Literary Work Analysis

Part I.  Answer one.

A.  Select one of the following literary works: Lazarillo de Tormes, The Swindler, The Trickster of Seville, Fuente Ovejuna, Life is a Dream or Don Quixote (if you are in the Honors Discussion section). You may not select a literary work that you have used for your paper. We keep track of that. Attempt to answer the following questions.

1.  Provide a short summary of the plot (no more than half a page).

2.  Tell us what the salient themes of the literary work are.

3.  Analyze two or three of these themes and explain how they reflect the culture, values, politics, social and economic structures of early modern Spain. You are using these texts as primary sources. What do they tell you about the history of Spain?

4.  Place these works within a specific historical context. Do not examine the work you chose for your 2nd assignment.

5. If writing about Fuenteovejuna, you may use the film shown in class as a reference and as a source of comparison.

B. What were the salient features of the cultural transformations known as the Golden Age of Spain. What was its historical context and its achievements and failures? Be specific. You need to discuss several of the works read in the class as well as some of the paintings shown in class.

Part II.  Answer one.

A.  What were the important themes of Charles V’s reign? What were its successes? What were its failures? In detail discuss two of the following:

1. The Comunidades and Germanias

2.  The Imperial project

3.  The Reformation and the Empire. Prince and Protestants in Germany

4.  The Organization of the Empire:

5.  The State in Castile

6.  Diplomacy and War: France, the Low Countries, the Ottoman Threat

7.  The Price Revolution: American Silver and Castilian Peasants

8.  Humanism in the Court of Charles V. The Influence of Erasmus

Make references to the sources. Illustrate your points with references to the material discussed in class.

B.  What were the important themes of Philip II’s reign? What were its successes? What were its failures?  In detail discuss two of the following:

1.  The Defeat of the Spanish Armada

2.  The Alpujarras uprising of 1568

3.  The Antonio Perez Affair

4.  The Administration of the Empire

5.  Foreign Affairs

6.  The New World

Make references to the sources. Illustrate your points with references to the material discussed in class

C.  What happened to Spain in the early seventeenth century? Was there a decline? What was the nature of the decline? Knowing what you do about the reforms of the catholic Monarchs, why did Spain almost disintegrate in 1640? What were the causes of the collapse of Spain?

D.  In the last four chapters of Spanish Society, I attempt to recreate the patterns of everyday life and Spanish attitudes towards honor, dress, food, travel, entertainment, magic, representations, and the like. Select two of these themes and discuss them in detail with references to the primary sources and the historical context.

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