Spanish Golden Age Theater: Structure, Characters, and Lope de Vega
Structure of Comedy
Comedy usually starts with harmony, but a disturbing element appears. At the end, the problem is resolved or eliminated, and harmony is achieved. Plays differ not so much in their internal structure as in their outcomes, which can be marriage, death, or the intervention of the king who gives way to revenge.
Acts and Scenes
In The New Art of Making Comedies, Lope de Vega said that theater should be divided into three acts (days) and that the order was the approach and denouement. In turn, acts are divided into scenes that are not preceded by changes of scenery, but by dimensions. He also justifies that the approach should be short, the knot should contain almost everything, and the outcome has to occur at the very end to maintain suspense and keep the viewer engaged.
Linguistic Diversification
Verse poetry was used with many different types of stanzas and variable meters. Lope is presented as a teacher in choosing a type of verse for each type of dialogue: sonnets for soliloquies, décimas for lamentations, and romances for long narratives.
Action and Location
As in theater, it ignored the premise that the action must occur in a single location. There used to be different places and several storylines over a long period. Besides, the indicated time with changes in time.
The Tragic and the Comic
Greco-Roman and Renaissance theater separated the tragic from the comic. However, the Spanish theater of the Golden Age mixes the tragic and the comic in varying proportions depending on the type of work. This is because the authors see theater as a reflection of the human condition, which can be both tragic and comic.
The Characters
Spanish society is reflected in the characters of the play:
- The King: May be a wise old king and judge who represents the recovery of honor or a gallant young king who displays arbitrary justice but regrets his abuses.
- The Powerful: A noble who is carried away by their excesses and acts as a disruptive agent of order, leading to punishment by the king or the people.
- The Gentleman: The father, husband, brother, or lover of the injured woman. He is next to an indispensable funny character.
- The Lover: Courage and constancy of love.
- The Funny: Servant of the leading man. Lies in the funny part of the work and falls in love with the lady’s maid.
- The Villain: Is identified with the rich peasant villager. A model of dignity for their purity of blood, he represents honor.
Comedy Pens
A major change occurred to move the theater to the pens. These were equipped with a stage that, in turn, had hatches to symbolize a gateway to hell. The public space reproduced the stratification of society. The upper rooms were for the nobility and clergy. The people, separated by sex, were available in the lower patio, bleachers, and pot.
Entrepreneurs and Entertainers
Actors and entrepreneurs worked independently or in groups (bululú, ñaque, farándula, gangarilla, cambaleo, garnacha) depending on the number of actors. The actors almost always represented the same role within the company. Moreover, each company was headed by a businessman, who bought the book from a poet and acquired rights to make amendments.
Social Function of Theater
Theater in the Golden Age was a collective celebration. Many people came, but in addition to artistic and recreational purposes, it played the role of transmitting certain political or religious ideological goals according to certain theories. Other scholars say, however, that theater had a commitment to human freedom and dignity.
Lope de Vega
Lope de Vega’s main contribution to the scene is the creation of a national theater capable of involving all sectors of society. Lope de Vega presented his dramatic theory in The New Art of Making Comedies.
Features
- Popularity: What he writes is very close to what the public wants in terms of scene, plot, and language.
- Lyric: Rhythm, the musicality of the verse conforms closely to the type of expression. He uses a specific verse for each type of speech and also introduces ditties to gain popularity and acquire a degree of musicality.
- Dynamism: His theater is very dynamic, maintaining tension until the end. Furthermore, it does not have great dialogue, but they are agile and are not heavy.
Work
History and Legend: These works deal with the stories and legends of Spain. They try to honor the exaltation of the monarchy. Lope tends to set his plays in the era of the Catholic Monarchs, when the Empire began to emerge. In these works, the figure of the King looms large and represents the power of God on Earth and is the ultimate justice. Within this group, Fuenteovejuna and Peribáñez and the Commander of Ocaña stand out.
Fuenteovejuna: Commander Fernán Gómez has submitted to the town of Fuente Ovejuna. Laurencia, the daughter of the mayor, marries, but he mistreats her and commands her to be killed. When justice asks who was to blame, the answer is “Fuenteovejuna did it.” Finally, the Monarchs appear to justify the actions of the people.
Peribáñez and the Commander of Ocaña: The conflict arises when the commander, led by his passion, tries to woo Casilda, the wife of a wealthy villain. The death of the commander at the hands of Peribáñez does not result in a condemnation for him because he had defended his honor.
Comedy of Manners (The Hilt): These are comedies where the focus tends to be love. There is wit, irony, and misunderstanding. There are the typical characters of comedy: the knight, the lady, the funny, etc. In the end, love triumphs, overcoming all problems and social norms. (La dama boba, The Dog in the Manger).
Religious and Mythological Works: He creates religious works without theological depth. These generally deal with hagiographic issues (lives of saints) or excerpts from life. He also addresses the theme of mythology, Christianizing mythological elements to the point that they hardly seem pagan. (The Good Saves, The Labyrinth of Crete).