Entre voz y el silencio. By Margit Frenk. Alcala de Henares: Biblioteca de estudios cervantinos, 1997. 148 pages. Over the last two decades, studies that show the basic differences between oral cultures and those affected by writing have led to a reassessment not only of works such as the Homeric poems, composed in a primary oral culture, but also of texts written during periods when orality still held a certain sway. Margit Frenk's book belongs to this tradition, and seeks to illuminate one specific aspect: la difusion de escritura a traves de voz humana hasta epoca muy reciente (5). Entre voz y el silencio is not a systematic study of this phenomenon. Rather, it consists of a series of essays, most of which have been previously published, and which deal with Spanish literature of the Golden Age. Margit Frenk asserts that this is un tema apasionante (5). This topic is rendered even more enticing by the informative essays included in this book. Chapter i serves to set the stage. Here, Frenk points to some of the more important works on orality and literacy (Finnegan, Havelock, Ife, Zumthor, etc.). She also discusses the continuing tradition of reading aloud (be it to oneself or to an audience) as an index of the enduring strength of orality from ancient Rome and Augustine through the Middle Ages. Indeed, reading aloud was frequent in Spain well into the nineteenth century. Frenk clearly shows the transition by citing from Covarrubias's Diccionario of 1611, from the Diccionario de Autoridades (1732) and from a modem dictionary. While for Covarrubias reading is pronouncing words, Autoridades includes the possibility of reading silently. The modern dictionary sees reading only as a visual task. Chapter ii takes up the question: What works were read aloud or recited to a public during the Spanish Golden Age? Some of the answers given are known and expected. La Celestina, the romances of chivalry, and the short story were often read aloud to an audience. Indeed many cuentos were memorized for later retelling, while Italian novelle and their Spanish counterparts were thought to be of appropriate length for narrating to an audience (28-29). Frenk could have added here that frame stories for a number of story collections tell of men and women reading their tales to a group, thus further foregrounding the importance of reading aloud. Surprisingly, even epic poems were read to a public that included the vulgo: Estamos ya tocando con mano el tema de difusion de literatura cults y aun cultisima entre amplios sectores de poblacion del siglo XVII (35). …
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