15th-Century Spanish Literature: Tradition and Renewal
15th-Century Spanish Literature
Historical Context
The Catholic Monarchs unified Spain, marking the beginning of the modern era. The 15th century witnessed the rise of the bourgeoisie alongside the existing medieval estates (clergy, nobility, and commoners). The invention of the printing press facilitated wider dissemination of texts.
Cultural Context
Humanism, a cultural movement promoting the study of classical Greek and Roman literature, history, and grammar, arrived in Spain. This movement placed
Read MoreBenito Pérez Galdós: A Comprehensive Overview
Benito Pérez Galdós
Recognition of His Work
Galdós’s work is characterized by a marked and sharp realism. A keen observer with brilliant insight, he captures the atmosphere of environments and situations, painting portraits of places and characters. His use of language to identify his characters has sometimes led to accusations of vulgarity, but Galdós’s charm lies in the sense of spontaneity and vitality conveyed through an expressive, flexible, and suggestive style. The number of his works adapted
Read MoreMedieval Spanish Literature: Poetry, Prose, and Novels
Medieval Spanish Literature
1. The Romance
1.1 Definition and Features
Ballads are anonymous narrative poems intended to be sung. They are typically composed of eight-syllable verses with assonance, though variations in verse length exist (nine, seven, and six syllables).
1.2 Old and New Ballads
Old ballads are documents from the late Middle Ages and mid-16th century, a period of great popularity for the form. Due to their anonymity and oral transmission, they are difficult to date. The oldest known
Read MoreSpanish Literature of the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries
Spanish Society of the Late Nineteenth Century
In 1898, Spain’s last colonies—Cuba, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico—gained independence. This military defeat, known as the Disaster of 1898, provoked a deep crisis of the collective consciousness and a generalized feeling of decline. Young intellectuals of the middle classes denounced social injustice, Spain’s backwardness, and the selfishness of the dominant oligarchy (upper class). These intellectuals critiqued the bourgeoisie, whose values
Read MoreSpanish Literature from 1940 to 1970
The lyric from 1940 to 1970
During this period, there are circumstances that contribute to a literary vacuum: the death earlier poetry (Lorca, Machado …), imprisonment and exile (Alberti, Cernuda).
Despite this, the lyric is one of the most prolific genres of the time. Since the Civil War until the end of the dictatorship was followed different trends regarding the political transformations gift. Miguel Hernandez made a bridge between the Generation of ’27 and the lyricism of postwar nation in
Spanish Renaissance Literature: A Golden Age
History and Society
Charles I (1st Half of the 16th Century)
Son of Juana la Loca (who inherited Castile and Aragon) and Philip the Fair (who inherited the Netherlands), Charles I became Emperor appointed by the Pope. His arrival in Spain brought a strong humanistic culture, marking the assimilation of humanism into Spanish society. The discovery of America shifted trade from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic.
Philip II (2nd Half of the 16th Century)
The Lutheran movement expanded, leading to Protestantism.
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