Spanish Ballads: History, Origin, and Classification
Old and New Ballads
Ballads: This is the name given to a collection of old ballads of the fifteenth-century romances, which includes the medieval epic tradition (from the ancient epic poems) and some other compounds in the fourteenth century. This is a traditional genre, as these romances are part of the oral tradition of the people, ranging from poems transmitted orally from generation to generation. The compositions are anonymous, and because of their oral transmission, have been rethought over
Read MoreAristophanes: The Father of Comedy and His Impact on Ancient Greece
Aristophanes: The Father of Comedy
Aristophanes, a prolific and acclaimed comic playwright of ancient Greece, is often called the Father of Comedy. Eleven of his forty plays survive almost complete, offering the only real examples of Old Comedy. His works vividly recreate life in ancient Athens, though his satire often bordered on slander.
Early Life and Context
Details about Aristophanes’ life are scarce, mostly gleaned from his plays. Born around 446 or 448 BCE, possibly on the island of Aegina,
Read MoreL2 Problem Solving Mechanics: Resource & Processing Strategies
L2 Problem Solving Mechanics (PSM)
L2 speakers may encounter problems related to:
Resource Deficits
Incomplete lexicon or insufficient morphological or phonological specification. When faced with a lexical deficit (when the student doesn’t know or can’t find a word), they may:
- Abandon or reduce the message
- Apply some kind of substitution
- Reconceptualize the message
Grammatical Deficit
Example: “Appears the man and the woman is happy” The verb ‘appear’ is underspecified in the L2 lexicon, so an L1
Dante’s Divine Comedy: A Journey Through the Afterlife
Introduction
Dante Alighieri began writing “The Divine Comedy” in 1304 and completed it shortly before his death in 1321. The exact date of completion is unknown, but 1304 is the earliest possible date.
The poem employs a style similar to that used by Virgil and other classical epic poets. The literal sense of “comedy” in this context is simply the narrative of a journey to the supernatural worlds.
It is an allegorical poem based on medieval Christian cosmology. It contains one hundred cantos in *terza
Read MoreSpanish Romantic and Post-Romantic Poetry: Bécquer and Rosalía de Castro
Spanish Romantic and Post-Romantic Poetry
The Romantic lyric emerged during the time of the French Revolution, alongside two schools of thought: restoration and liberalism. In Spain, Napoleon’s invasion divided the country into two camps: traditionalists and liberals. The War of Independence against the French is considered a manifestation of the popular Romantic spirit and a resurgence of personal confrontation against a stronger opponent. The Romantic period arose from the perceived failure of
Read MoreValle-Inclán and Machado: Spanish Literature in the 20th Century
Valle-Inclán: A Revolutionary Playwright
Ramón María del Valle-Inclán (Pontevedra, 1866 – La Coruña, 1936) was not only a pivotal playwright of the Generation of ’98 but also one of the most influential figures in 20th-century Spanish literature. His work was not fully understood during his lifetime, and most of his plays were not performed until after his death. In contrast, Jacinto Benavente, a contemporary playwright, achieved great success and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1922.
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