Federico García Lorca’s Theatrical Works: A Deep Dive
Federico García Lorca: A Theatrical Journey
Influences and Characteristics
Federico García Lorca’s theatrical work is influenced by various sources, including the Modernista movement (with its traditionalist stages, lyrical presence, and rural themes), Spanish classics, Shakespeare, and the Valle-Inclán puppet theater. His plays are characterized by their poetic nature, creating a total spectacle that incorporates words, music, dance, and scenography. They are also highly symbolic, using elements like water, blood, horses, and the moon to represent opposing forces such as authority versus freedom. A constant theme throughout his work is tragedy.
Classification of Works
Early Modern Drama
- The Butterfly’s Evil Spell: Introduced the theme of perfection versus the everyday.
- Mariana Pineda: A historical drama about the life of the liberal heroine from Granada.
Two Farces for Puppets
- The Tragicomedy of Don Cristóbal
- The Love of Don Perlimplín and Belisa in the Garden
These farces explore themes such as conventional marriage between an old man and a young woman.
Two Farces for People
- The Shoemaker’s Prodigious Wife: Presents the theme of unsatisfied illusion.
- The Love of Don Perlimplín and Belisa in Your Garden
Impossible Comedies
These works are influenced by surrealism, featuring illogical situations, split personalities, and the possibility of multiple interpretations. Examples include:
- When Five Years Pass
- The Public
- Play Without a Title
Tragedies and Dramas
These plays are set in rural environments, driven by the forces of nature, and feature a tragic destiny, a minor plot, few main characters, and the presence of choruses. Lorca conceived three works as part of a trilogy:
- Blood Wedding
- Yerma
- A third play that he did not write.
Blood Wedding
Blood Wedding is a play set in rural Andalusia with a relatively simple structure. Lorca incorporates poetic forms, alternating between prose and verse throughout the work, enhancing the tragedy’s communicative power. This feature connects Lorca to classical tragedy. The play is divided into seven scenes, grouped into three acts. The three constants in the work are the power of passion, sex, and the earth. Another unstoppable force is that of instincts. Allegory, progressive symbolism, and derealization are present throughout the work.
Yerma
Yerma presents the theme of sterility. Ritualistic aspects are constant in the work, with the chorus of washerwomen and songs being particularly relevant.
Other Notable Works
- Doña Rosita the Spinster: A play of critical realism.
- The House of Bernarda Alba: Presents the theme of Bernarda’s authority versus the freedom of Adela and her daughters. A constant in the work is the presence of an airtight space.
Post-1940 Influences
From 1940 onwards, the main influences on theater came from both foreign and Spanish authors. These include:
- Samuel Beckett
- Eugene Ionesco (for his vision of the absurd)
- Arthur Adamov
- Bertolt Brecht (for his depiction of a degraded world)
- Antonin Artaud (for his theater of cruelty)
- Franz Kafka (for his existential angst)
- Stanislavski (for his physical and mental construction of characters)
The recovery efforts of classical authors like Lorca and Valle-Inclán were furthered by theater directors such as Miguel Narros, Mario Gas, and Adolfo Marsillach. During the war, various theatrical forms were represented, including sketches (for laughter), bourgeois poetic comedy, and testimonial drama (written by supporters of the right and the left).