Lecture Notes Flashcards

Years & Background

• Born in 1904 in Parral, Chile, died in 1973 in Santiago, Chile.
• Began writing poetry at 13 years old.
• His father opposed his interest in literature, but Gabriela Mistral encouraged him.
• Adopted the pseudonym Pablo Neruda in the mid-1920s, possibly inspired by Czech poet Jan Neruda.

Prizes & Recognition

• Nobel Prize in Literature (1971) for poetry that brings alive "a continent’s destiny and dreams."
• Influenced writers worldwide; Gabriel García Márquez called him "the greatest poet of the 20th century in any language."

Literary Style

• Wrote in varied styles:
  • Surrealist poetry
  • Historical epics
  • Political manifestos
  • Prose autobiography
  • Passionate love poems (Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair, 1924)
• Love poetry equates women with nature, elevating them to a cosmic force.
• His Spanish Civil War poems reflected his changing political views.

Themes in His Poetry

• Love & Desire: Often unfulfilled, filled with melancholy and sadness.
• Time: The passing of moments and nostalgia for the past.
• Nature: Deeply personal, personified and filled with human emotions.
• Memories: Poets must write what they feel.
• Revolutionary stance: His poetry changed with political tides (Canto General, 1950).

Political & Diplomatic Life

• Served in diplomatic positions in various countries.
• Senator for the Chilean Communist Party.
• Forced into exile in Argentina (1949) after communism was outlawed in Chile.
• Returned years later and held diplomatic posts in Buenos Aires and Madrid.
• Close advisor to President Salvador Allende; read poetry before 70,000 people after receiving his Nobel Prize.

Last Days & Controversy

• Hospitalized in September 1973 during the Pinochet coup.
• Believed he was injected with an unknown substance, suspected assassination, but forensic tests rejected poisoning claims.
• Died in Isla Negra on September 23, 1973.
• Debate over his legacy, including controversial passages in his memoir I Confess That I Have Lived, which critics interpret as an account of sexual assault.

Legacy

• National poet of Chile.
• John Leonard (New York Times): Called him “a Whitman of the South.”
• Harold Bloom included him in The Western Canon.

Pablo Neruda’s The Book of Questions

• Explores existential, philosophical, and surreal inquiries about life, nature, and human existence.

Style

• Written in free verse, meaning it lacks a strict rhyme or meter.
• Uses simple yet profound language, making the questions feel both childlike and deeply philosophical.
• Often employs imagery and metaphor, blending the natural world with human emotions.

Structure

• The book consists of 320 questions, divided into 74 short poems.
• Each poem is composed of two-line couplets, creating a rhythmic and meditative flow.
• The questions are often disconnected, yet they evoke a sense of wonder and curiosity.

Syntax

• Neruda uses short, direct sentences, often structured as rhetorical questions.
• The questions are open-ended, leaving room for interpretation rather than providing answers.
• He frequently employs enjambment, where lines flow into the next without punctuation, enhancing the dreamlike quality.

Themes

• Nature & the Universe: Many questions reflect on the mysteries of the natural world, such as the sky, rivers, and animals.
• Existence & Time: Neruda ponders the meaning of life, death, and the passage of time.
• Human Emotions: The poems explore love, sorrow, and longing in an abstract way.
• Surrealism & Absurdity: Some questions seem nonsensical, yet they provoke deep thought—like “Why do trees conceal the splendor of their roots?”

Vicente Aleixandre: Biography

• Born: April 26, 1898, in Seville, Spain.
• Died: December 14, 1984, in Madrid, Spain.
• Born into a wealthy family, he moved to Málaga as an infant, a city he later described as a personal "paradise" in his poetry.
• At age 11, his family moved to Madrid, where he studied Commerce and Law.
• His poor health forced him to stop working in 1925, leading him to devote himself fully to writing.
• Initially, he did not read poetry—preferring tales and novels—until discovering Rubén Darío, who inspired him.
• One of the few members of the Generation of '27 who remained in Spain during the Spanish Civil War.
• In 1949, he was elected as a member of the Royal Spanish Academy.

Literary Recognition & Nobel Prize

• Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature (1977) for "a creative poetic writing which illuminates man's condition in the cosmos and in present-day society, at the same time representing the great renewal of the traditions of Spanish poetry between the wars."
• His poetry was highly influential for modern poets, with critics recognizing his profound impact on Spanish literature.

Literary Style & Surrealism

• Aleixandre was heavily influenced by Surrealism, which emerged following World War I as a reaction to the crisis of Western values. He incorporated:
  • Free association of words, breaking traditional linguistic structures.
  • Metaphors and unusual symbols, often linked to fetishism and dream imagery.
  • Black humor and sarcasm, challenging societal norms.
  • Themes such as eroticism, violence, obsession with death, and criticism of religion.

The Generation of '27

• A literary movement composed of writers who shared a commitment to innovation.
• It formally began with a meeting in Seville (December 1927) to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Luis de Góngora’s death.
• Key members included:
  • Rafael Alberti
  • Vicente Aleixandre
  • Dámaso Alonso
  • Luis Cernuda
  • Gerardo Diego
  • Federico García Lorca
  • Jorge Guillén
  • Pedro Salinas

Themes in His Poetry

• Aleixandre’s poetry evolved in three distinct stages:

First Stage (Pre-Civil War)

• Focused on a desire for unity with nature, abandoning individual reality.
• Characterized by his feeling of weakness, seeing himself as inferior and highly sensitive to suffering.
• Published "Swords as Lips" (1932) and "Destruction or Love" (1935)—where love and death are deeply intertwined.
• Love is portrayed as a destructive yet positive force, dissolving individual perspective into universal unity.

Second Stage (Post-Civil War)

• Shifted toward solidarity, addressing themes of human connection and shared experience.
• Works like "Shadow of Paradise" (1944) and "History of the Heart" (1954) reflect a more compassionate worldview.
• Explored social concerns and the need for poetic communication.

Third Stage (Final Years)

• Confronts old age and mortality.
• Works include "Poems of Consummation" and "Dialogues of Knowledge" (1974).
• Poetry turns introspective, analyzing existence, wisdom, and resignation.

Notable Poems & Analysis

• "Wholeness Within Her"
  • Theme: Fusion with the universe through love.
  • Structure:
    • First two stanzas—metaphoric description of his lover.
    • Middle stanzas—sacrifice for love.
    • Final stanza—the world continues unchanged, despite intense desire.
  • Techniques:
    • Free verse and rhythmic flow.
    • Syntactic parallelism ("I want to be totally dead/I want to turn into you").
    • Anaphora ("Like an ocean that flew up, made into a mirror").
  • Language evokes an oneiric (dreamlike) world, blending eroticism and surrealist imagery.
• "Song to a Dead Girl"
  • Theme: Pessimism and resigned acceptance of loss.
  • Uses Romantic influences, with strong subjectivity.
• "The Eagles"
  • Symbolism: Eagles represent erotic love, portraying it as powerful and vital.

Vicente Aleixandre’s Views on Poetry

• "Poetry is communication"—he emphasized its role in expressing universal human experiences.
• Tradition vs. Revolution—he saw literature as both preserving past traditions and simultaneously renewing them.
• He believed that poets should not write only for intellectual elites but rather communicate universal truths.
• Poetry transcends language—translation allows poetry to reach global audiences.

Legacy & Influence

• Considered one of Spain’s most significant poets.
• Inspired modern writers by exploring cosmic themes and human existential struggles.
• His acceptance speech stressed the importance of literature in shaping society.

Gabriel García Márquez: Biography

• Born: 1927 in Aracataca, Colombia.
• Died: 2014 in Mexico.
• Early Life Influence:
  • Raised by his grandparents in a large house within a Caribbean village.
  • Surrounded by native beliefs that merged reality and superstition.
  • His grandmother and aunts spoke of unnatural events as if they were normal occurrences.
  • This upbringing shaped his storytelling, inspiring him to narrate events as his grandmother did.

Nobel Prize (1982)

• Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• Motivation: Recognized for his novels and short stories, in which the fantastic and the realistic merge into a richly composed imaginative world, reflecting Latin America's life and conflicts.

