Jordi de Sant Jordi & Ausiàs March: Pillars of Valencian Poetry
Jordi de Sant Jordi
Life and Court Connections
Born in the late fourteenth century, Jordi de Sant Jordi died in 1424. He participated actively in court life and in Mediterranean military campaigns accompanying the king. He held significant positions, such as chamberlain to the monarch, and was rewarded with generous incomes and the lordship of Penàguila or the Castle of Vall d’Uixó, which he held until his death. Jordi de Sant Jordi was notably well-connected with other writers. His acquaintances
Read MoreNoucentisme and Avant-Garde Poetry in Catalan Literature
Noucentista Poets: A Literary Movement
The most prominent Noucentista poets include:
- Jaume Bofill, under the pseudonym of Guerau de Liost (Ametistesi, the mountain city of ivory)
- Jose Maria Lopez-Pico
- Josep Carner: (poetry) Tasty Fruits, eighteen poems describing different ages and stages of human life, Doggerel and Fans, Ironic Laparaula in the Wind, Beautiful People and Beautiful Land, Patriotica.
Avant-Garde Poets and Their Innovations
Joan Salvat Papaseit: Cubism and Futurism
Joan Salvat Papaseit:
Read MoreVirgil’s Aeneid: Echoes of Homer’s Epics
Virgil takes his inspiration from Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad. He brilliantly combines the best of both epics, understanding that the greatest writers draw inspiration from their predecessors. When Augustus commissioned this epic around 28 B.C.E., Virgil was handsomely paid to write the greatest poem about Rome’s glory and its origins in Troy.
The twelve books he designed purposely emulate Homer, starting with what is arguably the better poem, The Odyssey, since the first half (books one through
Read MoreThe Interplay of Life and Death in Miguel Hernández’s Verse
Themes in Miguel Hernández’s Poetry
A basic “punishment” makes the poet burdened, sharing the pain of all the disinherited. Hence, it is a book of penalty, death, unrequited love, etc. The expressive tension occurs in formal structure, mostly using the sonnet. The existential tension is projected onto the issue of penalty; the penalty seems linked not to love itself, but to its absence or non-fulfillment. The central theme of rejected love, this frustration of being unable to procreate or extend
Read MorePost-War Galician Poetry (1936-1975): Generations and Key Authors
Post-War Galician Poetry (1936-1975)
Following the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), the Franco dictatorship imposed a period of social and ideological repression. This repression targeted cultures such as Portuguese and Catalan, with persecution and even murder of prominent Galician figures like Alexander Bóveda. Works were censored, impacting cultural expression. From 1947 onwards, this repression softened, allowing works like “Comar Green” to emerge under the Galaxia label. After Franco’s death,
Read MoreThe Rise of Latin American Literature: Gabriel García Márquez and His Impact
Gabriel García Márquez and the Boom of the Latin American Novel
In the early twentieth century, Latin American poetry and narrative diverged. Poetry underwent a renewal with Modernism, while narrative remained rooted in nineteenth-century forms.
The dominant realist novel persisted until 1945, exemplified by Doña Bárbara by Rómulo Gallegos and Don Segundo Sombra by Ricardo Güiraldes.
The renewal of narrative began in 1945 with the decline of the realist novel, which started to be approached with
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