First Partial Study Flashcards
Epic Genre
It is a narration, that shows historical facts about events that happened in the past of a nation. It usually makes an exhilaration (exciting way of telling) of the heroes of the past and relives their adventures in a glorious way that sometimes can be fantastic. Most of the time they include virtues.
8 characteristics of the epic genre
-Mixes fantasy with reality (legends with history), and merging them so they are the same.
-These poems were transmitted verbally.
-An invocation to a muse is made at the beginning.
-Uses epithets (adjectives or phrases that enhance features).
-Gods coexist with humans.
-Ornate language is used. (wordiness)
-Literary figure enumeration.
-Written in verse.
What is a story?
Actions and events that happen within a text. It is narrated in chronological order.
What are themes?
Ideas that are not said explicity but give the text a setting. Example: friendship, love, betrayal, etc.
Verse
Characteristics of having rythym, cadence, measurement, and is written in lines. It can also rhyme.
Prose
Everyday speech, has a common structure.
Aedos
Poets that recited poems.
Epopee
A subgenre in which the adventures of a hero are told in a poetic narrative and in verse. It has most of the characteristics of the epic genre.
6 examples of epopees
-Epic of Gilgamesh
-Mahabharata
-Ramayana
-Iliad
-Odyssey
-Aeneid
Author of the Iliad and Odyssey
Homer (although it’s not confirmed), people agreed to him being the creator of both.
Story of the Illiad
-Has 15,000 verses
-It narrates the development of the Trojan War, how Patroclus goes into battle, and is killed by Hector, but at the end of the epopee, Achilles kills him.
-Each deity supports a different character.
Story of the Odyssey
-Ulysses is a survivor of the Trojan War, he has to go through many trials placed by the Gods, who have decided that Ulysses must go through a lot of suffering before his arrival to Ithaca (homeland).
Characteristics of Greek epics
Its bubolic themes (pastoral poems and songs)
Duration of the Middle Ages
Starts when the Roman Empire fell and ends with the fall of Constantinople
4 factors of the crusades
-Religious faith
-The warrior spirit of the times
-Taste for adventure
-Business interest
What was the name of the epopees at the time?
Songs of heroic deeds
Why were the songs written during the Crusades?
Due to the nations that felt glorious and anxious to hear the adventures of their heroes. These also helped societies to create a national identification, and set their political, geographical and cultural characteristics.
What is the description?
It is used to delimit, to explain its parts and characteristics of something or someone.
To describe the place where the action is happening or how the characters are feeling (physically and psychologically).
What is the plot?
It’s the structure of interrelated actions, consciously selected and arranged by the author. It doesn’t have to go in chronological order.
What is the difference between plot and history?
-The author decides what he wants to tell (history) but also how he want to tell it (plot).
-The structure of the history is defined by the plot.
What is the history?
Set of events; fictitious or real that happen sequentially. It is the timeline of events that happen in the narrative.
Line theme
A theme that is established in different works. Sometimes, the texts can be set in sagas.
Three most representative Medieval Songs
-Poem of Cid
-Song of the Nibeluds
-Song of Ronald
The Poem of the Cid
Based on the true story of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, a Castilian knight who fought for both Christian and Muslim forces, and explores themes like loyalty, honor, and justice.
