spanish Literature: Neoclassicism & Enlightenment
Historical Context
At this time, despotism began to prevail in Europe. Spain entered a period of French influence, where monarchs were surrounded by an enlightened minority.
Language and Literature in 18th Century Spain
The ideal language was clarity, imposing new customs and modernization. In literature, likelihood and reasonableness were emphasized, and genres such as essays and plays were favored. This century is divided into several periods: Posbarroco and Illustration, which in turn is divided
Read More17th and 18th Century Spanish Theater and Literature
The Theater of the 17th Century: New Comedy
Comedia is a genre that sprang from the union of Italian comedy and the drama of the Spanish Renaissance. Lope de Vega added his sensitivity to this union.
Most Representative Works:
- Historical: The Best Mayor, The King, Fuenteovejuna, The Knight from Olmedo
- Traditional: La Dama Boba and The Dog in the Manger
Features
- Union of the tragic and comic, and the noble and popular.
- Breakdown of the rule of the three unities of classic theater, use of various types of
Illocutionary Acts, Institutional Speech, and Metaphor
Illocutionary Act of Communication
As an act of communication, a speech act succeeds if the audience identifies the attitude being expressed, in accordance with the speaker’s intention. Thus, in classifying the types of speech acts of communication, we have to spell out the correlation between the type of illocutionary act and the type of expressed attitude.
Institutional Speech Acts
Institutional speech acts have the function of affecting institutional states of affairs. They can do so in either of
Read MoreDiaspora, Migration, and Identity: Postcolonial Perspectives
Through colonialism, many people voyaged from Britain. However, the voyages of colonized people from around the world to the major European Empires are also significant.
Many important writings by colonized people who settled in Britain during the colonial period exist, such as The Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho, An African by Thomas Gainsborough, and The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa by Olaudah Equiano. These writings became important texts in the movement
Read MoreRealism and the Generation of ’98 in Spanish Literature
Realism and Naturalism in Spain
Realism emerged in mid-19th century France within the context of a burgeoning urban society. In Spain, the heyday of the movement occurred in the 1880s. Its aim was to present, as completely as possible, the world of the bourgeoisie, with its new features and problems: its relationship to power and the lower classes, the emphasis on money, and the role of passions and desire.
In the last years of the nineteenth century, there was an evolution of realistic techniques
Read MoreBeowulf and Medieval Romances: Themes, Structure, and Society
Beowulf: Mythological and Pagan Elements
Beowulf features characters with epic lives, blending naturalistic and spiritual elements. Beliefs and ideas explain the unexplainable, showcasing human-like behavior with unique characteristics.
Pagan Elements
- Adoration:
- Nerthus: Unholy sacrifice to the God Earth Mother (line 175).
- Frey: God of fertility and weather. Symbols include the boar and the ship.
- Freyja: Goddess of love and fertility.
- Odin: Known as Votan, the Anglo-Saxon counterpart of Odin.
- Sacrifices: