Understanding Semantics, Baroque Art, and Spanish Literature
Understanding Semantics and the Baroque Period
1. Semantics: The Study of Word Meaning
Words are linguistic signs composed of two elements conventionally associated: the signifier (expression, sound string) and the signified (content).
2. The Meaning of Words
- Denotation: Objective meaning, as found in a dictionary.
- Connotation: Subjective meaning, derived from associations with other meanings and emotional values added to denotative meanings.
3. Semantic Change
Semantic change is the process by which words expand or reduce their significance.
3.1. Metaphor and Metonymy
- Metaphor: Based on a similarity between two terms or realities.
- Metonymy: Based on a relation of contiguity or proximity between the realities they convey.
Variations of Metonymy:
- The part for the whole (synecdoche).
- The object for the user.
- The mark or the creator for the product.
- The container for the content.
- The subject matter.
- The place for the institution.
- The place or time for the event.
3.2. Ellipsis
A word takes the meaning of another that usually accompanies it and is omitted.
4. Semantic Relations
4.1. Similarity of Meanings: Synonymy
- Partial Synonymy: Words coincide only in some of their meanings.
- Total Synonymy: A word can be replaced by its synonym in any context.
4.2. Opposition or Difference of Meaning: Antonyms
- Binary or Complementary Antonyms: The affirmation of one word implies the negation of the other. (Antonyms of denial, formed by adding a prefix with a negative value).
- Inverse or Reciprocal Antonyms: Express a reciprocal relationship between two things or people.
- Graded Antonyms: Represent opposite ends of a scale with gradually sorted meanings.
4.3. Value of Inclusion: Hyponymy
The meaning of one word is included in the meaning of another.
5. The Baroque Period in Spain
The Baroque was a cultural movement in Europe during the seventeenth century. In Spain, it was part of the Golden Age of literature. This century in Spain was governed by the Habsburg monarchy: Philip III, Philip IV, and Charles II. The government was effectively in the hands of the Duke of Lerma and the Count-Duke of Olivares.
The current situation was one of decline, with Spain losing its hegemony in Europe to France. This was accompanied by an economic crisis and considerable social unrest. Epidemics, the expulsion of the Moors, and emigration to America caused a marked decline in population. The nobility retained privileges and lands, while farmers, due to the impoverishment of the countryside, were forced to migrate to the cities, where begging and crime increased. This situation is perfectly reflected by the picaresque novel, a genre popular during this period.
Pessimism and disappointment dominated Baroque thought. The difficult social situation and the awareness that a great power was crumbling generated this anxiety. Rebellion or escape were the only perceived exits. This tended to blur the boundaries between appearance and reality. From this disappointment arose a taste for moral and religious themes in literature: the transience of life, death, etc. In religion, the spirit of the Counter-Reformation dominated, discrediting the mundane and worldly.
In art and literature, formal and contrived complication were appreciated. Difficulty was considered synonymous with beauty. There was a strong tendency to exaggeration and distortion of reality in any art form, which served to highlight contrasts. The aim was to surprise the public through original expression and exalted wit.
5.1. Stylistic Trends in Spain
In Spain, two stylistic trends emerged, both aiming to amaze the public:
- Conceptismo: Concerned with the content of the text. It was based on inventive conceptual associations expressed with an economy of language (e.g., “The Good, if brief, twice good,” as Baltasar Gracián stated). It used plenty of rhetorical figures, including antithesis, paradox, ellipsis, and word games. Its most important representatives were Francisco de Quevedo and Baltasar Gracián.
- Culteranismo: Gave more importance to form than content. The expression was elaborate and difficult, pursuing aesthetic beauty. Literary figures such as metaphors and hyperbole were used, along with a glossary rich in Latinisms, complicated syntax, and hyperbaton. Its main representative was Luis de Góngora.