AP Literature Exam 2003

Spanish Literature The Course

All changes became effective as of the 2002-2003 academic year.

Selecting Works From Seven Centuries of Hispanic Literature
One of the main differences between this list and previous ones is the inclusion of works written before the twentieth century. These will expose students to a wide variety of genres and types of discourse and will enable students to trace the history of Spanish prose from Don Juan Manuel to modern times through some of its most brilliant practitioners. The reading list is also intended to acquaint students with significant works that have become sources for literature and art worldwide. The fourteenth-century work "Lo que sucedió a un mozo que casó con una mujer muy fuerte y muy brava" comes from Don Juan Manuel's collection El Conde Lucanor, which Angel Flores says "may be considered the earli-est European work of fiction written in the vernacular, and its author Spain's first short story writer, and of course one of the founders of Spanish prose."
To facilitate their use in the AP classroom in a variety of ways, works on the new AP Spanish Literature reading list had to meet the following criteria. They had to be:
  • 1. of an appropriate length, ideally those that can be included in their entirety;
  • 2. of intrinsic literary value, as well as representative of significant genres, literary periods, and geographical areas;
  • 3. thematically related to each other, when possible, to permit comparison and tracing of themes;
  • 4. readily available in anthologies or on the Internet; and
  • 5. appealing to students.
    Students should read authentic editions (abridged or translated versions are not appropriate) of all the works on this list, except where choice is indicated. Works from the list will be asked about specifically on the AP Spanish Literature Exam, beginning in May 2003.
    Here the list is organized by period and author, but of course the works need not be presented in this particular order. The list lends itself to curricula structured to highlight theme, genre, and other qualities of the works. See the AP Central Web site for more information.

    Medieval and Golden Age Literature

    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 socio-cultural 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. In discussion of the works on 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
  • 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")
  • Juan Manuel, Infante de Castilla, Conde Lucanor: Exemplo XXXV. ("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 El convidado de piedra
  • Vega, Garcilaso de la, Soneto XXIII ("En tanto que de rosa y de azucena")

    Nineteenth-Century Literature

    In this section of the list, works from Spanish America become more numerous. Ricardo Palma's "El alacrén de Fray Gómez" is a beautiful tale that might even be said to foreshadow the magical realism that character-izes 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.
  • 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 (Felix Rubén García Sarmiento), 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"

    Twentieth-Century Literature

    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 Hispanic heritage, Sabine R. Ulibarrí from New Mexico, is included because of the importance of Hispanic contribu-tions to the culture of the United States. His story "El 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.
    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 (Ricardo Neftalí Reyes Basoalto), "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 y Jugo, Miguel de, San Manuel Bueno, mártir
  • Vodanovic, Sergio, El delantal blanco

    Many of these authors can be found at EspañOlé - página de la literatura


    On-line resources:

    El Autor de la Semana,   Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra,   BitBlioteca, and  Poesía.

    Booksellers
  • Amazon Books Barnes and Noble Booksellers
  • Bastos Educational Services
  • Borders Books and Music
  • Continental Book Company
  • Cultura Latina Bookstore
  • Ediciones Universal
  • Films for the Humanities and Sciences
  • Lectorum Publications, Inc.
  • Librería Crisol
  • Librería de Porrúa Hnos. Y Cia.
  • Librería Ghandi
  • Libros Latinos
  • Marcial Pons Librero
  • Midwest European Publications
  • National Textbook Company
  • Puvill Libros, S.A.
  • Schoenhof's Foreign Books

    The Examination

    The AP Spanish Literature Exam Format - May 2003
    I. Multiple Choice 40% / 80 minutes Reading Analysis
    II. Free Response 60%/ 110 minutes
    Essay #1 Poetry Analysis (20/ 30) Analysis of a poem not on the required reading list, though it may be by an author on the list
    Essay #2 Thematic Analysis (20/ 40) Analysis of specified works from the required reading list, or Comparison of two specified authors from the required reading list
    Essay #3 Text Analysis (20/ 40) Analysis of an excerpt from a work on the required reading list, or Analysis of critical commentary about a work on the required reading list
    (Evaluation of content accounts for 70 percent of each essay's score, evaluation of language usage accounts for 30 percent.)

    Section I: Multiple-Choice Questions
    Section I of the exam will contain several texts for students to read and analyze. The texts may or may not come from the required reading list. Each text will be followed by several multiple-choice questions. Note: Beginning with the May 2003 exam, there will no longer be a lec-ture as there had been on the exams for 2002 and previous years. The over-all exam will be 3 hours and 10 minutes long; Section I will have 65 items to be answered in 80 minutes. The score weight previously contributed by the lecture will be apportioned between Section I and Section II.

    Literary Analysis of Passages
    This portion of the examination is designed to measure students' skill in analyzing passages whose authors may or may not be familiar to them. The questions test interpretive and analytical skills as well as reading comprehension. Although the passages will consist primarily of prose fiction, essays, and literary criticism, poetry and drama may also be included. Students should be familiar with the basic elements of Spanish versification, such as meter and rhyme.


    Section II: Free-Response Questions
    Section II of the exam will consist of three essay questions for which 1 hour and 50 minutes are allotted. Each essay will be evaluated for content as well as the degree to which language usage supports that con-tent. Evaluation of content will account for 70 percent of each essayıs score; evaluation of language usage will account for 30 percent of each essay's score.

    Essay 1: Poetry Analysis  (Suggested time -30 minutes)
    An essay analyzing how a given theme is treated in a particular poem. The poem is not from the required list, and may or may not be by one of the authors on the list. (The poem is printed in the exam.) Analiza el tema de la evasión en el siguiente poema. En tu ensayo debes incluir un estudio de los recursos técnicos y el lenguaje poético

    Essay 2: Thematic Analysis   (Suggested time - 40 minutes)
    May be one of two different types (only one will appear on any given exam)
  • Type A
    An essay analyzing how a given theme is treated by one author from the required reading list. (Appropriate works from two or more authors are listed in the exam and the student has to base his/her response on one of them).
  • Type B
    An essay comparing how a given theme and/or topic is treated in two works. Students may either be given two specific works or a list of works from which they are then asked to select two and base their response on them. (Examples of works by various authors, representing a variety of genres, are listed in the exam.)

    Essay 3: Text Analysis   (Suggested time - 40 minutes)
    May be one of two different types (only one will appear on any given exam):
  • Type A
    Short answers to two or three open-ended questions about an excerpt from a work on the required reading list. (The excerpt is printed in the exam.)
  • Type B
    An essay analyzing critical commentary about a particular work from the required reading list. (The critical commentary is printed in the exam.)

    (For specific examples, questions and answers, see the AP website)

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