Fuenteovejuna: Comedy, Structure, and Political Themes

Fuenteovejuna: A New Comedy

Fuenteovejuna features new comedy elements:

• Metric: Written in verse, using the lope stanza, adjusting the rate of speech. Tenths are suitable for expressing complaints, sonnets for serious matters, and ballads sound better when spoken by pastors or laborers.
• Structure: The play is divided into 5 acts, but the new comedy favors a division into 3 acts (approach, development, and outcome). Short, humorous interludes and festive parties occur between acts and at the play's end.
• Purpose: The play aims to please the audience with vulgar humor, prioritizing entertainment above all else.
• Genre: Classic plays clearly distinguish between social classes. Tragedy typically features plebeian characters experiencing humorous or visible anecdotes. New comedy introduces tragicomedy, blending tragic and comic elements, making it common to find humor in any situation.

Context

The exact writing date is unknown, but it is thought to be around 1611-1618. It was first performed in Madrid in 1619. The work belongs to a set of plays based on stories and legends revolving around a political problem: the confrontation between a powerful noble and the humble people of a town.

Thematic Standpoint

Fuenteovejuna recreates an injustice: the Commander of the Order of Calatrava abused his power, causing the people to mutiny and revolt against him.

Structure and Actions

The work focuses on two mutually reinforcing actions:

• Main Action: Commander Fernán Gómez oppresses his subjects, leading to violent action.
• Secondary Action: Fernando Gómez convinces Don Rodrigo Téllez, the Master of the Order of Calatrava, to support Juana la Beltraneja in the civil war against the Catholic Monarchs (RRCC). Although they take a real city, they lose it after the siege.

The Fable of Love

The love story appears alongside the other two actions, focusing on the affair between Laurencia and Frondoso, who ends up being outraged by the Commander. The town's rebellion is not only due to political reasons but also personal-emotional causes. This is a key ingredient for an audience that liked relatable stories.

Geographic Framework

There are three frames:

• Fuenteovejuna
• Real City, under the Catholic Monarchs (RRCC)
• The unit of space is not met.

Fuenteovejuna is important as the space where the bulk of the action takes place. The village is closely linked to its inhabitants, becoming one with them.

Spaces in Real City and the court of the Catholic Monarchs are used to present a political fact, a belligerent chorus of a royal city, and to introduce characters (the Catholic Monarchs) who execute justice and foster the happy ending.