The Spanish Civilization

The Spanish CivilizationHistory, Literature and Miguel de Cervantes

The History of SpainPrehistoric times The Celt- Iberian Spain Phoenicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians Romans and Goths Moorish Epochs and Reconquista The Catholic Monarchs Habsburg and Bourbon Kings 20th Century

The Spanish LiteratureSpanish literaturegenerally refers to literature (Spanish poetry,prose, and drama) written in theSpanish languagewithin the territory that presently constitutes the state ofSpain.

Its development coincides and frequently intersects with that of other literary traditions from regions within the same territory, particularly Catalan literature, Galician literature, and more recently a formal Basque literature.

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Castiliano/Castellano Spanish(espaol) is aRomance languagenamed for its origins as the native tongue of a large proportion of the inhabitants ofSpain. It is also namedCastilian after the Spanish region ofCastilewhere it originated. Spanish is thesecond most natively spokenlanguage in the world, afterMandarin Chinese.

Catalan is aRomance language, thenationaland onlyofficial languageofAndorraand a co-official language in theSpanishautonomous communitiesofCatalonia, theBalearic IslandsandValencian Community, where it is known asValencian.

Galician is a language of theWestern Ibero-Romancebranch, spoken inGalicia, anautonomous communitylocated in northwesternSpain, where it is co-official withCastilian, as well as in border zones of the neighboring territories ofAsturiasandCastile and Len.

BasqueIs the ancestral language of theBasque people, who inhabit theBasque Country, a region spanning an area in northeasternSpainand southwesternFrance.

Development of Spanish LiteraturePre-Historic Actual written evidence has never been found. As far back as the lastPaleolithicera (30,000-15,000 BCE) engaged in a variety of oral lyric traditions. Originally, these lyrical songs would have been closely associated with fertility rites, the hunt, or other key life stages.

Development of Spanish LiteratureRenaissance During the 15th century thepre- Renaissanceoccurs. The most important characteristics of the Renaissance: The language in this age is dominated by naturalness and simplicity. The preferred themes are, fundamentally, love, nature, pagan mythology, from which the histories of gods and the female beauty are reflected, following always the same classical ideal.

Development of Spanish LiteratureBaroque17th Century The Baroque style used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music. The Baroque is characterized by the following points: Pessimism Disillusionment

Development of Spanish LiteratureRomanticism 19th century Characteristics:Rejection of Neoclassicism Subjectivism Attraction to Nocturnal and Mysterious Escape from the world that surrounds them

Development of Spanish LiteratureEnlightenment 18th centuryArrival of Lights in Spain 3 phases: Anti-baroquismNeoclassicism Pre-Romanticism

Development of Spanish LiteratureRealismObjective vision of reality The narrators write their works approaching reality from their moral conception. Themes that are familiar to the reader The popular and colloquial language acquires great importance.

Development of Spanish LiteratureModernism Regenerationism Modernism was rooted in the idea that "traditional" forms of art, literature, religious faith, social organization, and daily life had become outdated; therefore it was essential to sweep them aside.

Miguel de Cervantes Born in Alcala de Henares, a town 20 miles from Madrid, on September 29, 1547 He was named Miguel for Saint Michael Son of a barber-surgeon His family was large; he was only the fourth son out of what was to become seven children in total. Studied under the Jesuits as a child; Did not go to a university

Miguel de Cervantes In 1570, he left Spain for Italy, a move usually done by the Spaniards of his time to further their careers. This move made the confrontation between the Turks and the Spanish infantries located in nearby Italy inevitable. His ship was captured by pirates and he was taken as a slave to Algiers, a country in northern Africa. (1575)

Miguel de Cervantes It is believed that his life as a slave from 1575 to 1580 became the source of inspiration for some episodes in Don Quixote. Spain had changed drastically during Cervantes's absence. It was his return to Spain which began his career as a major literary figure. In 1585, he published his first long work, La Galatea, a prose pastoral romance.

Miguel de Cervantes Became a dramatist.First Part of Don Quixote came out in 1605.In 1615, a year before his death, the Second Part came out and was just as successful. Unfortunately, all of this success resulted in no profit for Cervantes, who had sold the publishing rights of his work.

Muchas Gracias!De: Angeline Lorraine Salazar