Baroque Literature and Art: Pessimism and Opulence
Baroque Literature
Characteristics: Pessimism, worry about moral standards, the transience of life, the universal presence of death, and disappointment. Frequent contrasts of nature manifest the flawed reality. Baroque writers seek to create surprising and highly appreciated effects, and value originality. They use a complex style where rhetorical resources abound. The literary language gives rise to two streams:
- Culteranismo: Searches for formal beauty using cultisms and the creation of artifice.
Generation of ’27: Spanish Poetic Renaissance
Generation of ’27: A Spanish Poetic Renewal
The Generation of ’27 was a group of authors, primarily poets, who renewed Spanish lyric poetry in the 1920s and 1930s. They fused traditional and classic poetic forms with the most innovative and cutting-edge trends.
Members
The group included: Pedro Salinas, Jorge Guillén, Gerardo Diego, Rafael Alberti, Federico García Lorca, Luis Cernuda, Vicente Aleixandre, Dámaso Alonso, Emilio Prados, and Manuel Altolaguirre.
Common Ground
The members were aware of
Read MoreErechtheion of Athens: Architecture and History
The Erechtheion
Erechtheion
Authors: Mnesicles and Philocles
Location: Athens Acropolis. Presented, merely characterized, female figures on the south side, facing the main temple of the enclosure, the Parthenon.
Function: Religious, dedicated to Poseidon and Athena.
Epoch: Fifth century BC
Style: Ionic.
Material: Marble. This building is perfectly framed in nature, taking advantage of the irregularities of the terrain. This makes it a structure with an irregular and unique plant.
Supporting Elements
The
Read MoreRoman Civilization: Urbanism and Architecture
Roman Civilization: An Urban Civilization
Urban Propagation Model
With the extension of their domain across the Mediterranean, Central Europe, and the British Isles, Roman governors, magistrates, legionaries, settlers, and businessmen tried to reproduce the model of Rome. They reurbanized indigenous settlements into cities resembling Rome or created new ones, known as Coloniae. The Romans consistently planned and replicated this model with slight variations. Grouping the indigenous population into
Read More15th-Century Spanish Love, Moral, and Religious Poetry
Love Poetry
Two authors in love poetry include:
- Íñigo López de Mendoza, also known as the Marquis of Santillana. One of the most powerful nobles of the first half of the 15th century, his palace housed the best library of its time. Ten love songs with the theme of courtly love have survived from this author. He is famous for his “serranillas,” of which ten are preserved. The “serranilla” recounts the love affair between a knight and a beautiful and idealized shepherdess, who always rejects him.
Spanish Theater: Post-Civil War to Modern Era
The Drama: The vitality of Spanish drama diminished after the Civil War due to the death or exile of authors, the Franco regime’s rigor, and increasing film prominence. The avant-garde aesthetic and critical tone of theater seemed forgotten, with traditional drama or Golden Age classics preferred as escapism.
From the fifties, theater tentatively offered the public reflection on reality, gaining ground in the sixties through allegorical language and freer expression. However, it wasn’t until the
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