Analysis of Spanish Medieval Literature
Romance of the Infant Amalda
The text begins with an exclamation point, where the author (an omniscient narrator who values facts and foreshadows them) expresses his feelings about what will happen next. The events occur “on the morning of St. John,” introducing a magical aspect to the romance. Linguistically, there’s confusion between “have” and “tener,” common in the Middle Ages. Once the public’s curiosity is piqued, the author proceeds to narrate the events quickly.
Lines 9-12 offer a rich description of the galley. The author sometimes uses hyperbole, state verbs, and beautiful adjectives to describe the scene. The sailor is singing, and to explain the strangeness of the song (which mirrors the strangeness of the galley), the author again employs hyperbole. Nature reacts with almost human emotion: the sea is calm, the wind stills, fish rise to the surface, and birds pause to listen. Nature is moved by the poetry, and its sentiment joins that of the infant.
In verse 21, the author addresses the public directly, using the second-person plural to animate the story: “well you will hear what he says.” The miracle begins, and this remedy is quite effective. The characters become more real, and the minstrel’s dialogue is introduced (rare in ballads, which are usually fast-paced). This is used because it’s near the climax and adds tension. The sailor’s answer is the end of the poem, the climax, and the narrative is abruptly broken, leaving the listener in great uncertainty. This technique adds to the poem’s fragmented, poetic nature.
Grammatically: Alternation of tenses (“he saw,” “fetch”) adds liveliness. Use of the medieval enclitic pronoun “digasme” in the reply “he replied.”
Romance of the Prisoner
Theme: A prisoner lamenting his loneliness, contrasted with the beauty and joy outside.
External Structure: Metrics.
Internal Structure: We can divide the content into two sections:
- Description of an idealized natural landscape
- Complaint of the prisoner, as a contrast
This brief affair, full of lyricism and sentiment, achieves emotional impact with few resources. The key is perhaps the stark contrast between the first and second parts. This is one of the most beautiful old and fragmentary ballads, and we can consider it intensely lyrical.
“Don Quixote” Chapter XXXI
We find a quasi-theatrical dialogue between Don Quixote (DQ) and Sancho. The narrator intervenes little, but narration and description play a crucial role in “Don Quixote.” The dialogue here is lively, with a quick exchange of views between DQ and Sancho. The dialogue defines their respective modes of being: chivalrous and literary for the gentleman, realistic and rustic for the squire. Both invent and imagine, but from their own perspectives. Sancho imagines based on his cultural experiences, which are not literary. DQ’s invention is greater, transmuting inns into castles and windmills into giants. Sancho also invents, but at ground level, within his realistic and peasant perspective.
Thus, the encounter with Dulcinea splits into two contrasting planes. DQ’s image of Dulcinea is delicate, engaged in courtly tasks like stringing pearls or embroidering with gold. Sancho offers a rough picture of a peasant woman pouring wheat. Curiously, the dreamer DQ accepts this new image without protest.
This tone continues throughout the dialogue. Sancho’s rusticity lowers DQ, while DQ rises to the heights of chivalrous reverie. Sancho’s impact remains rude and rustic. He boasts an extraordinary imaginative power, responding to his master’s questions with detailed observations. Through dialogue, both characters struggle to translate their imaginary Dulcinea encounter into their respective languages: the knightly language of DQ and the peasant language of Sancho.
Language: The dialogue has a tilting structure, a mock game of contrasts that defines the two worlds, the two planes, and the two powers of invention. Importantly, neither character loses their rhythm or becomes grossly exaggerated.