Spanish Baroque Theater: A Golden Age of Drama
1. The National Comedy
In the 17th century, the national comedy, also known as the new comedy, was consolidated. It was created by Lope de Vega and further developed by Calderon de la Barca, among others. It was performed in corrales (courtyard theaters), which attracted a diverse audience.
1.1. Main Features of the National Comedy
Mixture of Tragedy and Comedy: Spanish playwrights did not adhere to the classical unities of time and place. However, they generally respected the unity of action (two
Read MoreThe Spanish Golden Age of Theater: A Comprehensive Guide
1. The National Comedy
In the 17th century, a new form of comedy, known as the national comedy, emerged in Spain. It was pioneered by Lope de Vega and further developed by Calderon de la Barca, among others. This new form of theater was performed in open-air courtyards called corrales, attracting a diverse audience.
1.1. Main Features of the National Comedy
- Mixture of Tragedy and Comedy: Unlike classical drama, the national comedy blended elements of tragedy and comedy.
- Dramatic Unities: Spanish playwrights
Spanish Theater until the Civil War
The Spanish Theater Until the Civil War
The Bourgeois Audience and Theatrical Trends
Prior to 1936, the direction of Spanish theater was heavily influenced by the tastes of a bourgeois audience seeking entertainment. Two main trends emerged:
- Commercially successful theater: This trend aimed to satisfy public demand with comedies, melodramas, and traditional dramatic forms, avoiding ideological themes.
- Renovating theater: This trend challenged the prevailing tastes by renewing forms and addressing contemporary
Spanish Theater Before the Civil War: From Bourgeois Tastes to Avant-Garde
The Theater Until the Civil War
The tastes of a bourgeois audience who came to the theater in search of diversion determined the direction of the theater prior to 1936. There are two main trends:
- A commercially successful theater, designed to meet public demand: a drama of manners, comic or melodramatic that shuns the ideological and continues with traditional dramatic forms.
- Renovating the theater, running counter to the tastes of the time, renewing the forms and issues, but had to wait many years
20th-Century Spanish Theater
ITEM 9: 20th-Century Spanish Theater
The theater, more than other genres, is subject to extra-literary circumstances that influence its development: commercial pressure and censorship.
In the early 20th century, the theatrical genre in Spain had two distinct manifestations: a theater intended for performance, satisfying the public’s desire for amusement, and an innovative theater with artistic intentions, which clashed with the audience’s tastes and either didn’t reach the stage or did so with little
Read MoreModernism in Spanish American Literature: A Deep Dive
1. Modernism
Modernism, a Spanish American literary movement born in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, was introduced to Spain by Rubén Darío following the publication of his book Prose Profane. Its crucial importance lies in the complete renovation of Spanish poetry.
The Modernist Revolution
Modernism had a profound impact on Spanish poetry:
- It introduced foreign literary movements to Spain, including French Parnasianism and Symbolism, along with decadent works from England and Italy. Rubén