Spanish literature has generated a significant number of literary myths in Western literature; these myths have been found in other literatures and been noted in many imitations. El Quijote is a prime example, as well as others like Don Juan, whose image is seen in Molière, Goldoni, Mozart, Lord Byron, Pushkin. This course will explore these and other myths in Spanish literature and their importance in selected works of Western literature.
Method of presentation:
Each text will be analyzed both theoretically and practically following this order: introduction to the author and his/her work in context, commentary on significant examples from the text, detailed analysis of required texts. Students will complete short written papers on each text. When pertinent, students will listen to musical pieces or see films based on the literary works.
Required work and form of assessment:
Participation in class and essays on each text (30%);
midterm (30%); final (40%).
content:
1. Celestina. Its social-historical significance. Its implications on literature and theatre: from Fernando de
Rojas to Valle-Inclán.
2. El pícaro. Its birth with Lazarillo de Tormes. Its contemporary presence: La familia de Pascual Duarte.
Foreign immitations: Dickens, Twain.
3. Don Quijote. Birth of a literary genre. Its significance in the time of Cervantes. Quixotism in Miguel de
Unamuno.
4. Don Juan. A universal myth. Comparative analysis of characters: Molière, Mozart, Lord Byron. Donjuanism in the 20th Century.
5. Carmen. Spanish myth in French literature. From Mérimée’s novel to the opera of Bizet. Considerations of the “mujer maldita”. The world of bullfighting.
Required readings:
Rojas, Fernando de. La Celestina. (Selections)
Anonymous. Lazarillo de Tormes. (Selections)
Cela, Camilo José. La familia de Pascual Duarte.
Cervantes, Miguel de. Don Quijote de la Mancha. (Selections)
Tirso de Molina. El burlador de Sevilla.
Zorrilla, José. Don Juan Tenorio.
Unamuno, Miguel de. Vida de don Quijote y Sancho. (Selections)
Recommended readings:
Maeztu, Ramiro de. Don Quijote, Don Juan y la Celestina.
Maravall, José Antonio. El mundo social de La Celestina.
Márquez Villanueva, Francisco. Orígenes de la leyenda de El burlador de Sevilla.
Parker, Alexander A. Los pícaros en la literatura: la novela picaresca en España y Europa.
Peral, Emilio. “Don Juan en el teatro español del exilio.”
Riquer, Martín de. Aproximación al Quijote.
Serrano, Carlos. El nacimiento de Carmen. Símbolos, mitos, nación.
Notes:
This course is offered during the regular semester and in the summer. For summer sections, the course schedule is condensed, but the content, learning outcomes, and contact hours are the same.
Spanish literature has generated a significant number of literary myths in Western literature; these myths have been found in other literatures and been noted in many imitations. El Quijote is a prime example, as well as others like Don Juan, whose image is seen in Molière, Goldoni, Mozart, Lord Byron, Pushkin. This course will explore these and other myths in Spanish literature and their importance in selected works of Western literature.
Each text will be analyzed both theoretically and practically following this order: introduction to the author and his/her work in context, commentary on significant examples from the text, detailed analysis of required texts. Students will complete short written papers on each text. When pertinent, students will listen to musical pieces or see films based on the literary works.
Participation in class and essays on each text (30%);
midterm (30%); final (40%).
1. Celestina. Its social-historical significance. Its implications on literature and theatre: from Fernando de
Rojas to Valle-Inclán.
2. El pícaro. Its birth with Lazarillo de Tormes. Its contemporary presence: La familia de Pascual Duarte.
Foreign immitations: Dickens, Twain.
3. Don Quijote. Birth of a literary genre. Its significance in the time of Cervantes. Quixotism in Miguel de
Unamuno.
4. Don Juan. A universal myth. Comparative analysis of characters: Molière, Mozart, Lord Byron. Donjuanism in the 20th Century.
5. Carmen. Spanish myth in French literature. From Mérimée’s novel to the opera of Bizet. Considerations of the “mujer maldita”. The world of bullfighting.
Rojas, Fernando de. La Celestina. (Selections)
Anonymous. Lazarillo de Tormes. (Selections)
Cela, Camilo José. La familia de Pascual Duarte.
Cervantes, Miguel de. Don Quijote de la Mancha. (Selections)
Tirso de Molina. El burlador de Sevilla.
Zorrilla, José. Don Juan Tenorio.
Unamuno, Miguel de. Vida de don Quijote y Sancho. (Selections)
Maeztu, Ramiro de. Don Quijote, Don Juan y la Celestina.
Maravall, José Antonio. El mundo social de La Celestina.
Márquez Villanueva, Francisco. Orígenes de la leyenda de El burlador de Sevilla.
Parker, Alexander A. Los pícaros en la literatura: la novela picaresca en España y Europa.
Peral, Emilio. “Don Juan en el teatro español del exilio.”
Riquer, Martín de. Aproximación al Quijote.
Serrano, Carlos. El nacimiento de Carmen. Símbolos, mitos, nación.
This course is offered during the regular semester and in the summer. For summer sections, the course schedule is condensed, but the content, learning outcomes, and contact hours are the same.