Las+Obras

De: //Spanish Literature// //© 2008 The College Board. All rights reserved. Visit the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.com.//

The works on the required reading list from the medieval and Golden Age periods are some of the finest in the literary history of Spain and Latin America. Included are texts that use humor or poetic language masterfully or that reflect dramatic events in Spain’s history, such as the Reconquest, the exploration of America, and the decline of the Spanish Empire. The two romances on the list, the “Romance de la pérdida de Alhama” and the “Romance del Conde Arnaldos,” introduce students to the verse form that became a part of Hispanic cultures worldwide and also evoke the sociocultural milieu of medieval Spain, with its fascinating mix of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, and the growth of the nobility during the Reconquest. Other works such as **Cabeza de Vaca’s chronicle Naufragios** and **Quevedo’s seventeenth-century poem “Miré los muros de la patria mía”** might be used to explore the rise and decline of the Spanish empire. Quevedo’s poem, additionally, introduces students to the sonnet form.
 * Medieval and Golden Age Literature**

In discussion of the works in the medieval and Golden Age section of the list, topics will surface that will reappear in later periods: for example, the two works by **Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz**, whose remarkable life and writings as a brilliant, scholarly nun in colonial Mexico raise questions about gender stereotypes and roles.

Anónimo, “Romance de la pérdida de Alhama” (“Ay de mi Alhama”) Anónimo, “Romance del Conde Arnaldos” (Versión de 26 versos) Anónimo, Lazarillo de Tormes: Tratados 1, 2, 3, 7 (otra versión) Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de, El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha: Primera parte, Capítulos I, II, III, IV, V y VIII Cruz, Sor Juana Inés de la, “En perseguirme, Mundo, ¿qué interesas?” (Quéjase de la suerte: insinúa su aversión a los vicios, y justifica su divertimiento a las Musas) “Hombres necios que acusáis” (Sátira filosófica: Arguye de inconsecuentes el gusto y la censura de los hombres que en las mujeres acusan lo que causan) Góngora y Argote, Luis de, Soneto CLXVI (“Mientras por competir con tu cabello”) Don Juan Manuel, Infante de Castilla, Conde Lucanor: Exemplo XXXV.o (“Lo que sucedió a un mozo que casó con una mujer muy fuerte y muy brava”) Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Álvar, Naufragios: Capítulo XII (“Cómo los indios nos trajeron de comer”), Capítulo XX (“De cómo nos huimos”), Capítulo XXI (“De cómo curamos aquí unos dolientes”), Capítulo XXII (“Cómo otro día nos trajeron otros enfermos”) Quevedo y Villegas, Francisco de, Heráclito cristiano: Salmo XVII (“Miré los muros de la patria mía”) Téllez, Gabriel (Tirso de Molina), El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra Vega, Garcilaso de la, Soneto XXIII (“En tanto que de rosa y de azucena”)

In this section of the list, works from Spanish America become more numerous. **Ricardo Palma’s** “El alacrán de Fray Gómez” is a beautiful tale that might even be said to foreshadow the magical realism that characterizes some Latin American literature in the twentieth century. Another addition to the list, **Rubén Darío**, is one of the founders of **Modernismo**, the first literary movement said to have spread from Latin America to Spain instead of vice versa. He thus represents, in a sense, the passing of the torch of literary leadership from Spain to Spanish America. **Darío** also represents Central America in the panorama of authors on the list.
 * Nineteenth-Century Literature**

Alas, Leopoldo (Clarín), “Adiós, Cordera” Bécquer, Gustavo Adolfo, Rima IV (“No digáis que agotado su tesoro”) Rima XI (“Yo soy ardiente, yo soy morena”) Rima LIII (“Volverán las oscuras golondrinas”) Darío, Rubén, Cantos de vida y esperanza: Otros poemas, VI (“Canción de otoño en primavera”) Cantos de vida y esperanza: Otros poemas, XLI (“Lo fatal”) Cantos de vida y esperanza, VIII (“A Roosevelt”) Espronceda, José de, “Canción del pirata” Heredia, José María, “En una tempestad” Larra, Mariano José de, “Vuelva Ud. mañana” Martí, José, “Dos patrias” (“Dos patrias tengo yo: Cuba y la noche”) Versos sencillos, I (“Yo soy un hombre sincero”) Palma, Ricardo, “El alacrán de Fray Gómez” Pardo Bazán, Emilia, “Las medias rojas”

The twentieth-century readings expose students to a select group of works that represent various countries and perspectives. In addition to authors from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, the Southern Cone, and Central America, an American writer of Mexican heritage, Sabine R. Ulibarrí from New Mexico, is included because of the importance of contributions of persons from Hispanic and Latino cultures to the culture of the United States. His story “Mi caballo mago” captures the quality of life in a small, Spanish-speaking village in northern New Mexico at the time of the author’s childhood and also shows that the cultivation of magical realism was not entirely confined to Latin America per se.
 * Twentieth-Century Literature**

The list not only reflects geographical variety in the selection of authors, it also reflects diversity in gender and ethnicity. For this reason, the Afro-Cuban poetry of
 * Nicolás Guillén**, as well as the works of a number of significant women writers, such as **Alfonsina Storni** from Argentina, **Julia de Burgos** from Puerto Rico, and **Rosario Castellanos** from Mexico, are included. The works of these authors can be linked to readings from the pre-twentieth-century sections of the reading list through questions of gender and race.

Allende, Isabel, “Dos palabras” Borges, Jorge Luis, “El sur” “La muerte y la brújula” Burgos, Julia de, “A Julia de Burgos” Castellanos, Rosario, “Autorretrato” Cortázar, Julio, “Continuidad de los parques” “La noche boca arriba” Fuentes, Carlos, “Chac Mool” García Lorca, Federico, La casa de Bernarda Alba Dos romances del Romancero gitano García Márquez, Gabriel, Tres cuentos, elegidos de la lista siguiente: “Un día de éstos” “El ahogado más hermoso del mundo” “La prodigiosa tarde de Baltazar” “Un señor muy viejo con unas alas enormes” “La viuda de Montiel” “La siesta del martes” Guillén, Nicolás, “Balada de los dos abuelos” “Sensemayá” Machado, Antonio, “He andado muchos caminos” “La primavera besaba” “Caminante, son tus huellas” Martín Gaite, Carmen, “Las ataduras” Neruda, Pablo, “Oda a la alcachofa” Residencia en la Tierra 2, “Walking around” Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada, Poema 15 (“Me gustas cuando callas porque estás como ausente”) Quiroga, Horacio, “El hijo” Rulfo, Juan, “No oyes ladrar los perros” Storni, Alfonsina, “Peso ancestral” “Tú me quieres blanca” Ulibarrí, Sabine R., “Mi caballo mago” Unamuno, Miguel de, San Manuel Bueno, mártir Vodanovic, Sergio, El delantal blanco

//Spanish Literature// //© 2008 The College Board. All rights reserved. Visit the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.com.//