FRQ 1, FRQ 2, FRQ 3, FRQ 4 AP Spanish Literature REVIEW

The first FRQ (2024 example) focuses on Juan Rulfo's "No oyes ladrar los perros," highlighting themes like the lack of communication between father and son. The analysis points out the distant relationship shown through the son's silence, the father's reproaches and continued hope, and how the monologue and silence create tension and distance, ultimately developing the lack of communication theme. Students have 15 minutes for this section.

The second FRQ (2024 example) requires comparing a literary text with a visual artwork, focusing on societies in contact and symbolism. The example uses Rubén Darío's "A Roosevelt" and Frida Kahlo's "Autorretrato entre México y Estados Unidos." Darío uses the lion to symbolize the powerful, imperialist U.S. and 'loose cubs' for Latin American independence. Kahlo's painting contrasts Mexican cultural pride with U.S. modernization and pollution. Both works negatively portray the U.S. while highlighting indigenous American cultural pride. Students have 15 minutes for this, and it's recommended to prioritize FRQ 3 and 4.

The third FRQ (practice question) analyzes Garcilaso de la Vega's Sonnet 23, focusing on its characteristics as a sonnet and its historical context in 16th-century Spain's Renaissance. The sonnet's structure (two quatrains and two tercets) is explained, showing how the quatrains describe female beauty and the tercets advise 'Carpe Diem.' Literary devices like apostrophe and chromaticism are used to emphasize this theme. The historical context of humanism, artistic renewal, and a return to classicism is also discussed, supported by textual evidence.

The fourth FRQ (2018 example) compares Francisco de Quevedo's "Salmo XVII" and Antonio Machado's "Campos de Soria," focusing on personification, gradation, and symbolism to explore themes of time and space. "Salmo XVII" uses personification to show Spain's decay and gradation to present a declining perspective from country to self, emphasizing 'memento mori.' "Campos de Soria" personifies Soria, expressing nostalgia for its past and using symbolism (fields, rivers, abandoned towns) to reflect the effects of time and a melancholic present. Both poems highlight the impact of time and space, with Quevedo focusing on personal pessimism and Machado on cultural landscape and memory.