Magical Realism & Literary Context

• Origins
  • First appeared in Germany (1923)—critic Franz Roh coined the term to describe post- expressionist paintings.
  • In visual arts, painters sought to capture the magic in everyday objects and life.
  • In literature, Magical Realism emerged in Latin America (1949) as a major literary movement.
• Definition of Magical Realism
  • Occurs when the unnatural exists within the natural, without questioning its reality.
  • Example: One Hundred Years of Solitude, Chapter XII—Remedios the Beauty ascends to the sky wrapped in bed sheets (pp. 235–236).
    • The event is extraordinary, yet it is presented as a normal part of life.
    • The bed sheets mask the surrealism, allowing it to blend seamlessly into reality.

Key Themes in Gabriel García Márquez’s Work

1. Solitude
2. Macondo (fictional town symbolizing Latin America)
3. Violence
4. Latin American Culture & Society
5. Latin American Politics

One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967)

• Initially planned as The House, a novel about a family’s history.
• Spent 20 years refining the language and narrative style, which eventually became Magical Realism.
• Macondo—a fictional town representing the history and struggles of Latin America.
• Explores themes of cyclical time, political corruption, and generational solitude.

Death Constant Beyond Love

• Characters
  • Senator Sánchez
  • Nelson
  • Laura Farina
• Main Themes & Interpretation
  • The title draws inspiration from Francisco de Quevedo’s poem Amor constante más allá de la muerte ("Love Constant Beyond Death").
  • Also referenced in pop culture: Cher’s song Do You Believe in Love After Life?.
• Plot Highlights
  • Senator Sánchez is campaigning.
  • Married with five children but deeply unhappy.
  • Diagnosed with six months to live but keeps it a secret.
  • Nelson, wanted for killing his wife, seeks a fake identity to restart his life.
  • Nelson attempts to bribe the senator using his daughter, Laura.
  • Laura (almost 19) wears a chastity belt, showing her disinterest in Sánchez.
  • Sánchez worries about dying before she turns 19, making their relationship impossible.
  • Solitude is reinforced—Sánchez dies alone, enraged that he never experienced true intimacy.
• Key Themes
  1. Political Corruption—Sánchez & Nelson abuse power for personal gain.
  2. Solitude & Justice—Characters face isolation, both emotionally and legally.
  3. Time as Cyclical—Events repeat in endless patterns.
• Style
  • Magical Realism—blends realistic suffering with surreal details.
  • Symbolism—Laura's chastity belt reinforces themes of restriction and deception.

Camilo José Cela: Biography

• Born: May 11, 1916, in Galicia, Spain.
• Died: 2002, in Madrid, Spain.
• Background: Came from an upper-middle-class family.
• Initially pursued medical studies but interrupted due to the Spanish Civil War.
• Was wounded in battle, forcing him to withdraw and recover in his hometown.
• After the war, he moved to Madrid, switching to law studies but dedicating most of his time to writing.

Literary Contributions & Recognition

• Published ten novels, around twenty collections of short stories, numerous travel accounts, and essays.
• Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature (1989).
  • Prize Motivation: Recognized for "a rich and intensive prose, which with restrained compassion forms a challenging vision of man's vulnerability."

Controversial Political Involvement

• Cela’s political history is complicated, as he collaborated with Francisco Franco’s regime in multiple roles:
  • Worked as an informant and censor for the Ministry of the Interior (Police Investigation and Surveillance Corps).
  • Actively monitored and reported on fellow intellectuals suspected of opposing Franco.
  • Later served during Spain’s democratic transition, holding a seat in the Senate by royal appointment.
  • Advocated for constitutional reforms, participating in the revision of Spain’s constitutional text.

Plagiarism Allegations

• Won the Planeta Novel Prize with The Cross of Saint Andrew, a novel narrated by a female protagonist.
• Carmen Formoso, a Spanish writer, accused him of plagiarizing her unpublished manuscript that had been submitted to the same contest.
• Cela later admitted: "That novel should never have been published."
• Throughout his career, rumors surfaced that he had hired "ghost writers" to assist in his novels, dating back to the 1950s.

Personal Style & Writing Philosophy

• Eduardo Álvarez Tuñón described Cela as: "Controversial, contradictory, provocative—owner of a unique capacity for insult, with an enviable command of the language and an extraordinary power of observation and understanding."
• Cela aimed to create caricatures of human beings through literature:
  • He twisted reality, exaggerating misery and dysfunctionality.
  • He once confessed that he aspired to be a caricaturist—not with drawing, but with words.

