Federico García Lorca's Theater: Plays and Tragedies

Federico García Lorca: Life and Works

Federico García Lorca lived in Madrid since 1919 and died in 1936. He was one of the most interesting contemporary writers and playwrights in Spain. He is the only writer of the Generation of '27 who alternated between theater and poetry. The connection between his poetry and plays are evident in the subject matter, language, and use of symbols. Lorca was a man of the theater. In many of his works, he raises the theme of theater within a play, a great theatrical achievement, as seen in Blood Wedding and Yerma.

Classification of Lorca's Theater

a) Early Theater:

• His first play was The Butterfly's Evil Spell.
• He also began the series Puppets: Cachiporra, born from his love of puppet theater.
• Two popular tragic farces are: The Shoemaker's Prodigious Wife and The Love of Don Perlimplín and Belisa in the Garden.

b) Avant-garde and Difficult Theater:

• He wrote a series of dialogues with surrealist and avant-garde inspiration.
• Examples include Buster Keaton's Ride and The Maiden, the Sailor, and the Student.
• One step towards his more representative works is The Public.

c) The Fullness of Lorca's Theater:

• Emphasizes woman as the alpha and omega of the issues, such as the conflict between freedom and authority.

Key Plays by Lorca

• Mariana Pineda: Lorca was inspired by the heroine in love with Pedro de Sotomayor.
• Doña Rosita the Spinster and the Language of Flowers: Recreates the case of a woman from Granada waiting for her boyfriend who left for America. Rosita's life continues as expected, consumed by time.
• Blood Wedding: Based on a true event, the elopement of a bride on her wedding day with a former lover, which ends with the death of two men, witnessed by the moon.
• Yerma: Addresses the drama of a sterile woman who, after five years of marriage, feels empty and useless.
• The House of Bernarda Alba: Considered Lorca's best dramatic work. Bernarda oppressively forces her five daughters to observe eight years of mourning for the death of her second husband. The situation gets out of hand when the girls realize that their youth is slipping away, and their sexual instincts awaken.

Recurring Themes

Yerma and The House of Bernarda Alba share common themes, such as the conflict between authoritarianism and erotic desire, and the clash between sexual instinct and social conventions.