World Literature And Its Times: Spanish And Portuguese Literature And Their Times
by David Galens /
2001 / English / PDF
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This is the fifth of a projected 12-volume series from Gale that examines world literature from a historical, rather than strictly literary, perspective. Previous volumes highlighted African (2000), Latin American (1999), and British and Irish [RBB D 15 01] literature. The premise of the series is that literature offers clues to the history of its people and leads to insight on their perspectives, emotions, and actions. Volume 5 features 51 signed entries averaging 10 pages in length, authored by scholars from universities in the U.S and beyond. Each entry focuses on a particular title culled from Spanish and Portuguese literature. Examples include Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico Garcia Lorca, The Interior Castle by Saint Teresa of Avila, and The Quest by Pio Baroja. Criteria for inclusion ask that the work be frequently studied, tied to pivotal events in history, and have enduring appeal. Works must be originally written either in Portuguese or Castilian (the standard form of Spanish) and translated into English; the literature of small nations such as Catalonia, the Basque provinces, or Galicia has been excluded. There is an inclusive time line at the beginning of the book presenting historical events in Spain and Portugal, with the related literary works listed beside them to encourage comparison. Entries are arranged alphabetically by title of the work, but there are also separate author, title, and general indexes to provide alternate methods of access. The amalgamation of history and literature that the World Literature and Its Times series offers its readers is unique and invaluable to those not expert in world history. The content in this particular volume is especially unparalleled because most of these authors are excluded from Gale's other literary criticism series. Small overlaps of author coverage occur in Modern Spanish and Portuguese Literatures (Continuum, 1988), which features criticism from works in the twentieth century, and the Dictionary of the Literature of the Iberian Peninsula (Greenwood, 1993). However, neither of these focuses on the events and attitudes of the historical period, placed in the context of a specific work. This volume is indispensable for schools with foreign literature classes in Spanish or Portuguese due to the paucity of English-language foreign literature guides. One could quibble over the works chosen for scrutiny, but what is included is well covered. Recommended for high-school, public, and academic libraries.
