Renaissance Novels: Byzantine, Pastoral, and More
Byzantine Novel
The discovery of Ethiopian texts and early translations provided a model for a new subgenre of Greek adventure novels during the Renaissance: the Byzantine romance or adventure.
History
The Byzantine novel typically features a young, beautiful, and chaste couple in love who are separated and ultimately reunited. The narrative is structured around a journey, which represents the protagonists’ confrontation with themselves and the world. They overcome challenges with divine grace.
During
Read MoreSpanish Novelists: Unamuno, Baroja, Azorín & Generation of 98
Spanish Novelists of the Generation of 98
Miguel de Unamuno (1864-1936)
A man uprooted, possessing a very strong personality with intense intellectual activity. His work addressed existential and spiritual problems and the issue of Spain.
Key Themes and Style
- The Problem of Spain: Reflected in his essays (e.g., Sobre el casticismo, 1895).
- The “Tragic Sense of Life”: Explored the anguish of human existence. Life for his characters is a constant struggle; they are agonizing personages.
- Novelistic Renewal:
Romanticism: A Literary Movement in Europe and Spain
Summary of Romanticism
Romanticism is a literary movement that flourished in Europe during the first decades of the nineteenth century. It is characterized by its devotion to imagination and subjectivity, freedom of thought and expression, and its idealization of nature.
The idea of freedom drives everything else. Thus, writers claimed:
- Freedom of topics: The range of topics is broad, but it focuses on the exaltation of feelings (love, death, angst, melancholy, etc.).
- Freedom of literary forms: Writers
Middle English Literature: Chaucer and Canterbury Tales
Middle English: The Golden Age
Until 1385, the status of English as a literary language was uncertain, and writers were likely to write in Latin, French, or English. Even in the 14th century, writers still had a choice because English was not established as the language of instruction in schools until 1385. A prime example is John Gower (c. 1327-1408).
He wrote Mirour de l’Omme (c. 1376), Vox Clamantis (c. 1379), and The Lover’s Confession (1390).
The establishment of English as a literary language
Read MoreShakespeare’s Sonnets: Love, Time, and Immortality
Shakespeare’s Sonnets: An Exploration of Love, Time, and Immortality
William Shakespeare’s sonnets, published in 1609, delve into complex emotions. Love, as portrayed by the author, encompasses pain, suffering, sadness, and a melancholic attitude, balanced by moments of joy and happiness in other sonnets. These sonnets offer a rich catalogue of feelings, making them a profound read. Shakespeare employs a variety of tones throughout the 154 sonnets, primarily focusing on love stories that are both
Read MoreJorge Manrique’s ‘Coplas’: Structure, Themes, and Medieval Context
Structure and Themes in Manrique’s ‘Coplas’
Verses I-XII: Abstract Reflections on Death
In this first section, the poem considers death in the abstract. It offers a general and philosophical reflection, noting the speed with which death arrives, always hidden and unexpected, and its equalizing power, as it reaches everyone.
Coplas XIV-XXIV: Death and Historical Figures
This series of stanzas discusses death with specific examples of historical personages of the time. The focus shifts to the death and
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