The Enlightenment: European & Spanish Context, Philosophy, and Impact
The Enlightenment: European Context
The late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries witnessed profound changes across all aspects of European society. Originating in England and primarily driven by the bourgeoisie, this transformative period is collectively known as the Enlightenment. It championed critical thinking, elevating reason and experience as the sole paths to knowledge. The scientific spirit flourished, with prominent British scientists and philosophers like Isaac Newton, John Locke,
Read MoreRomanticismo y Realismo en la Literatura Española del Siglo XIX
Romanticismo
Rechazo de las reglas y exaltación del genio creativo.
Manifestaciones
- Musicales: Chopin
- Pictórica: Delacroix
- Literaria: Goethe
- Filosófica: Nuevo pensamiento
Marco Histórico
Europa: Revolución Francesa. Cambios:
- Sociales: Nueva sociedad.
- Ideológicos: Reacción contra el racionalismo.
- Políticos: Reacción contra el nacionalismo, anarquismo y socialismo.
España: Atraso y falta de libertad ideológica.
Sentimientos Románticos
- Individualismo, libertad, rebeldía, frustración.
- Ideas románticas:
Literary Theory, Genres, and Key Concepts
Structuralism and Poststructuralism
- Structuralism:
- Language structures thought (Saussurean linguistics).
- Key concepts: signifier (word) and signified (concept).
- Focuses on universal structures (e.g., myths, binaries).
- Meaning is stable, based on differences within a system.
- Poststructuralism:
- Critiques Structuralism’s stability of meaning (Derrida).
- Meaning is fluid and context-dependent (deconstruction).
- Challenges binary oppositions (e.g., good vs. evil).
- Emphasizes power, knowledge (Foucault), and intertextuality
Concepts of Beauty, Art, and Aesthetics
Defining Beauty
Virtue of the nature and works of art and literature, which causes our enjoyment and thus attraction and love for such property.
The ancient Greeks wrote of a number of features of beauty: light, symmetry, proportion, and persuasive power.
Plato reflects on beauty in several works, seeking its definition, the idea of beauty, and “objective beauty of love.”
Kant indicates values in judgments about beauty and taste, classifying their types: pleasant, beautiful, and selfless pleasure. He
Read More18th Century Spain: Society, Culture, and Literature
Historical and Cultural Context
Society and Culture: Absolute monarchy was imposed on the church. Socially, the bourgeoisie grew while the nobility and clergy maintained their privileges. The culture valued the philosophy of science and disseminated theories about social welfare, humanitarianism, and deism. It advocated a utilitarian or didactic art.
Aesthetic: Neoclassicism: The model is inspired by Greco-Roman and Renaissance architecture and is designed to reflect good taste. It aspires to be elegant,
Read MoreDon Quixote: Analysis of Themes, Characters, and Style
Don Quixote: A Literary Exploration
The Plot: Don Quixote’s Adventures
The novel Don Quixote follows the adventures of Alonso Quijano, who renames himself Don Quixote, and his squire, Sancho Panza. Don Quixote, inspired by chivalric romances, sets out to revive knight-errantry and right the world’s wrongs. After being knighted in an inn he imagines to be a castle, he embarks on various adventures, often ending up injured. Eventually, the priest and barber from his village trick him into returning
Read More