Ariel - José Enrique Rodó

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Résumé :
Ariel (1922) is an essay by Jos? Enrique Rod?. Originally published in Spanish in 1900, Ariel was translated into English just five years after the author's death by F. J. Stimson, the former U. S. Ambassador to Argentina. The essay was immediately influential in Uruguay and across Latin America as an essential document of modernismo, a literary movement which sought to unite classical values and contemporary culture through a devotion to beauty and form. The gifts of the youthful spirit-enthusiasm and hope-correspond in the harmonies of history and natural history to movement and to light. Wherever you shall turn your eyes you will find these, the natural atmosphere in which move all things that are strong and beautiful. Captivated by a bronze statue of Ariel from Shakespeare's The Tempest, a teacher known as Prospero speaks passionately to his young students on the eve of summer vacation. Taking a historical view of human civilization, Jos? Enrique Rod? applies the teachings of the Enlightenment to the political reality facing Latin America in the early twentieth century. Promoting morality and idealism over the encroaching utilitarianism of North America, Rod? crafted what one critic called the ethical gospel of the Spanish-speaking new world. Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book. With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.

Biographie:

Jos? Enrique Rod? (1871-1917) was a Uruguayan philosopher, educator, and essayist. Born and raised in Montevideo, Rod? was a major figure of the modernismo literary movement. In 1898, he was appointed professor of literature at the University of the Republic. Additionally, Rod? served as the director of the National Library of Uruguay and as a member of the Chamber of Deputies. Through his correspondence with Leopoldo Alas of Spain, Jos? de la Riva-Ag?ero of Peru, and Rub?n Dar?o of Nicaragua, Rod? became the leading theorist of modernista literature, which sought to unite classical values and contemporary culture through a devotion to beauty and form. His major contribution to Latin American literature was Ariel (1900), an influential essay inspired by characters from Shakespeare's The Tempest. The essay is structured as a lecture by Prospero on authors from throughout European history. Ariel and Caliban, respectively the positive and negative aspects of human nature, represent the opposing forces of good and evil, the beautiful and the utilitarian in everyday life. Throughout his career, Rod? criticized the process of nordoman?a, a term he used to describe the growing influence of North American values on Latin American culture.