This instructional guide is to be used by teachers in the instruction of "Platero y Yo," written by Juan Ramon Jimenez, one of Spain's foremost poets. A systematic study is provided of movement throughout the text, by analyzing verb tenses, to help novice Spanish literature students grasp the scholastic and psychological interpretations of poetic and metaphorical text. Written in Spanish, "Platero como el primer paso literario" compares the verb tenses used by Jimenez with the development of the story, which parallels the seasons of the year and the cyclical nature of life. (LR)