Leandro Fernández de Moratín: Life, Works, and Neoclassical Drama
Leandro Fernández de Moratín (1760-1828): A Literary Life
Leandro Fernández de Moratín (1760-1828), son of Nicolás, a literato, worked as an employee in a jewelry workshop, an activity he combined with his first literary works. The protection of Godoy allowed him to leave his old job, completed with the license to represent “The Old Man and the Girl.” A year earlier, he had published his satire in prose, “The Defeat of Pedants.” His prolonged stay in the European courts also facilitated contact with theatrical life in England, France, and Italy, which would be critical to finishing his education and profile as a playwright, highlighted in the work “The New Comedy.” In 1796, he was appointed secretary of the Interpretation of Languages (a period of prosperity), simultaneous with his most creative moments of drama that would result in the release of “The Other Girls.”
Major Dramatic Works
In 1803, he premiered “The Baron” and a year after “The Prude,” which had a good reception, but his biggest hit is “The Other Girls,” a comedy that ends his short original drama production. Before, he had translated Shakespeare’s Hamlet and adapted to the Spanish stage “School of Husbands” and “The Doctor in Spite of Himself” by Molière (who is compared and regarded as a teacher). Napoleon’s invasion marks the beginning of a new biographical stage; he ran from Madrid, where he was librarian of the royal library. He moved to Valencia and then to Barcelona to end the war. Although he was not condemned, fears prompted him to leave Spain. He lived then in Montpellier, Paris, and Bologna, with groups of Spanish exiles, returned to Barcelona, but the epidemic forced him to go to Bayonne, and since then, he never returned to Spain. His last years were spent in Paris and Bordeaux. Despite his health problems, he ended with the manuscript of “Origins of the Spanish Drama” and refers to the essential knowledge of Spanish theater history.
Moratín’s Dramatic Legacy
Leandro created a short but rich drama that reflects many of his aspirations and ideas, those of many neoclassical authors. The short and consistent Moratín dramatic production culminates in “The Other Girls,” which explains the reason for traditional marriage between the old and the girl in some terms related to the social and ideological work to an enthusiastic audience interested in the problematic and controversial freedom of children to choose a husband. His diary and his letters were edited by Andioc.
Key Works
- Poetry: He wrote satirical poems. His poetry is characterized by elegant formal restraint and balance, neoclassicism own. Highlights: “Poetry Lesson,” a satire against the vices introduced in Spanish poetry, “Bounce,” and “Elegy to the Muses.”
- Prose: Work in prose, critical teaching, the best known is “The Defeat of the Pedantic” (a satire on bad writers).
- Drama: Moratín was the best playwright, characterized by faithfully following the rules of neoclassicism, including the three unities. Moratín intended, as he himself states: “to ridicule the vices and errors common in society and to recommend the truth and virtue.” Three of his plays have a single case: the defense of choice of young people for marriage: “The Old Girls,” “Yes for Girls,” and “The Baron.” “La Comedia Nueva o Café” is a satire against the extravagant melodrama. In “The Prude,” he satirizes the false property and virtue.