In Spain people idealized those who deliberately placed themselves in the greatest danger. The core of this idea is centered on the Spanish sport of bullfighting. In such an act, the bullfighter, or matador, baits the bull in a bullring and then kills the bull for the audience. One matador in particular was enormously popular. His name was Ignacio Sanchez Mejias. Not only was he praised for his bullfighting skills, but was gifted intellectually. He was a critic, poet, actor, and sportsman. He eventually retired bullfighting, but in 1934 made the fatal mistake of getting back into the ring one last time. In this last event, he was gored by the bull, and eventually died of gangrene from his injures. A dear friend and poet of the matador, Garcia Lorca, memorialized him by writing an elegy titled, “Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias”. It was written to commemorate and celebrate the death of a man who many considered the bravest and most gallant matador of Spain. It’s a long elegy divided into four parts corresponding to four dramatic movements. These movements are geared by an emotional pattern, descending into grief and despair as the full awareness of loss was felt, and then gradually working through the grief to a point where the poem begins to rise again, finding some kind of reconciliation and comfort. Through this emotional journey Garcia Lorca immortalizes the memory of a departed friend.
In part one, “Cogida and Death”, Lorca creates the turmoil and Ignacio’s accident and the agony of death that eventually surrounded it. It immediately opens up at the very hour of the tragedy, “five in the afternoon” (1), and proceeds to dwell on the horrific details of the bullring. Lorca recreates the scene with, “A boy brought the white she...
... middle of paper ...
...nly art can preserve Ignacio, and with his words he will construct a verbal monument that will stand the test of time.
Garcia Lorca’s poem carries us all through the tragedy, to the bitter resolution. He paints us a morbid, cold but memorable scene of the death of Ignacio, while showing honesty in his feeling towards his beloved friend’s death. He refused to accept the bullfighter’s death at first, refusing to gaze upon his blood. But through this refusal he recounted the many wonders of his friend, which guided him to eventually look upon the body. As he does so, he ponders the mystery of death, and with the idea of death you will become nothing but a distant memory, and eventually be forgotten. But in Lorca’s final protest, or resolution, he accepts he will always carry his memory will him, and sing his name, giving him a permanent form that death cannot conquer.
Author’s Techniques: Rudolfo Anaya uses many Spanish terms in this book. The reason for this is to show the culture of the characters in the novel. Also he uses imagery to explain the beauty of the llano the Spanish America. By using both these techniques in his writing, Anaya bring s the true culture of
Throughout an individual’s life-time, he/she has a vision as o what his/her should be. But when things do not go as planned and the unexpected occurs, does that person face it, or run away? In “An Act of Vengeance” by Isabel Allende, running away is not an option at well. Through the usage of plot, character and irony, Allende illustrates the cost of war.
Valle’s most significant contribution to the Spanish theatre is his invention of the literary style of esperpento, which is best represented in one of his most famous plays, Luces de Bohemia. Valle created esperpento with the aim of representing the harsh realities of Spanish twentieth century society through the concave lens of grotesque deformation, so that he could present the lives of the Spaniards in the light of mockery and absurdity. During his writing of Luces de Bohemia, the Spanish society has been brought to a halt, along with the lack of political progress and social improvement, therefore this concerning political situation has influenced and steered Valle towards his literary evolution, the exaggerated grotesque, which he though was the only suitable way to represent the shocking reality and problems of Spain. In this way, he could alarm the people to terminate their complacent acceptance of this reality and he could also produce a distancing effect which renders the reader immune to the play’s purpose, thus making the artistic experience more tolerable. His experience in the killing fields was what made him t...
...tity, Molina when he finds someone who accepts his true identity. In both cases, they find the affirmation that was previously denied to them as a result of an oppressive society. The death here is a death of the self, the repressed self.
...s poems publication. In `A un olmo seco', we discover references to the cemetery of Leonor's grave, and the beauty of new shoots set against the decay of the `olmo's' trunk, which evokes Machado's young wifr in her terminal condition. `A un olmo seco' is highlights the central theme of landscape and countryside, and through the physical description, Machado remembers his personal experience in Soria. The river Duero acts as a leitmotif for the cemetery where his wife was buried. In `Caminos' as Machado develops the theme of his displacement in Baeza, his mood is finally attributed to the loss of his wife. Landscape can be linked with inner emotional landscape. The landscape in this poem is ominous, violent and inflexible: "hendido por el rayo." Therefore, landscape acts as a way of revealing inner emotion and Spanish National character throughout the collection.
Death, despair, and revenge, these three words form a treacherous triangle to any reader who dare enter the mind of Edgar Allen Poe. In many of his works these expressions seem to form a reoccurring theme. Comparing the works "The Mask of the Red Death" and "The Cask of Amontillado", we will discuss these themes while analyzing the method behind Poe’s madness.