Writing Style & Literary Movements

• Cela’s work is associated with two key literary movements in Spain:

Social Realism ("Generación del 50")

• Focused on objective social criticism, portraying reality without romanticizing human conditions.
• Its primary goal: Expose social issues in post-war Spain.

"Objectivismo" & Documentary Realism

• Innovative technique that eliminates the author’s voice.
• Writers used cinematic techniques:
  • Camera-style narration.
  • Tape-recorder realism to mimic unscripted dialogue.
• Despite this style, Cela infused his work with satire, ensuring it was strongly colored.

"Tremendismo"

• Spanish adaptation of Naturalism.
• Cela’s characters exhibited intense misery, sometimes exaggerated beyond realism.
• Introduced existentialism, emphasizing the ugly and stark aspects of life.
• Challenged Francoist ideals, bringing rebellion into literature.

Common Themes in Cela’s Writing

• Pessimism—bleak outlook on society.
• Poverty & Margins—focused on Spain’s neglected lower classes.
• Lack of Freedom—highlighted the sterility and emptiness imposed by dictatorship.
• Women & Franco's Spain—contrasted women's oppression under Francoist gender norms.

Analysis of The Hive (La Colmena, 1951)

• Background
  • Originally published in Buenos Aires (1951)—banned in Spain until 1963.
  • Captures three days in Madrid after the Spanish Civil War (December 1943).
  • Features an enormous cast—between 250 to 360 characters.
  • Explores poverty, hypocrisy, and brutality under Franco’s regime.
• Style & Narrative Structure
  • Broken into seven chapters.
  • Events are out of chronological order—not told in sequence.
  • Core storytelling method:
    • Fragments & vignettes, focusing on individual experiences.
    • Café culture serves as an anchor—writers, philosophers, prostitutes, and intellectuals observe society.
• Main Characters
  • Martín Marco
    • Leftist intellectual—symbolizes Spain’s disoriented citizens post-war.
    • Starts the novel kicked out of Doña Rosa’s café for not paying his bill.
    • Wanders Madrid, engaging in philosophical discussions.
    • His mental instability reflects the alienation under Franco’s dictatorship.
  • Other Characters
    • Doña Rosa—café owner, a Fascist supporter, known for harsh treatment of patrons.
    • Prostitutes—Cela portrays figures such as:
      • Doña Jesusa, who runs a brothel.
      • Victorita, who sacrifices herself for her tubercular boyfriend.
    • Homosexuality—Julián and Pepe’s subtle storyline challenges societal repression.
• Major Themes
  1. Hypocrisy & Lack of Solidarity
     • Doña Rosa’s merciless nature in expelling Martín Marco mirrors Spain’s ruthless hierarchy.
  2. Money, Sex & Survival
     • Sex is viewed differently:
       • For the wealthy—mere entertainment.
       • For the poor—sometimes the only form of escape or means of survival.
  3. Monotony & Time’s Repetition
     • The book depicts time as an endless cycle:
       • "After the days come the nights. After the nights, the days. The year has four seasons: spring, summer, fall, winter."
  4. Lethargy & Stagnation
     • The café’s atmosphere symbolizes Spain’s oppressive reality.
     • The characters remain apathetic, disinterested, and trapped in routines.
• Significance & Legacy
  • The Hive stands as a defining post-war novel, revealing the underbelly of Francoist Spain.
  • Cela’s controversial persona—spy, censor, yet rebellious writer—continues to provoke debate.
  • His literature connects Spain’s lost generation with the progressive movements that followed.

Octavio Paz (1914–1998): Biography

• Born in Mexico City, 1914.
• His grandfather was a liberal intellectual, introducing him to literature.
• His father was a leftist political journalist.
• Studied Law and Literature at the National University of Mexico.
• Published his first book of poems, Luna Silvestre (Wild Moon) in 1933.

International Influence

• 1937: Invited to Spain by Pablo Neruda for the 2nd International Congress of Anti- Fascist Writers—witnessing the Spanish Civil War deeply shaped his views on war and history.
• 1945: Began a 23-year diplomatic career, starting in Paris.
• Lived in France, the U.S., and other countries, expanding his cultural, philosophical, and political influences.
• Met André Breton in Mexico (1930s), adopting Surrealist elements in his writing.

