Spanish Tales for Beginners
Autor: Elijah Clarence Hills
Número de Páginas: 416IN selecting these Spanish Tales for Beginners, three objects have been kept in view: (1) that they be good literature, (2) that they portray modern Spanish life, and (3) that they be interesting and not too difficult in language and thought. Some of the stories do not conform to all three rules,—the first two, for instance, do not portray modern Spanish life; but I hope that most of them will be found to conform fully. A few short lyric poems have also been included, since poetry forms an integral part of literature. Verse, moreover, is better for oral work and memorizing than prose. Spain has a rich and varied literature, from which other nations have freely drawn,—a literature that gives true expression to the life and aspirations of the Spanish people. The selections in this volume are taken from literary works that have been written in the past fifty or sixty years, and although they are inferior in some respects to the great master-pieces of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, I believe that they have literary excellence, and they have, besides, the advantage of being written in the language of today and of describing present-day life. It is my greatest wish that...