During the late 19th century and early 20th century, a form of Mexican folk music called the corrido gained popularity along the Mexico-Texan border (Saldívar). Growing from the Spanish romance tradition, the corrido is a border ballad “that arose chronicling the history of border conflicts and its effects on Mexican-Mexican culture” (Saldívar). A sort of “oral folk history,” the corrido was studied intensely by Américo Paredes, who then constructed his masterpiece, George Washington Gomez, around the “context and theme” of the corrido (Mendoza 146). But the novel is not a traditional corrido, in which the legendary hero defends his people and dies for his honor. Instead, through its plot, characterization, and rhetorical devices, George Washington Gomez is an anti-corrido.
In a psychological perspective, the author’s life is linked with the behavior and motivations of characters in the story. The author’s name is Edgar Allan’s Poe who portrayed his self in his writing. The miserable life of Poe can be measured through “The Cask of Amontillado” in which character named “Montressor” showed indifferent feeling towards his victim. After burying Fortunado alive, Montressor felt bad after burying his victim alive but then he attributes the feeling of guilt to the damp catacombs. To the character and to the author, it seems that ghastly nature murder and the immoral approach of treachery is merely an element of reality. This story is a true representation of author’s anguish and torment nature.
Alfredo Corchado — is the author of the book named " Midnight in Mexico:A Reporter's Journey through a Country's Descent into Darkness”. We are, probably, all interested in finding out the facts, news, and gossips about Mexico. This country was always associated with something mysterious. For me personally, the title of the book seemed to be very gripping, I was interested in revealing the secrets of life in Mexico, thus I decided to read this book. I was really curious, what can Alfredo Corchado tell me about the life in this country, the country, where the constant massacre is the picture, people used to see. In his book, the author tells the reader about the real situations, which took place in Mexico, reveals the secrets of the people’s lives and tells the story from the “inside”. He describes the way he lives his life, and does his work. The " Midnight in Mexico: A Reporter's Journey through a Country's Descent into Darkness” is a memoir. Author tries to transform his own experience into the story line. Corchado shows the reader the darkest episodes of Mexican society, while relying on his own experience.
Soto’s “Black Hair” is a perfect example of a poem that is effective through close analysis of certain concrete images which hold the key to the foundation of the poem and its underlying themes. In this poem, the universal themes of family and culture are hidden under the figure of Hector Moreno, the image of the narrator’s hair, as well as the extended baseball metaphor about culture. Although the title may seem ordinary at first glance, the challenge that the poem presents through its connection of concrete images and themes is very intriguing, and the themes are made clear through the effective use of certain poetic elements.
it is unmistakable that life situations inspired Juan Rulfo to write this story. He like no other person had a greater understanding of how to portray the theme of family especially missing a father as a role model, death, survival and revenge. Moreover, through the use of local Mexican language it furthermore developed the society in which peasants had to live during the post-revolution. Additionally Juan Rulfo tries to add all five senses in the story forming magical realism and a vivid picture that the readers can understand. Overall, the readers learn a lot about peasant’s approach to life after revolution that the main drive was
Throughout his villanelle, “Saturday at the Border,” Hayden Carruth continuously mentions the “death-knell” (Carruth 3) to reveal his aged narrator’s anticipation of his upcoming death. The poem written in conversation with Carruth’s villanelle, “Monday at the River,” assures the narrator that despite his age, he still possesses the expertise to write a well structured poem. Additionally, the poem offers Carruth’s narrator a different attitude with which to approach his writing, as well as his death, to alleviate his feelings of distress and encourage him to write with confidence.
...all want to believe that the crime was truly “foretold”, and that nothing could have been done to change that, each one of the characters share in a part of Santiago Nasar’s death. Gabriel Garcia Marquez writes about the true selfishness and ignorance that people have today. Everyone waits for someone else to step in and take the lead so something dreadful can be prevented or stopped. What people still do not notice is that if everyone was to stand back and wait for others, who is going to be the one who decides to do something? People don’t care who gets hurt, as long as it’s not themselves, like Angela Vicario, while other try to reassure themselves by thinking that they did all that they could, like Colonel Lazaro Aponte and Clotilde Armenta. And finally, some people try to fight for something necessary, but lose track of what they set out for in the first place.
Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is unified by various themes throughout the work. The plot is driven by two major themes in particular: honor and ritual. Honor is the motivation for several of the characters to behave in certain manners, as honor plays a key role in Colombian culture. There were repercussions for dishonorable acts and similarly, there were rewards for honorable ones. Also, ritual is a vital element within the work that surrounds the story line’s central crime: Santiago Nasar’s death.
"Garcia Marquez - Papers: "One Hundred Years and Chronicle"" Garcia Marquez - Papers: "One Hundred Years and Chronicle" N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.