Spanish Literature: Renaissance to Baroque
Spanish Literature: From Renaissance to Baroque
Conjunctions
Copulative (y, e, ni), disjunctive (o, u, o bien), adversative (pero, mas, sin embargo, no obstante, aunque, sino), explanatory (i.e., es decir, o sea, mejor dicho), distributive (ya… ya…, bien… bien…, ora… ora…, unos… otros…).
Second Generation Petrarchan Poets (1550-1600)
Fray Luis de León and San Juan de la Cruz represent religious literature. What happened in Spain to cause the shift from the loving literature of Garcilaso
Read MorePoetics: Creation, Literary Genres, and Aristotelian Concepts
Poetics
Poiesis is like creation. Poets are creators. We have the idea that God was able to create the world by means of words, and because of that, we think that words have the power to create. Some people think that words have magical power in reality, like:
- Mantra: Series of syllables which have a religious meaning. It can cause effects in reality. Mantras are only effective if they are well pronounced.
- Wen: Rhythmic pattern that we can find both in poetry and in the universe.
According to Homer,
Read MoreCervantes’ Don Quixote: A Literary Analysis
Cervantes and the Birth of the Modern Novel
The word novel comes from the Italian novella (meaning “new story”). However, the Italian novella refers to a short story, a slightly longer or more complex tale. A novel is a relatively extensive narrative text explaining events involving fictional characters, a setting, and a narrator. Descriptions and dialogues may appear to embellish, clarify, or make the action more entertaining. The genre as such emerged in the Modern Age.
Miguel de Cervantes: A Life
Read MoreJacobean and Caroline Drama: Middleton and Ford
Jacobean Drama: Plays of Thomas Middleton
Dramatic Considerations
- The sense of defeat: A marked characteristic of the Jacobeans, reflecting a pessimistic view of life.
- Apprehensions and disillusionment: Pervasive in political and social life.
- Impending fate: A constant presence in the plays.
- Preoccupation with death: A contrast to the Elizabethan love of life.
- Spiritual uncertainty: A key element in understanding Jacobean drama.
Thomas Middleton
Biographical Profile
- Active playwright for over 20 years (1602-
Spanish Literature: Novecentismo to the Generation of ’27
Novecentismo and Avant-Garde
Two significant literary movements emerged as reactions against Modernist art and literature.
Novecentismo (1910s)
Novecentismo characterized a group of Spanish intellectuals and writers emerging around 1910. They prioritized pure art forms and aesthetic enjoyment. Key aspects include:
- Essay: The most cultivated genre. José Ortega y Gasset is a prominent figure, known for his clear style and focus on the “dehumanization of art.”
- Novel: Moved away from sentimentality and
Modernism and the Generation of ’98: Art and Philosophy
Modernism: An Aesthetic Renewal
Modernism is an aesthetic renewal movement that gathers and synthesizes vital, innovative attitudes and artistic philosophies of the late 19th century. It resulted from a crisis of bourgeois consciousness, reacting against the materialism and utilitarian spirit of the time.
Its ideal is to express beauty with a new sensitivity, using a new, precious, and groundbreaking language that departs from realism. In France, it stems from two movements:
- Parnassianism: Worships