Text Cohesion, Language Registers, and Spanish Literature
Concept of Text
Text is a statement or set of sentences linked in a coherent manner that transmit a complete sense. The coherence of texts depends on two factors:
- Unity of sense: The different statements must address the same subject and not arbitrarily jump from one subject to another.
- Relevance to the situation reported: A notice of settlement is consistent if it appears in a magazine.
Text Cohesion
Statements are presented to form a connected text or linked together through various linguistic means. Besides the main connectors, the linguistic mechanisms to foster cohesion of a text are:
- The repetition of words
- The use of hypernyms
- Use of personal pronouns, possessive or demonstrative
- The presence of words belonging to the same lexical family
Connectors
Connectors are linguistic pieces that link the paragraphs and sentences of a text. They are temporal, explanatory, order, contrast, or cause to be accordingly.
Language Registers
Language varieties that depend on the communicative situation are called registers. According to the relation that holds the speakers, there are two possible entries:
- Colloquial register
- Formal register
Treatment Formulas
In Castilian, there are two basic formulas to describe the speaker: tú and usted.
Lope de Vega
The main feature of Lope de Vega is the agility of the action. His dramatic works deal with the unjust abuse of power by a nobleman in a rural environment, in which the king finally restores justice by favoring the villains.
- Swashbuckling comedies: Lack of focus, have love in an urban environment, and are intended primarily to entertain.
- Tragedies: End with the violent death of the gallant players.
Tirso de Molina
Tirso de Molina is the author of The Trickster of Seville, which features the first appearance of Don Juan.
Calderón de la Barca
The theater of Calderón de la Barca, the last great author of the Spanish Baroque, was characterized by its philosophical depth, which is expressed in dense and elaborate monologues.
- Honor-dramas: In these works, wives are murdered by their husbands without actually having committed adultery. Example: The Mayor of Zalamea
- Swashbuckling comedies: Lack of focus, based on mistakes or misunderstandings with a happy ending. Example: The Fairy Lady
- Philosophical dramas: In these works, a person whom the stars at birth have announced an adverse fate is kept from the world to avoid the fate. This raises the conflict between freedom and destiny.
The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment is the cultural movement that developed in Europe during the 18th century.
Enlightened Essay
The essay was the preferred genre for the enlightened to spread their ideas.
Major Spanish essayists are:
- Jerónimo Feijoo: In his works, he attempted to combat what he called common errors of his time, such as superstition or false patriotism.
- José Cadalso: Author of Moroccan Letters, a collection of letters that criticize various aspects of Spain at the time: the delay of science, the dark nobility, etc.
- Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos: In his main work, Report on Agrarian Law, he denounced the concentration of land in the hands of the nobility as a cause of Spain’s agricultural backwardness.
Enlightened Theater
The enlightened considered the theater an ideal instrument to educate society and disseminate their views.
- Form: In general, they are written in prose.
- Verisimilitude: They present plausible conflicts and characters of their time.
- Respect for the rule of three unities: Plays take place in one space, within less than one day, and develop a single storyline.