Abstract

The actual essay analyzes briefly the situation of the Calderonian plays within the new taste of the Neoclassicist period, in order to examine the editions of his work that were printed from the end of the 17th century to the middle of the 18th. First of all, we study the editorial task developed by Vera Tassis in the comedies and Pando y Mier in the sacramental plays. Then, we pay attention to the volumes prepared by Fernández de Apontes to be printed during the second half of the 18th century, when following the theorists and the preserved documents (number of sold tickets in the theatres), Calderón seemed not to be so popular amongst the Enlightment audience. Therefore, we would try to figure out the reasons why Fernández de Apontes printed the complete work written by the playwright in a historical moment in which the taste of the audience had changed.

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze how the scenic word built the devil’s image and the diabolic, in four Spanish Baroque plays: El esclavo del demonio («The Devil’s Slave», 1612), by Antonio Mira de Amescua (1577- 1636); El condenado por desconfiado («Damned for Despair», 1635), by Tirso de Molina (1579-1648); El mágico prodigioso («The Wonder-Working Magician», 1637) y El veneno y la triaca («The Poison and the Antidote», 1677) by Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600-1681). In these plays, the devil is a dynamic character who moves between the sacred and the profane dimension in the theatric scene as well as in the human soul.

Abstract

Analysing the errors committed by Calderón himself during his writing amplify the perspective on his complex composition process. The aim of this paper is to offer an initial approximation on autograph errors located in En la vida todo es verdad y todo mentira, La desdicha de la voz and Cada uno para sí. A first typology considering its production, its magnitude and its posterior survival is deduced from the examples exposed.

Abstract

The Portuguese reality is part of the thematic heritage of the Spanish Golden Age theatre which highlights from the Lusitanian their courage at war and their excess in passion. Literary interactions took place in two senses: the Lusitanian tradition was treated in Spanish pieces, and Portuguese playwrights wrote in Castilian following Lope de Vega in his Arte nuevo de hacer comedias en este tiempo (1609). Although history and hagiography will be the most exploited aspects due to the impact of their protagonists, on other occasions Portugal will be used as a setting to universal conflicts. Kings such as D. Afonso Henriques, D. João II and D. Sebastião star in works of Tirso de Molina, Lope de Vega or Cubillo de Aragón; and El príncipe constante by Calderón and Caer para levantar by Moreto, Matos Fragoso and Cáncer relate, respectively, the lives of two Portuguese saints, S. Fernando and S. Gil. We will analyse El príncipe constante and A secreto agravio, secreta venganza by Calderón and Las quinas de Portugal by Tirso de Molina, with the aim of discovering the degree of involvement between the dramaturgical approaches and historical context that includes or propitiates them, in order to try to reveal the elements that motivated the rise and the decline of Portuguese topics in the seventeenth century Spanish theatre.

Abstract

This article contains a deep analysis of the sacramental play Auto Sa­cramental del Juego del Hombre written by Luis Mejía de la Cerda in 1625. The piece is composed taking a card game as the core topic and representing Christ as a player betting amongst the Death, Devil and World. One of the most remarkable characteristics is the absolute presence of the play in a devote text, because of the combination of such mundane and religious features. But it is necessary to say, that this way of leisure was very popular during the Golden Age period, where people of every social class were willing to enjoy.

Abstract

The main objective of this article is to find a pattern that explains the extraordinary profitability of the allusions to the decir sin decir, related to the hiding and revelation of the secret of love, one of the most recurrent themes in the Calderonian universe. For this, we will analyze fragments extracted from nine comedias of various genres and stages, which therefore can be considered a representative sample of the Calderonian modus scribendi.