Literature from Spain Trivia

1. What is the title of the renowned novel satirizing the rites of chivalry, along with many other inbred social patterns? Among other characters, the novel features two literary classics: Sancho Panza and the sought-after comic-heroine Dulcinea.

From Quiz Literature in Spanish

Answer: Don Quixote

This novel by Miguel de Cervantes satirizes the age of chivalry and its heroic principles. The novel implodes fairy tales both in social and private life. Additionally, it includes inset stories, journey and dystopian fiction. Most importantly, the figures of the suffering, idealistic Don Quixote and his faithful earthy ally, Sancho Panza, have earned the respect, laughter and tears of generations of readers.

From Quiz Literature in Spanish

Answer: La madre naturaleza

Emilia Pardo Bazán is a writer who has not gained the attention she deserves. The nineteenth century novel 'La Madre Naturaleza' is both an extended praise of nature in a world which may be changing to disrespect nature and also a powerful Naturalist critique of the values of late nineteenth century Spain.

From Quiz Spanish Literature (Peninsular)

Answer: Late middle ages (13th century)

This was a literary movement that was more formal than the early middle ages' "Mester de Juglaría", and its biggest exponent was Gonzalo de Berceo. The movement began to spread literature to the more well-read and cultured members of society. It usually was written by clerics and ecclesiastic authorities. Its main characteristics are: use of cultured and refined language; historical or religious themes with didactic purposes; more demanding structure than earlier poetic forms, and alexandrine meter.

From Quiz Literature in Spanish

Answer: Lazarillo de Tormes y de sus fortunas y adversidades

This anonymous sixteenth century novella belongs to a genre called the 'picaresque.' It recounts from the vantage point of a sometimes lower class narrator a series of events occurring in many places. It also ironically depicts people from highly diverse social classes. Often, these forms of fiction introduce the stories of people hidden or outlawed from "respectable" society. Parts of this particular novel were banned at one time because of scenes and comments which were considered anti-clerical.

From Quiz Spanish Literature (Peninsular)

Answer: "La Celestina "by Fernando de Rojas

This work, written by Fernando de Rojas during the reign of the catholic kings of Spain Fernando and Isabel, is considered by scholars to mark the beginning of the Spanish Renaissance. There are no known written works from him after this. The story is about the love that Calisto feels for Melibea; however, it is unrequited and Melibea rejects his proposal. Faced with her rejection, he is advised by his servant Sempronio to resort to witchcraft; in the end, it all backfires.

From Quiz Spanish Literature (Peninsular)

Answer: "Lazarillo de Tormes", published anonymously

This novel made a transcendental impact on Spanish literature. It was a realistic innovation that expressed the way of thinking of many sectors of Spanish society, something that had not been done before. Despite its importance, the author is unknown - the content of the book was considered to be dangerously heretical, so anonymity was prudent.

From Quiz Literature in Spanish

Answer: La Celestina

Calisto, a nobleman, sees and falls in love with Melibea after Celestina (whom he hired) arranged a meeting between them. He has a highly unromantic death, falling from a ladder leaving Melibea's house. Melibea, a beautiful girl, is talked into meeting Calisto. Her death is a suicide. The novel poignantly emphasizes the class difference between then. Celestina is a famous literary type in medieval literature. Her job is literally to find ways to get people to meet (for a fee, of course). She is a mixture of the bawdy, the comic and the pathetic.

From Quiz Spanish Literature (Peninsular)

Answer: Lope de Vega

This new style created by Lope de Vega opposed the original standards imposed by Roman and Greek cultures. Some of its most distinguishable characteristics include: the National Theater's emphasis on the use of three acts instead of the traditional five; the new standard promoting unity between tragedy and comedy; the use of nationalistic themes from traditional Spanish literature. Tirso de Molina wrote in the Baroque period; Pedro Calderón de la Barca wrote in the Golden Age, and is considered the successor to the innovative Lope de Vega; Fernando de Rojas wrote at the end of the Spanish middle ages (or the start of the Renaissance, depending on which authority you consult).

From Quiz Literature in Spanish

Answer: Soldados de Salamina

Javier Cercas was born in Extremadura in 1962. His 2001 novel seems to refer to the classical Greeks, but actually the novel takes place in Spain during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). Cercas the novelist becomes a character in this novel which many call "factoid fiction," that is, a blend of fiction and non-fiction. This novel was a huge best seller in Spain and became a film in 2003.

From Quiz Spanish Literature (Peninsular)

Answer: "Burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra" by Tirso de Molina

Don Juan was a legendary character with questionable morals who would take advantage of women's emotions to satisfy his own appetites. When questioned about his morals he would answer, "Que largo me lo Fiais", meaning that he would repent at the time of his death. However, this backfired in a major way.

From Quiz Literature in Spanish

Answer: Niebla

Miguel de Unamuno (1864-1936) is a pivotal, awe-inspiring figure who died in the midst of the Franquist uprising in Spain. He wrote in all literary genres, wanting to find ways to erase differences between them. Ever a radical, he invented his new term for novels, "Nivolas,' to name a form not as factual or cut and dried as objective realist fiction. He is famous for this belief, "My religion is to seek for truth in life and for life in truth, even knowing that I shall not find them while I live."

From Quiz Spanish Literature (Peninsular)

Answer: Francisco de Quevedo

Francisco de Quevedo y Villegas was an influential nobleman and writer. Along with his rival Luis de Góngora, he was one of the most prominent poets of this era. "Conceptismo" is characterized by simple vocabulary, witty metaphors, and wordplay. It contrasts with "culteranismo", espoused by his rival Luis de Góngora, which is characterized by ostentatious vocabulary, complex syntactical order, and complicated metaphors.

From Quiz Literature in Spanish

Answer: La lucha por la vida

Pío Baroja is a major early twentieth century writer who wrote various trilogies. Also a physician, his "El árbol de la ciencia" ("The Tree of Science") grapples with the issue of belief and knowing. His main character becomes more negative the more he comes to know. This is an echo of the pessimism which would develop in the wake of World War I. Ernest Hemingway is said to have respected Baroja's writing enormously.

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Last Updated Apr 22 2024 11:05 AM

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