A Guide to Literary Genres, Forms, and Figures

Posted on Sep 23, 2024 in Latin

Prose and Verse

Prose is the form of expression most literary works use. It resembles everyday speech in its structure.

Verse is characterized by its musicality. This is achieved through:

  • Accents
  • Rhyme
  • Syllable count

Figures of Repetition

  • Alliteration: Repetition of one or more phonemes in a verse to imitate a sound.
  • Anaphora: Repetition of a word at the beginning of a verse or phrase.
  • Parallelism: Repetition of similar syntactic structures.
  • Pleonasm: Use of unnecessary words in a verse for emphasis and expressiveness.
  • Polysyndeton: Continuous repetition of conjunctions.

Figures of Significance

  • Allegory: The overall meaning of the text is transformed to express a distinct idea using an extended metaphor.
  • Antithesis: Confronting words or sentences with opposite meanings.
  • Apostrophe: An exclamation used to address someone or something absent or inanimate.
  • Hyperbole: Exaggeration.
  • Metaphor: Identifying a real term with an imaginary one, based on similarity.
  • Metonymy: Designating a thing with the name of another that has a meaningful relationship.
  • Simile: Comparing two objects or realities using”lik” or”as”
  • Synesthesia: Sensations of different senses are combined.

Figures of Suppression

  • Asyndeton: Removal of conjunctions in a verse for a more vivid effect.
  • Ellipsis: Omission of one or more words that are easily understood from the context.

Figures of Order

  • Hyperbaton: Altering the logical or normal order of words in a sentence.
  • Chiasmus: Two corresponding pairs of words are arranged in a reversed order (A-B-B-A).

Literary Genres

Lyric

Expresses subjective sensations, experiences, or thoughts. Commonly uses verse as a form of expression.

Narrative

Presents a story told by a narrator. Characterized by narrative action.

Dramatic

Texts written to be performed. Features dialogue, stage directions, and asides.

Poetic Forms

  • Elegy: Expresses feelings of grief over someone’s death.
  • Eclogue: Dialogue between shepherds about love affairs, set in an idealized world.
  • Ode: Addresses various subjects in an elevated tone.
  • Song: Typically expresses love, but can also convey other feelings.
  • Satire: Humorous and brief presentation of individual and social vices and defects.

Subgenres of Narrative Verse

Epic

Praises the exploits of a legendary hero.

Chanson de Geste

Epic poem of oral creation and dissemination, designed to extol the exploits of a hero, written in verses of 14-16 syllables divided into hemistichs.

Romance

Short poem of oral creation and dissemination. Originated in the 15th century as fragments of epics but evolved into an independent genre with diverse themes. Written in verses of 8 syllables with assonance rhyme in even-numbered verses.

Subgenres of Narrative Prose

  • Novel: Develops an extensive story with a defined setting in time and space. Features fictional action.
  • Short Story: Brief narrative with a condensed plot. Has its own unique characteristics.
  • Legend: Fictional story rooted in a historical event or events. Often includes fantastical elements.
  • Apologue: Story that transmits moral codes and standards through the actions of its characters.
  • Epistle: Letter that addresses doctrinal, philosophical, moral, or satirical themes. Can be explicitly addressed to someone.
  • Fable: Short story that uses personified animals as protagonists to convey a moral lesson.
  • Essay: Text through which the author addresses a wide audience to explain their perspective on a topic.

Mozarabic Lyric

Mozarabic was the language spoken by Christians living in Muslim-controlled territories. It is preserved in jarchas, short compositions appended to the end of Arabic or Hebrew poems called moaxajas. The main theme is love, often from a female perspective lamenting the absence of a lover. Characterized by exclamatory and interrogative sentences and expressive language.

Galician-Portuguese Lyric

Features a parallelistic structure that repeats the same verse throughout the poem. Composed of:

  • Cantigas de Amor: Love songs sung by a man, often exploring the theme of courtly love.
  • Cantigas de Amigo: Songs from a female perspective, lamenting the absence of a lover.
  • Cantigas de Escárnio e Maldizer: Satirical songs that mock vices, defects, or individuals.

Castilian Lyric

Includes songs derived from pagan rituals, sea shanties, and rustic songs. The most representative forms are:

  • Carol: Strophic poems composed of a chorus and a refrain. Often centered around the theme of love.
  • Serranilla: Pastoral poems influenced by Provençal literature, but with more realistic descriptions.

Characteristics of Epic Poetry

  • Historicist Character: The hero often embodies the values and struggles of their society, and their deeds serve to shape its destiny.
  • Triumphant Return of the Hero: The hero’s journey culminates in a triumphant return, signifying the restoration of order and the triumph of good over evil.
  • Structure: Composed of long verses, typically 14-16 syllables long, divided into hemistichs separated by a caesura. Assonance and rhyme schemes vary.

Castilian Epic Poetry

Only three poems are considered true epics:

  • Song of Roncesvalles
  • Mocedades de Rodrigo
  • Cantar de Mio Cid

Cantar de Mio Cid

The author focuses on specific themes:

  • Loyalty to the King
  • Honor
  • Perseverance and Effort
  • Faith in God

Structure

  • Song of Exile: The Cid is exiled by King Alfonso VI of Castile and forced to leave his home in Vivar. He entrusts his family to the monastery of San Pedro de Cardena and embarks on a journey marked by battles in foreign lands. He sends tributes to the king as a sign of submission and vassalage, hoping to earn his pardon.
  • Song of the Wedding: Narrates the Cid’s conquest of Valencia. He sends another embassy to King Alfonso VI, but the gifts he sends arouse the greed of the Infantes of Carrión, who seek to marry his daughters. The king intervenes and grants the Cid a public pardon. The song ends with the marriage of his daughters to the Infantes.
  • Song of the Shame of Corpes: The Infantes of Carrión reveal their cowardice and plot revenge. They ask the Cid’s permission to take their wives to Carrión, but abandon them at the oaks of Corpes. The Cid demands justice from the king in Toledo. A trial is held, and the Infantes are defeated in a duel, restoring the Cid’s honor.

Style

– epithets epic characterized adjectives used to highlight the heroe.-Pleonasms: to add expressiveness to texto.-Appeals to Public