This module will give an overview of the main characteristics and periods of Spanish poetry from 1936-1975. The goal in this module is to study how the leading poets and singer-songwriters during the Franco dictatorship in 20th-century Spain use the lyric mode to negotiate the relationship between themselves and society at key turning points in the nation's history. It will seek to understand the role played by context in conditioning the decisions poets and singer-songwriters make in adopting the epic, elegiac, didactic, or testimonial mode of expression. To this end, the module will focus on the analysis of the work of Carmen Conde, Blas de Otero and Ángel González as key representative poets of the poetry written under the Francoist dictatorship and the role played by singer-songwriters to express social and political protest through the interpretation of poems. Key essays (critical and theoretical), some by the poets themselves, will be studied to provide critical tools for discussing how the public experience is lyricized through the intimate filter of the poet's own sensitivity.
This module is normally aimed at final year students who have chosen Spanish as main language. It builds on the critical and analytic skills that students will have developed in Studies Modules in Years 1 and 2.
Week 1: Historical overview. Relationship between music and poetry. The role of singer-songwriters. Censorship.
Week 2: Spanish Civil War poetry and Carmen Conde, Mientras los hombres mueren.
Week 3: Carmen Conde, Mientras los hombres mueren.
Week 4: Testimonial poetry and singer-songwriters.
Week 5: Testimonial poetry and Blas de Otero: Ángel fieramente humano.
Week 6: Political poetry and Political song.
Week 7: Political poetry and Blas de Otero: Pido la paz y la palabra.
Week 8: New directions for Spanish Poetry: a new era, a new poetics.
Week 9: Generation of ’50 and singer-songwriters.
Week 10: Ethical Poetry and Ángel González: Sin esperanza con convencimiento.
Week 11: Ethical Poetry and Ángel González: Sin esperanza con convencimiento.
Week 12: Student-led discussion on the topics seen in the module.
- Direct instruction: Two lecture hours per week.
- Enquiry based learning: students will develop their research and oral skills through group presentations, short quizzes and short task-assessments to be prepared for next class.
- Cooperative learning: Think-Pair Share when commenting poems and songs.
- E-learning: All basic course information and the materials studied will be available through Brightspace.
| Module Content & Assessment | |
|---|---|
| Assessment Breakdown | % |
| Formal Examination | 50 |
| Other Assessment(s) | 50 |