Spanish Baroque Drama and Enlightenment Ideals

Baroque Theater: A Popular Phenomenon

Baroque theater was a very popular show that drew interest from all social classes and strata, including the King, nobles, common people, priests, and nuns.

The New Art of Making Comedies

This era created a new kind of theater based on Lope de Vega's "New Art of Making Comedies." These works were written in verse using classic forms such as:

• Quatrains
• Ballads
• Sonnets

The high quality of many works and authors, such as Lope de Vega, Calderón de la Barca, and Tirso de Molina, ensured that these classical works remain highly valued, maintaining public interest even centuries after being written.

The Corrales de Comedias

Corrales de comedias (theatrical courtyards) were open courtyards surrounded by houses. At one end of the yard, the stage was set up without decoration and often without a curtain. These plays were significant social events, as they were the most popular entertainment of the time.

Structure of the Theatrical Spectacle

The performance followed a specific structure:

• Loa: The show began with a loa, a representation in verse.
• First Act: Followed the loa.
• Entremés: After the first act, a short, usually humorous piece called an entremés (starter) was staged.
• Second Act: Followed the entremés.
• Jácaras: After the second act, jácaras (songs and dances) were interpreted.
• Third Act: The final act of the comedy.
• Fin de Fiesta: The show ended with a farce or another entremés.

Features of Lope de Vega’s Theater

The Teatro Lope de Vega was characterized by:

• Rejection of the three classical units.
• Works presented in three acts.
• A mixture of tragedy and comedy (tragicomedy).
• The use of different types of poetry (polymetry).
• The concept of decency (decorum).
• The figure of the gracioso (the humorous character) and the collation of lyrical elements.

Themes and Major Works

Common topics included religious plays, Spanish history and legends, and contemporary comedies of love and entanglement. Notable titles include:

• Peribáñez and the Commander of Ocaña
• Fuenteovejuna
• The Star of Seville

The Enlightenment and the Illustration

Significance of the New Era

The Illustration (Enlightenment) brought the significance of the Renaissance into a modern context, leading toward the democratic state, the right to an opinion, and equality (culminating mainly in the French Revolution).

Main Features of Enlightenment Thought

• Culture and Progress: The belief that culture leads to progress and, ultimately, happiness.
• Divine Right vs. Popular Sovereignty: A shift from the belief that power comes to the King from God to the current law where power comes to the ruler from the people.
• Deism: Deists do not follow a specific religion but believe that a higher being exists.
• Agnosticism: Agnostics do not deny the existence of a superior being but claim there is no proof of reason to either affirm or deny God.

The Enlightenment in Spain: Academies

In Spain, the Enlightenment was fostered in Academies, which served as centers for experts and culture:

• Royal Spanish Academy (RAE): Established the language academy in this era.
• Academy of History.

Human Capacities and Social Reform

The 18th century emphasized human capacities such as reason, feelings, and imagination. Additionally, the Societies of Friends of the Country were formed. These were enlightened groups that reflected on the problems of Spain and wrote reports proposing government reforms.