Golden Age Spanish Theater: Comedies, Lope de Vega, and Calderón de la Barca

Golden Age Spanish Theater

Comedies in the Golden Age

Comedies were performed in courtyards, with townspeople standing and nobles in rented balconies. Women were segregated from men, and performances took place during daylight. Cross Pens and Prince achieved fame. Purpose-built theaters later facilitated further development of scenery.

Lope de Vega

Lope de Vega, author of New Art of Doing Comedies, was a prolific playwright and poet. His dramatic works earned him significant fame. Over 300 comedies reflect the characteristics established in his treatise, alongside 42 morality plays.

Notable Works by Lope de Vega

• National Issue Comedies: Fuenteovejuna, El caballero de Olmedo
• Invented Theme Comedies: Often focused on love, including swashbuckling comedies depicting court life, such as La dama boba and The Dog in the Manger.

Lope de Vega's Style

Lope masterfully handled formal procedures without exaggeration, constantly playing with words. He integrated popular and cultured elements, using traditional verses within a formal scheme.

Calderón de la Barca

Calderón de la Barca, the greatest exponent of Baroque theater, marks the end of the Golden Age with his death. He served as a court playwright for Philip IV, focusing on courtly works and morality plays in his later years.

Calderón's Works

Calderón's theatrical production reached nearly 200 plays. He followed Lope's schema but with key distinctions:

• Plot: Simplified plots, focusing on the protagonist.
• Language: Greater strophic variety, cultivated adjectives, symbols, and mythological allusions.
• Thought: Explored ideological issues like free will, freedom, and honor.
• Stage: Elaborate visual effects, artificial light, fantastical sets, magic, and music.

Classification of Calderón's Work

• Bridesmaids: Extreme defense of married love, exemplified by The Physician of His Honor, showcasing the cruel fate of unhappy wives.
• Philosophical Dramas: Explored questions of freedom, power, and destiny, as in Life is a Dream.
• Comedies: Included swashbuckling comedies following Lope's model.

The Auto Sacramental

Calderón wrote nearly 70 autos sacramentales, short plays dramatizing Christian dogmas, reflecting the Counter-Reformation spirit.

Characteristics of the Auto Sacramental

• Written in verse, one act.
• Presented abstract concepts, characters lacking individuality.
• Performed for Corpus Christi feast with impressive scenography.
• Initially performed in churches, later moved to streets.
• Moralizing purpose, reinforcing Catholic truths.