Introducción a la literatura Española

This text is part of a Focus series of student editions in Spanish designed for students of Spanish and general readers who are not native speakers. Each book carries the full text, notes, introduction and questions in the manner of Advanced Literature Placement examination questions. All are in Spanish and are designed to help the reader approach the materials with both linguistic, literary and cultural issues.

Introducción a la literatura española offers a comprehensive introduction to Spanish literature for students of Spanish at the AP high school and third year college levels. The book maps the development of the three major literary genres: narrative, poetry and theater, from the Middle Ages through the 20th century, and includes works by Don Juan Manuel, Garcilaso de la Vega, Miguel de Cervantes, Juan Meléndez Valdés, Federico García Lorca, and more. In addition to the selected readings, Introducción a la literatura española also features a cultural and historical overview of Spain. This panoramic view will enable students to place the selected works within a specific cultural, historical, and literary context. Each reading is followed by a series of drills that are designed to question the student's basic understanding of the story and develop critical analysis skills. Due to the difficulty presented by poetry a special section devoted to the study of poetic language, "Introducción al análisis de la poesía," is included to help students count syllables and identify rhymes and the different types of verses. It also provides an introduction to the study of the most common rhetorical figures used in poetry.

About the Authors:

Paola Bianco is an Associate Professor of Spanish at Wilkes University. She earned her PhD from UNC-Chapel Hill and has published books and articles on poetry, literature, Italian culture and Hispanic women writers. 

Antonio Sobejano-Morán is Professor of Spanish at SUNY Binghamton since 1986. He received his PhD from the University of Michigan, and has published extensively in the field of Spanish literature. He has taught language and literature courses at many levels, and served as AP table leader in Spanish and Latin American literature for ETS.