Spanish Baroque Theater: Lope de Vega, Tirso and Calderon
The New Comedy by Lope de Vega
Plays
The plays do not respect the time and place of the three unities of action.
- The work is divided into three acts or a day (exposition of the case, a complication of the facts, and outcome).
- The comic and tragedy can be mixed in a play.
- All works are written in verse.
- Polymetry is used using various stanzas and meters (quatrains, stanzas, ballads…).
- It seeks to adjust the language to the status of each of the characters (poetic decorum).
- May include dances and songs.
Themes and Topics
The arguments tended to be complicated, dynamic, and rapid. There is a wide range of issues (mythological, pastoral, foreign, classic, rural…).
Highlights
- Of popular and national character: based on tradition, history, and legend of Spain.
- Religious love and jealousy: taken from the Bible, lives of saints…
The Subject of Honor
Refers to the good opinion others have of a person and that person’s fame acquired by his virtue and merits. It was attached to the nobles and was given in the epic and cantares. Lope de Vega was focusing on conjugal fidelity. He extended it to the rich villains. Calderon gave the final shape to this concept of love. It has also joined the theme of honor with the purity of blood.
The Social Value of the Baroque Scene
The theater of the seventeenth century was a popular show for fun and learning. It sometimes criticized various aspects, but the most appreciated by the audience was:
- The defense of the monarchy.
- The maintenance of the social status of its characters in a rigidly established society.
- National affirmation of the old Spanish military hegemony at the time of the beginning of its decline.
- The defense of strict adherence to Catholic rule.
Characters
- King: Embodies authority and often dispenses justice.
- Noble Knight: A knight is usually rich and powerful who abuses his power.
- Gallant Love: Young noble endowed with courage, handsome, generous…
- Lady: Beautiful and of noble lineage.
- Old Lady: Father, husband, or brother who watches over the honor and can avenge the disgrace of his daughter, wife, or sister.
- Villain: Honest and Christian old farmer.
- Funny: Materialistic raised charlatan.
Composition of Comedies
Mounts on backyards of vecindad. Part of the public was placed in the windows and balconies. The top floor is called the lofts and the lower apartments. Semicircles below had seats. In the open courtyard were benches. It could be covered with an awning. A section was used for women. Most spectators stood who were called mosketeros.
Scenography
Plain with little decoration. Then began to improve. The function began with a celebration to soothe and appease the public. Between the first and second act of the play could be represented a brief interlude and between the second and third, a jácara. To finish, there could be dances.
Seventeenth-Century Dramatists
Lope de Vega
He wrote poetry, prose, and theater. Considered as the creator and promoter of the National Theater of XVII.
Drama
- Comedies of Spanish history and legend (Fuenteovejuna, The Gentleman from Olmedo, Peribañez and the Commander of Ocana, The Best Mayor, the King).
- Comedies of foreign affairs (The Grand Duke of Muscovy, The Punishment Without Vengeance).
- Sitcoms and swashbuckling (The Dog in the Manger, The Dama Boba, The Discrete Love, The Fussiness of Belisa, The Villain in His Corner).
Features
Themes and Topics
Love, honor, or religious and monarchical ideals. Defense of the crown and aristocratic society in a world supported by the honest rural.
Dramatic Action
Breaks with the Aristotelian rule of three unities and divides the work into three jornadas. Great dynamism and vivacity of the action.
Language and Versification
Uses polymetry (using different verses). Popular language and near-populism.
Lope’s theater lacks the ideological depth of Calderon’s drama or the psychological characterization of some of the characters that Tirso knew very well. But he knew the people.
Poetic Work
Popular Lyric Poetry
The best part is the lyrics of popular inspiration (mountain, harvest songs, carols…). Many of these short poems are included in his comedies.
Romance
The first romances were about his love of youth. Later, they are of formal perfection and poetic beauty. Also, religious.
Educated Lyric Poetry
It shows his masterly command of the sonnet and a natural poetic language, but with some artifice and brilliance. The first collection of sonnets appears in his Rhymes. In the Rhymes of the Sacred includes religious sonnets. Many of the rhymes that appear in the Human and Divine Rhymes are of a humorous, satirical, and burlesque nature. His two most important eclogues deal with autobiographical issues (Amaryllis, Syphilis).
Epic Poetry
It deals with a variety of topics (The Dragontea, The Isidro).
Narrative Work
- Pastoral genre: The Arcade.
- Byzantine type: The Pilgrim in His Country.
- Novellas in the style of Cervantes: Marcia Leonarda.
- Novels-dialogue book in prose: The Dorotea.
Tirso de Molina
Dramatist, wrote some prose works, such as Deleitar Aprovechando, where he leaves some of his thoughts on comedy and defends Lope.
Dramatic Works
- Minor works (The Prudent Woman, Don Gil of the Green Pants, Marten Boots, The Pious Martha).
- Major works (The Person Convicted of Suspicious, The Trickster of Seville).
Characteristics of His Theater
Characters
From different states and conditions. Energetic profiles of humility. They surpass those of Lope in human and psychological depth.
Technical Perfection
Mastering the art of verse. Great language and knowledge of dramatic structure and scenic dynamism. In The Trickster of Seville, Don Juan Tenorio is immoral and leads a reprehensible life, evading and deceiving women. Various reasons appear, a number of real or symbolic that travel from the beginning repeatedly.
Topics
- Real (warnings, deception, promises).
- Symbolic (fire and night).
Characters
- Don Juan
- Don Gonzalo
- Catalinon
Calderon de la Barca
Dramatic Work
History and Legends of Spain
- The Mayor of Zalamea.
- Life is a Dream.
- The Constant Prince.
Philosophical Issues
- Life is a Dream.
Issues of Honor and Secrets
- The Physician of His Honor.
- Secret Vengeance for Secret Insult.
Mythological or Religious Issues
- Andromeda and Perseus.
- The Hair of Absalom.
Sacramental and Theological Issues
- The Great Theater of the World.
- The Enchantments of Sin.
- Love Your Neighbor as Yourself.
- Devotion to the Cross.
He wrote more than 70 sacramental plays.
Characteristics of His Plays
- Structure: Reflective, profound construction.
- Intellectual Background: The idea dominates the facts.
- Language and Versification: Richer language than Lope and developed a more expressive versification.
- Characters: With great strength.
Values of Calderon’s Theater
Endowed with dramatic strength and most have a moral. The three most significant and important sentiments of seventeenth-century Spain are religious, monarchical, and honor.