Nobel Prize (1990)

• Awarded for “impassioned writing with wide horizons, characterized by sensuous intelligence and humanistic integrity.”

Literary Style & Key Themes

• Surrealism: Influenced by Breton, incorporating dreamlike imagery and sensuality.
• Political & Cultural Reflection: War, Mexican identity, solitude, and revolution.
• Postmodernism: His works reflect existential questions and the fluidity of time.

Key Works

1. Motion (Movimiento)
   • Poem where each stanza begins with a conditional clause: “If you are…”—followed by a contrasting response.
   • Explores duality, transformation, and the human condition.
   • Example lines:
     • “If you are the morning tide, I am the first bird’s cry”
     • “If you are the yellow mountain, I am the red arms of lichen”
2. Sun Stone (Piedra de Sol, 1957)
   • A poem structured like the Aztec calendar (584-day cycle).
   • Has 584 lines, beginning and ending with the same six lines—suggesting cyclical time.
   • Blends love, history, and the search for poetic transcendence.
3. The Labyrinth of Solitude (El laberinto de la soledad, 1950)
   • A book-length essay divided into nine sections, analyzing Mexican identity.
   • Explores themes such as:
     1. Mexican social masks (Mexican Mask).
     2. The Day of the Dead—cultural reflections on death rituals.
     3. Colonialism, revolution, and national consciousness.
   • Harold Bloom described it as a profound examination of existential solitude.

Postmodern Analysis of Octavio Paz

• Fluidity of Identity: Paz’s works challenge fixed notions of self, embracing duality and transformation.
• Temporal Dislocation: Sun Stone presents time as cyclical, rejecting linear progression.
• Philosophical Reflection: Often questions reality, leaving meaning open-ended.
• Surrealist Influence: Dreamlike landscapes, symbolic juxtapositions, and sensory intensity.

Elena Garro (1916–1998): Biography

• One of the most important Mexican writers of the 20th century.
• Playwright, novelist, journalist, poet, screenwriter.
• Known for theater and magical realism.
• Exiled from Mexico (1968–1993) after challenging government policies.

Major Works

1. Theater
   • One-act plays:
     • A Solid Home (Un hogar sólido).
     • The Tree (El árbol).
     • The Dogs (Los perros).
     • The Lady of the Balcony (La señora del balcón).
2. Recollections of Things to Come (Los recuerdos del porvenir, 1963)
   • A precursor to Magical Realism.
   • Examines the betrayal of the 1910 Mexican Revolution.
   • Blends historical myths with pre-Hispanic concepts of time.
3. The Week of Colors
   • Collection of short stories.
   • Most emblematic story: Blame the Tlaxcaltecas.
4. Political & Activist Works
   • Wrote articles exposing Mexico’s political corruption.
   • Criticized the PRI dictatorship, leading to her government-sanctioned exile.
   • Books:
     • We Are Fleeing, Lola (1980).
     • Testimonies About Mariana (1981).
     • Reunion of Characters (1982).
     • Matarazo Didn’t Call… (1991).

Postmodern Analysis of Elena Garro

1. Fragmentation of Identity
   • The Huisache Plain—uses dismembered body parts to symbolize a fractured self.
   • Common theme in postmodern literature, reflecting identity as unstable and evolving.
2. Temporal Dislocation
   • The Foreigner—blurs the boundaries of past, present, and future.
   • Rejects linear storytelling, embracing time as fluid and cyclical.
3. Intertextuality & Historical Reinterpretation
   • Challenges official historical narratives.
   • Reexamines Mexican history through personal and marginalized perspectives.
4. Metafictional Elements
   • A A.B.C.—draws attention to the act of writing.
   • Self-referential techniques reflect postmodernism’s questioning of literary form.
5. Emphasis on Language & Meaning
   • Explores the limits of language.
   • Reflects postmodern skepticism toward fixed meaning.

Legacy & Influence

• Octavio Paz
  • Revolutionized Mexican literature through poetry, essays, and philosophy.
  • His postmodern and surrealist fusion influenced Latin American literature globally.
  • Considered one of the greatest intellectuals of the 20th century.
• Elena Garro
  • Pioneer of Magical Realism.
  • Socially and politically impactful, inspiring feminist and activist movements.
  • Broke traditional storytelling norms, blending history with myth.