Concepts of Beauty, Art, and Aesthetics

Defining Beauty

Virtue of the nature and works of art and literature, which causes our enjoyment and thus attraction and love for such property.

The ancient Greeks wrote of a number of features of beauty: light, symmetry, proportion, and persuasive power.

Plato reflects on beauty in several works, seeking its definition, the idea of beauty, and “objective beauty of love.”

Kant indicates values in judgments about beauty and taste, classifying their types: pleasant, beautiful, and selfless pleasure. He

Read More

18th Century Spain: Society, Culture, and Literature

Historical and Cultural Context

Society and Culture: Absolute monarchy was imposed on the church. Socially, the bourgeoisie grew while the nobility and clergy maintained their privileges. The culture valued the philosophy of science and disseminated theories about social welfare, humanitarianism, and deism. It advocated a utilitarian or didactic art.

Aesthetic: Neoclassicism: The model is inspired by Greco-Roman and Renaissance architecture and is designed to reflect good taste. It aspires to be elegant,

Read More

Don Quixote: Analysis of Themes, Characters, and Style

Don Quixote: A Literary Exploration

The Plot: Don Quixote’s Adventures

The novel Don Quixote follows the adventures of Alonso Quijano, who renames himself Don Quixote, and his squire, Sancho Panza. Don Quixote, inspired by chivalric romances, sets out to revive knight-errantry and right the world’s wrongs. After being knighted in an inn he imagines to be a castle, he embarks on various adventures, often ending up injured. Eventually, the priest and barber from his village trick him into returning

Read More

Catalan Language and Modernist Literature: History and Key Figures

The Catalan Language: A Historical Overview

The official status of the Catalan language has been a subject of contention. While there have been efforts to establish it officially, the state has often resisted.

  • Commonwealth of Catalonia (1914): Elaboration of rules for grammar, spelling, and lexical units, which later extended to Valencia and the Balearic Islands (current rules).
  • Primo de Rivera Dictatorship: Prohibited the use of the Catalan language.
  • Second Republic: Catalan was reinstated and established
Read More

Victorian Novels: Social Commentary and Literary Legacy

The Victorian Novel: Social Commentary and Literary Legacy

The Victorian novel, a defining literary force during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901), stands as a powerful and multifaceted reflection of the era’s dynamic social, economic, and intellectual transformations. Characterized by their substantial length, intricately woven plots often encompassing multiple narrative threads, and a diverse cast of well-developed characters drawn from various strata of society, these novels aimed to provide

Read More

Romanticism and Realism: Key Features and Differences

Features of Romanticism

Romanticism is characterized by several key features:

  • Individualism: Art and literature become a manifestation of self, expressing personal feelings. This leads to the development of lyric poetry and music, art forms particularly suited for expressing subjectivity.
  • Irrationalism: Romanticism opposes Enlightenment rationalism, valuing emotions, dreams, and fantasies. This gives rise to modern fantasy and horror genres.
  • Defense of Liberty: Romanticism champions liberty in all areas
Read More