Ovid: Life, Works, and Influence
Publius Ovidius Naso (43 BC – 17 AD)
He studied in Rome and joined the literary circle of Maecenas, but fell into disfavor with Emperor Augustus, who banished him to Pontus (Black Sea), where he died without receiving a pardon. Ovid cultivated lyric, epic, and epistolography.
He is arguably the last great elegiac poet, though his depiction of love is conventional and full of erudition. Ovid was a poet with a knack for writing and great technical perfection, which led him to write many verses, in which
Read MoreSpanish Novel: Evolution and Key Authors (1940-Present)
The Spanish Novel: From Post-War to Present
The Novel of Exile
Key Themes: Memory of Spain, causes and consequences of the Civil War, references to places and environments of exile.
Important Post-War Novelists:
- Ramon J. Sender: Chronicle of Dawn, recreating his childhood and youth.
- Rosa Chacel: Memoirs of Leticia Valle, concerned with the aesthetics of realism.
- Max Aub: His most important work is The Magic Labyrinth.
- Francisco Ayala: Short stories dealing with corruption and the power of dictatorships.
Evolution of Galician Narrative: 1975 to Present
Freedoms in earnings during the transition (1975-1981) allowed a surge of publications in Portugal, the emergence of new publishers (Galaxy), and literary prizes that strive to make classical texts available to new generations, or check out the literature on the *testemuñalista* Civil War, still in full swing, as Cunqueiro narrators (The Other Marketer, 1979) or Fole (Stories that Nobody Believes, 1985). Out of the cycle of new narrative, works are published by Galician actors such as Mª Xosé
Read MoreMatter of Britain and Catalan Chronicles: A Literary Analysis
Matter of Britain and Catalan Chronicles
The Roman concept evolves, with a new translation in rhymed narration. The original new rhyming story, Temantica, is related to courtly tastes of the public.
Matter of Britain
The legend re-emerges concerning unemployment. Britain will be a matter of phyllo and thematic creativity until the fifteenth century in Catalonia. The Matter of Britain enters the XII century. An example is the poem of the troubadour Guerau Cabrera, a liaison representative of this influence
Read MoreMedieval Spanish Literature: Lyric, Clergy, and Theater
Medieval Spanish Literature
Traditional Lyric (S. XIII-XIV)
- Jarchas (S. XI-XIV): Short poetic compositions in Mozarabic, included at the end of Muwashshahs.
- Predominantly four lines.
- A girl expresses her feelings of love for her beloved (habib).
- Confidantes are the mother and sisters.
- Cantigas de Amigo (S. XIII-XIV): Galician-Portuguese, with the theme of love in a female voice.
- The confidante is the mother, sisters, and elements of nature.
- The oldest ballads date back to the 12th century.
- Two versification
Medieval Literature and Epic Poetry: Key Features
Characteristics of Medieval Literature
Theocentrism and Religiosity: Life and literature were clearly marked by the dominant cultural position of religion. The church imposed its vision of the world: life as a transit of suffering, which would be rewarded with eternity. This feeling pervaded all walks of life.
Prevalence of Orality: The first literary manifestations had an oral origin, or were designed for public reading. This entails that they contain a large number of spoken resources: appeals to
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