Baroque Literature: Formal Perfection and Innovation
Baroque Literature: In Search of Formal Perfection
In the seventeenth century, alongside moral and religious themes, satirical, burlesque, critical, and philosophical subjects emerged. New literary works incorporated folk traditions within a context of high formal artistry. Form took precedence over content, and formal complexity became synonymous with beauty.
The Birth of the Modern Novel
Key examples include Guzmán de Alfarache and Don Quixote.
The New Comedy
Evolution of Lyric Poetry
Two trends emerged:
Read MoreVirginia Woolf’s Feminist Critique in Three Guineas
Virginia Woolf’s *Three Guineas*: A Feminist Perspective
A simple definition of feminism emphasizes that it’s about having women’s voices heard, their ideas taken seriously, and their demands for equality and basic rights incorporated into everyday ‘democratic’ life. Lana Rakow has distinguished between four feminist approaches to popular culture:
- The recovery and reappraisal approach
- The images and representations approach
- The reception and experience approach
- The cultural theory approach
Feminists have
Read MoreImmanuel Kant: Life, Enlightenment, and Philosophical Context
Immanuel Kant: Life and Context
Context: Kant lived in Prussia during the Age of Enlightenment, of which he was a leading figure. In Germany, the Enlightenment began somewhat later and was directly influenced by France. It was fundamentally a movement driven by Frederick II’s modernization of Prussia. Legislation aimed to introduce Enlightenment ideas and reform education. The Enlightenment’s trust in reason didn’t equate to rationalism but transcended the differences between rationalism and empiricism.
Read MoreCatalan Modernism: Origins, Evolution, and Cultural Impact
Catalan Modernism: A Cultural Revolution
Modernism is a cultural movement that emerged in the West during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It is often associated with artistic currents, particularly architecture and decoration, known as Art Nouveau, Modern Style, etc. It is characterized by the prominence of curved lines, rich and detailed decoration, frequent use of plant motifs, refined aestheticism, and dynamic forms. It represented a rejection of the mechanistic approach of
Read MoreNature in 19th-Century American Literature
The concept of Nature is central to some of the most important literary movements of the United States in the 19th century. In fact, we might say that it is their different views of Nature that determine the essence of those literary movements. This means that in order to understand the literary works of some of the most prominent American authors, we must understand what concept of Nature they had. For the Puritans, for example, Nature is marred by Original Sin and hence a source of evil and temptation,
Read More17th to 19th Century Literary Movements in Europe
Romanticism
Romanticism was a cultural, literary, and artistic movement that took place in Europe during the first half of the 19th century. The general characteristics of Romanticism are:
- Individualism and subjectivism: The ideals and aspirations of the “I” are central to the life and works of the Romantic artist.
- Freedom: Manifested in opposition to any rule, particularly neoclassical rules.
- Nationalism: Valued customs, culture, language, and popular traditions of each country.
The most important aspects
Read More