Elena has a PhD in linguistics from University of La Laguna (Spain). Currently, she teaches Spanish as a foreign language and creates teaching resources.
What kind of literary works do you prefer reading? Do you know any poems in Spanish? Do you know the Spanish term for 'essay'? We're going to look at some basic vocabulary that will come in handy to talk about literatura (lee-teh-rah-TOO-rah) in Spanish. Technical or specific vocabulary can be tricky, but don't worry! Luckily, literary terms in Spanish are quite similar to English.
Keep reading to discover these basic terms in Spanish. Let's get on with it!
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Let's start with the definition of género (pronounced: HEH-neh-roh), or genre (ie a group or category in which we can classify literary works depending on their structure and content). The main types are:
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Now take a look at the following extracts. Each one belongs to a different literary genre. Can you match them?
A)
Por una mirada, un mundo,
por una sonrisa, un cielo,
por un beso... ¡yo no sé
que te diera por un beso!
(For a glance, a world,
for a smile, a heaven,
for a kiss… I do not know
what I would you give for a kiss!)
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Rima XXIII (1868).
B)
El día en que lo iban a matar, Santiago Nasar se levantó a las 5.30 de la mañana para esperar el buque en que llegaba el obispo.
(On the day they were going to kill him, Santiago Nasar got up at five thirty in the morning to wait for the ship the bishop was coming on.)
Gabriel García Márquez, Crónica de una muerte anunciada (1981).
C)
Hay un hecho que, para bien o para mal, es el más importante en la vida pública europea de la hora presente. Este hecho es el advenimiento de las masas al pleno poderío social.
(There is one fact which, whether for good or ill, is of utmost importance in the public life of Europe at the present moment. This fact is the accession of the masses to complete social power.)
José Ortega y Gasset, La rebelión de las masas (1929).
D)
La Poncia: No tendrás queja ninguna. Ha venido todo el pueblo.
Bernarda: Sí, para llenar mi casa con el sudor de sus refajos y el veneno de sus lenguas.
Amelia: ¡Madre, no hable usted así!
(La Poncia: You can't complain. The whole village has come.
Bernarda: Yes, to fill my house with the sweat from their clothing and the venom of their tongues.
Amelia: Mother, don't you speak like that!)
Federico García Lorca, La casa de Bernarda Alba (1936).
The answers are:
A) Poesía.
B) Narrativa.
C) Ensayo.
D) Drama.
Easy, right? Let's now learn other literary terms.
Let's focus on some of the characteristics that make up literary works.
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Read these verses by the Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío aloud. What sound is repeated?
La princesa está triste… ¿Qué tendrá la princesa?
Los suspiros se escapan de su boca de fresa.
(The princess is sad… What ails her?
Sighs escape from her strawberry lips.)
In this beautiful poem, the repetition of the 's' actually evokes the sound of her sighs.
And last but not least, two terms that define us as recipients of a literary work:
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In this lesson, we've learned the basic terms we need to talk about literatura in Spanish.
We've seen the main genres, or géneros, which are: narrativa (narrative), poesía (poetry), drama (drama), and ensayo (essay).
We've taken a look at the main elements in literary works, including personaje (character), argumento (plot), ambiente (environment), and tema (theme).
Also, we've seen aspects such as figura retórica (rhetorical device), a technique used to embellish the expression.
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AP Spanish Literature and Culture: Exam Prep13 chapters | 57 lessons | 5 flashcard sets
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