Gothic Literature: Origins, Themes, and Key Novels
Narrative provides order, meaning, and a metaphoric map in time, with a beginning, middle, and end, guiding us.
Gothic Romance: Origins and Evolution
GOTHIC The gothic romance emerged in England shortly after the novel form itself. Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto (1764) reacted against the limitations of early novels. The novel of manners and didactic sensibility were exposed to the unconscious. Sensibility was under pressure. Sexuality, elemental passions, and fear moved to the center. The
15th Century Novel Trends: Idealistic and Realistic
15th Century Novel Trends
Idealistic Trends
- Cavalry Novel:
- Sentimental novel.
- New genres like pastoral novel (inspired by Virgil, love stories among pastoralists).
- Moorish novel (exalting the Moor’s nobility and sentiment).
- Byzantine novel (imitating Heliodorus, adventures of a couple in love, with trips, kidnappings, shipwrecks, and happy endings).
- Idealistic Cavalry Book:
- Preferred reading of the court.
- Presented as a translation of a story written in a strange language.
- Novela de Caballería: set in the
Humanism in Modern Literature: Renaissance to Enlightenment
Humanism’s Influence on Modern Literature
Renaissance, Baroque, and Enlightenment
Modern literature encompasses three significant periods: the Renaissance, the Baroque, and the Enlightenment. When adhering to compositional rules, literature conforms to rhetorical patterns.
The central theme throughout this entire period is Humanism. It is a crucial element in modern consciousness, both personal and social, that solidified from the early 15th to the early 19th century. This term defines the Modern Age,
Read MoreRomanticism in Spain: Literature, Prose, Drama, and Key Authors
Romanticism in Spain
Romanticism was an ideological and cultural movement whose roots are in the 17th-century ideas of liberty, equality, and fraternity, and bourgeois liberalism. In Spain, this movement arrived somewhat late.
Characteristics of Romanticism
Romanticism was not just a cultural or literary movement; it was an attitude towards life. Its traits include:
- The yearning for freedom and rejection of any rules: abandonment of the rule of the three unities, use of polimetry in poetry, and a mixture
Jacint Verdaguer: Life, Works, and Impact on Catalan Literature
Jacint Verdaguer: A Cornerstone of Catalan Literature
The Floral Games, championed by figures like Anthony and Víctor Balaguer i Bofarull, served as a crucial public platform for Catalan literature. These games fostered a connection between the literary elite and popular culture, ultimately becoming a springboard for recognition of Catalan literary works. Prominent figures like Angel Guimerà and Jacint Verdaguer (who won awards in 1877) elevated the poetry festival, which also embraced other literary
Read MoreLinguistic Theories, Aesthetics, and Art: A Historical View
Thought and Language: Linguistic Theories
Critique of Linguistic Theories
We must explain the evolution of language. If linguistic theory shuts itself off, it will end by saying that human thought is changing because language evolves, but why does language evolve? To explain the evolution of language, there are two options:
- Either the language itself evolves.
- Or the language evolves as a result of human experiences.
Alternative Linguistic Theories
Human experience is varied and not limited to intellectual
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