Federico García Lorca: Master of Spanish Tragedy

The Theater of Federico García Lorca

Dramatic World: Key Issues

• The main element of his world is frustration.
• There is a constant conflict between reality and desire.
• Tragic destinies are brought to the stage.
• In several works, this is embodied in women.
• It is the tragedy of any person sentenced to a life of frustration.
• This occurs on two levels:
  • Metaphysical: A struggle with Time and Death.
  • Social: Conventions and prejudices.
• The two levels often intersect.
• He revitalizes tragic myths through many formal channels.

Fullness and Grassroots Outreach

• These are the years of La Barraca, which represents work for the people.
• Lorca achieves the fullness of his art and massive success.
• Women occupy a central place; Lorca shows great sensitivity to the status of women.
• He also focuses on marginalized groups: Black people, Gypsies, and children.
• They represent innocence and pure passion.

Major Dramatic Works

Blood Wedding

• Based on a true story.
• A bride escapes with her lover on the day of her wedding.
• The environment is a framework of family hatred and revenge.
• The presence of Greek myths adds greater tragic force.
• The play was a great success.

Yerma

• Deals with the theme of the sterile woman.
• The tragedy arises from:
  • An unmet craving for motherhood.
  • Loyalty to her husband and a rooted idea of honor.
• The clash between these two forces creates the tragedy.
• It was a great success, though it did not satisfy traditionalists.

Doña Rosita the Spinster

(Also known as The Language of Flowers)

• Focuses on the futile hopes of love.
• About unmarried girls who wither like flowers.
• Masterfully combines the pathetic and the ridiculous.

The House of Bernarda Alba

This work represents the completion and culmination of his theatrical career.

Meaning and Scope of Lorca's Theater

Gradually, the conflicts and environments became deeply rooted in Andalusia. After his death, Lorca has been admired, read, and performed throughout the world. In Spain, however, it took a long time to perform his work again. He remains one of the highest peaks of Spanish theater with a persistent effect.

Themes and Symbols of Lorquian Work

As Federico García Lorca himself defined it: "The image of fertility punished to sterility" within that universal dramatic game where his creatures move: the opposition between the forces of life, their destiny of freedom, and the oppression of these forces that leads to death.

• Symbolism: Water and Blood.
• Personification: "The children come as water, coral branches angry, to a field of sorrow."
• Repetition: "Oh, what a field of sorrow!"