Ballads: History, Origins, and Characteristics
The Old Ballad:
Literary Genre: Ballads, an old form, are a set of romances that were sung in the late Middle Ages. Some examples have survived from the 15th century and especially the 16th. Old ballads have a dual nature: they are a genre of oral origin and popularity in the late Middle Ages, but they are also subject to the conventions of written texts, since they were compiled at the dawn of the Renaissance era, which saw a revaluation of popular forms. This revaluation continued through the 16th
Read MoreMedieval English Literature: Authors and Works
High Medieval Literature (1066-1485)
During the High Middle Ages, literacy was limited, primarily accessible to those connected to the Church or the nobility. The earliest written work is the “Caedmon’s Hymn,” an early poem in Old English. Another notable work from this period is “Beowulf,” classified as an epic. Art, literature, and science flourished within the Christian culture, which preserved and transmitted knowledge. Key characteristics of this era include:
- Most literature was anonymous.
- Originality
18th Century Spanish Literature: Neoclassicism & Enlightenment
Historical Context
At this time, despotism began to prevail in Europe. Spain entered a period of French influence, where monarchs were surrounded by an enlightened minority.
Language and Literature in 18th Century Spain
The ideal language was clarity, imposing new customs and modernization. In literature, likelihood and reasonableness were emphasized, and genres such as essays and plays were favored. This century is divided into several periods: Posbarroco and Illustration, which in turn is divided
Read More17th and 18th Century Spanish Theater and Literature
The Theater of the 17th Century: New Comedy
Comedia is a genre that sprang from the union of Italian comedy and the drama of the Spanish Renaissance. Lope de Vega added his sensitivity to this union.
Most Representative Works:
- Historical: The Best Mayor, The King, Fuenteovejuna, The Knight from Olmedo
- Traditional: La Dama Boba and The Dog in the Manger
Features
- Union of the tragic and comic, and the noble and popular.
- Breakdown of the rule of the three unities of classic theater, use of various types of
Illocutionary Acts, Institutional Speech, and Metaphor
Illocutionary Act of Communication
As an act of communication, a speech act succeeds if the audience identifies the attitude being expressed, in accordance with the speaker’s intention. Thus, in classifying the types of speech acts of communication, we have to spell out the correlation between the type of illocutionary act and the type of expressed attitude.
Institutional Speech Acts
Institutional speech acts have the function of affecting institutional states of affairs. They can do so in either of
Read MoreDiaspora, Migration, and Identity: Postcolonial Perspectives
Through colonialism, many people voyaged from Britain. However, the voyages of colonized people from around the world to the major European Empires are also significant.
Many important writings by colonized people who settled in Britain during the colonial period exist, such as The Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho, An African by Thomas Gainsborough, and The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa by Olaudah Equiano. These writings became important texts in the movement
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