Spanish Golden Age Theater: Lope de Vega's New Comedy

The Development of Golden Age Theater

The drama that developed during the Middle Ages and early Renaissance was primarily religious. However, during the mid-sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, a remarkably profane theater of character began to develop. This new form enjoyed great public success and led to the construction of theatrical spaces known as corrales de comedias.

Authors who began to excel in this profane theater include Juan del Encina and Gil Vicente. Their works primarily focused on the theme of love. Furthermore, short, humorous, one-act plays known as entremeses (appetizers) were created to be performed during the intervals of major works.

Lope de Vega and the New Comedy Formula

Lope de Vega began his theatrical triumph around the year 1580, establishing a new dramatic formula. This formula was formally argued in his treatise, Arte Nuevo de Hacer Comedias en Este Tiempo (The New Art of Writing Comedies in This Time), published in 1609. This work provides basic instructions for literary creation and building a successful comedy. Comedies, therefore, must meet the following characteristics:

Character Archetypes in the New Comedy

Lope's plays utilize specific archetypes and mix both comic and tragic characters within the same work.

Key Archetypes:

• Galán: The leading man; noble, brave, and in love.
• Lady: Beautiful, faithful, and loving. (A novelty in some works is that the Lady takes the initiative if her honor is at stake.)
• Servant: The popular counterpoint to the masters. The servant of the galán and the lady's maid often maintained a relationship.
• Gracioso (Funny): The great novelty introduced by Lope. This character provides a humorous pattern and sketches, often conspiring with the audience, making them complicit in his actions.
• Powerful Figure: This character (who may be the father of the Lady or Galán, a nobleman, or the King) restores any situation of disequilibrium by administering justice.

Rejection of the Rule of Three Unities

Lope's Comedia Nueva deliberately disregarded the classical rules of space, time, and action.

• Unity of Space: The classical rule dictated that the action must always develop in the same location. Lope, however, alternates spaces and places within the same work.
• Unity of Time: The classical rule stated that the action should proceed within a maximum of 24 hours. Lope does not respect this; weeks, months, or even years may pass between acts.
• Unity of Action: The classical rule required a single, simple plot line. Lope's works often feature a primary action running parallel to a secondary action.