Understanding Spanish Literature: Key Concepts and El Cid
Understanding Key Concepts in Spanish Literature
Article
S1: A variable word meaning ‘servant’.
Pra q: Itself, to advertise the presence.
D1: A substantive segment equivalent.
Qualifiers
Highlight properties or name circumstances of nouns.
Determinatives
Specify the noun and limit its extension.
Possessives
These are words that express that something belongs to one or more possessors, or that a being belongs to a group.
Demonstratives
These are words used to indicate a notion, adding a distance in space or time.
Pronouns
Possessive Pronouns
Indicate possession or ownership.
Demonstrative Pronouns
Serve to indicate the spatial or temporal distance between the speaker and the object being indicated.
Numeral Pronouns
Express quantity or order precisely.
Indefinite Pronouns
Express quantity, identity, or existence imprecisely.
El Cid: An Epic Poem
El Cid is an epic poem that tells the story of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, El Cid, a Castilian nobleman who lived in the second half of the 11th century. The poem tells of the loss and recovery of El Cid’s honor after being unjustly exiled by King Alfonso VI. It is composed of 3730 lines and is divided into three parts: Cantar del Destierro (Song of Exile), Cantar de las Bodas (Song of the Weddings), and Cantar de la Afrenta de Corpes (Song of the Affront of Corpes). The work has come down to us through a copy signed by Per Abbat, whom some consider the author.
Cantar del Destierro (Song of Exile)
This part tells how El Cid leaves his lands with his vassals. During his exile, he engages in various battles against both Arabs and Christians. The poem characterizes him as a warrior hero with great humanity. This is evident in the moment when El Cid is dismissed by his daughters and wife.
Cantar de las Bodas (Song of the Weddings)
El Cid conquers Valencia from the Arabs after several battles. He sends part of the loot to King Alfonso VI, who forgives him and arranges the weddings of his daughters to the Infantes of Carrión. El Cid’s daughters and wife are reunited with him.
Cantar de la Afrenta de Corpes (Song of the Affront of Corpes)
The Infantes of Carrión are accused of cowardice for fleeing in the presence of a lion. They return to their lands and, as revenge, beat and abandon El Cid’s daughters in the oak grove of Corpes. El Cid demands justice from the King. The Infantes are punished, and El Cid’s daughters marry the princes of Navarre and Aragon. El Cid faces the lion and subdues it without using force.
Literary Devices in Spanish Literature
Epithet
An adjective denoting an inherent quality in the designated reality.
Polysyndeton
The repetition of the same coordinating conjunction. This expression has a haven appeal and gives the text a calm and sententious tone.
Asyndeton
The suppression of conjunctions. Asyndeton makes the expression more fluid and contributes to creating a sensation of speed or dynamism.
Anaphora
The repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of different verses or sentences.
Parallelism
The repetition of the same or similar syntactic structures.
Hyperbaton
Consists of the alteration of the usual syntactic order of a sentence.
Alliteration
The repetition of a sound or a group of sounds.
Paronomasia
Consists of the use of phonetically similar words.
Metaphor
Consists of applying to a reality the name of another with which it has a relationship of similarity.
Metonymy
Consists of applying to a reality the name of another with which it is in a relationship of proximity or contiguity.
Synecdoche
Replacing a term for the whole by designating the part, or vice versa.
Simile
Consists of establishing, by means of comparison, a similarity between two realities.
Irony
Consists of saying the opposite of what is meant, making the real sense clear from the context.
Antithesis
The juxtaposition of two words, expressions, or ideas.