Episodes of Contemporary History in Lope de Vega

• Main Author: Felipe B. Pedraza Jiménez
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona 2013-05-01
• Series: Anuario Lope de Vega: Texto, Literatura, Cultura
• Subjects: lope de vega; teatro; drama de historia contemporánea; estado moderno; comedias genealógicas; historia y teatro popular.
• Online Access: https://revistes.uab.cat/anuariolopedevega/article/view/49

<p>While contemporary facts seldom appear in 16^th and 17^thcentury European drama, Spanish <em>comedia</em>, and particularly Lope de Vega’s work, offers a wide catalogue that includes pieces where important public events occured during Lope’s lifetime are dramatized. Some of those plays may refer to events that, despite having taken place in the past, clearly deal with contemporary political and social events, such as the expulsion of the <em>moriscos</em>, or the construction of the modern State. Many other pieces recreate war or court episodes, pious legends, or foreign affairs, all of them contemporary to the audience. Some plays aim at providing political propaganda; others, at praising a noble family genealogy; yet others, at simply recreating war deeds. In almost all of them, Lope tries to avoid manichean views, he rather offers us a complex vision of reality, and he does not betray the principles of communion with the audience typical of popular theater.</p>