Reading comp PrepTest 121 · Section 2 · Question 8

Topic: Humanities

Paragraph 1

• Paragraph note
  • Despite their shared language, Spanish poetry from Latin America and Spain are different
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Comparison
    • Although they have language “in common,” Spanish from Latin America and Spain are different – the former is more open and influenced by other languages (sentences one and two)
    • Early Latin American poetry may have been more linguistically-united but the language of modern Latin American poetry reveals the influence of centuries in the Americas (sentence four)
  • Definition
    • Castilian Spanish: the official and literary version of the Spanish language based on Castile region dialect (sentence three)
  • Causality
    • Because Castilian Spanish was a standardized language transported to the Americas, some critics believe there is as much linguistic unity in Latin American as there is in Spain poetry (sentence three)
  • Author attitude: “[i]n spite of” (sentence one); “while some” (sentence three); “although,” “cannot help but” (sentence four)

Paragraph 2

• Paragraph note
  • Latin American and Spain poets have different attitudes towards their own language
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Comparison
    • Latin American poetry is critical or irreverent in its attitude towards language; Spanish poets are more accepting of the Spanish-language (sentence one); Latin American poets started avant-garde and modernism movements (sentence two) while the Spaniards greeted these movements with reluctance and seem to take their language for granted–not using it in radical ways (sentence three)
  • Example (of differing attitudes toward language)
    • Spanish-language modernism and avant-garde movements originated in Latin America (sentence two)
  • Definition
    • Modernism and avant-garde: literary movements that used language in innovative and challenging ways (sentence two)
  • Author Attitude: “seem” (sentence three)

Paragraph 3

• Paragraph note
  • That Spain has a cohesive and long-term linguistic past, and Latin America does not, leads to differences in their respective poetries
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Comparison (also a List of differences)
    • Latin American poetry enthusiastically responds to the modern world while Spanish poetry more culturally conservative (sentence one), a Spanish-language past that literally does not exist in Latin American (sentence two); Latin American poetry is curious about literature from other cultures and exploring non-Spanish poetry structures (sentence three); there is no pristine cultural past for the Latin American poets, only the fluid interaction of all world cultures or extensive time before culture began (sentence six)
  • Definition
    • Spain poetry’s cultural conservatism: the desire to return to an ideal culture of the distant past (sentence one)
  • Example (of non-Spanish poetry structures explored by Latin American poets)
    • First Spanish versions of the Japanese haiku were from José Juan Tablada from Mexico (sentence four)
  • Causality
    • Lack of a cohesive past leads Latin American poets to search for a world before recorded history (sentence five)
      • This is actually a passage-length domino effect: historical differences between the cultures lead to differences between Latin American and Spain Spanish, which leads to (or is concurrent with) differences in attitudes toward their own language, which leads to differences in the structure and themes of their poetry
    • Example (of searching for pre-historic worlds)
      • Chilean poet Pablo Neruda noteworthily developed a creation myth for the earth (sentence five)
    • Author Attitude: “most distinct” (sentence one)

Main Point:

That Spain has a cohesive and long-term linguistic past, and Latin America does not, leads to differences in how they use the Spanish language, what they think of the Spanish language, and how they write poetry

P1, S1 - Phenomenon stated

P3, S1 & S2 - Explanation of distinct motivations

This passage utilizes a Phenomenon/Explanation Meta-Structure, in which an observable fact, behavior, or situation is described—in this case, the many differences between Spanish and Latin American poetry despite their shared language. The author begins this passage by noting that “in spite of” their shared language, their poetry is quite different. The “in spite of” is key to noticing that there is an interesting phenomenon going on that the author will likely explain or rationalize. Note that the first paragraph actually focuses more on how the languages are different, while the second paragraph discusses how the respective poets’ attitudes towards those languages are different, and then finally the third paragraph explains why this would be.

The passage is peppered throughout with Comparisons between the two poetry styles. We do not expect you to memorize every single Comparison point by point, but remembering a few key differences will really help prepare us for the questions while knowing we may have to go back to the passage for any details we do not know. The differences between the two types of poetry include the fact that poetry from Latin America is more open and influenced by other languages, while being more critical or irreverent in its attitude towards language (and open to non-Spanish poetry and forms) while Spanish poets are more accepting of their own language. Latin American poetry also approves of the modern world while their Spain counterparts seem to yearn for their idyllic ancient past.

In Phenomenon/Explanation passages, the main point is the author’s explanation of the phenomenon (alternatively, if the author quibbles with the explanation, then the author's opinion of the explanation is the main point). The author states that Spain has a cohesive and long-term linguistic past, and Latin America does not, which leads to differences in how they use the Spanish language, what they think of the Spanish language, and how they write poetry

Comparison

This passage makes extensive use of the Comparison Minor Meta-Structures as it examines the differences (and causes of said differences) between Latin American and Spanish Spanish poetry. Making a note of these Comparisons, whether mentally or physically highlighting them or noting it on them on note paper, will help us understand and recall key features of these Comparisons and be ready for the questions.

At first glance, especially upon reading the first sentence, it seems like this passage is only discussing the difference between the two styles of poetry. However, the author actually goes deeper than that and looks at the root causes that lead to a difference in poetry styles between two cultures. Here, it is a domino effect: historical differences between the cultures lead to differences between Latin American and Spain Spanish, which leads to (or is concurrent with) differences in attitudes toward their own language, which leads to differences in the structure and themes of their poetry.