Book Description
Lope de Vega (1562-1635), widely regarded as the architect of the drama of the Spanish Golden Age, was known by his contemporaries as the `monster of Nature' on account of his creativity as a playwright.Claiming to have written more than a thousand plays, he created plots and characters notable for their energy, inventiveness and dramatic power, and which, in contrast to French classical drama, combine the serious and the comic in their desire to imitate life. Fuente Ovejuna, based on Spanish history, and revealing how tyranny leads to rebelliion, is perhaps his best-known play. The Knight from Olmedo is a moving dramatization of impetuous and youthful passion which ends in death.Punishment without Revenge, Lope's most powerful tragedy, centres on the illicit relationship of a young wife with her stepson and the revenge of a dishonoured husband.These three plays, grouped here in translations which are faithful to the original Spanish, vivid and intended for performance, embody the very best of Lope's dramatic art. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Fascinating Lope de Vega
This is a great presentation of three of the best Golden Age Spanish plays, which reveal psychological complexity in the context of rapid action. This translation of the plays is excellent in keeping the feel of their fast pace while giving graceful phrases to the characters. The three plays are first the most famous "Fuente Ovejuna" (which is a formula for civil disobedience against the unjust rulers), followed by "The Knight from Olmedo" ( a story of love, heroism, and jealosy which reveals how justice was enacted in that era), and finally "Punishment Without Revenge" ( a story of fiery love and how it burns its victims). The only thing I wished was that this could have been a bilingual edition with the Spanish on one page and the English on the facing page so we could correlate the beauty of the two languages. However, it is really a delight to be able to read a modern translation of these works.

(Todos a una) ¡Fuenteovejuna!
If you think Cervantes was Spain's Shakespeare, you're dead wrong! 'Twas Lope; perhaps the greatest playwriter in history, after Billy the Bard! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

in response to the last guy's review...
This play is not called a comedy because it is funny.Nor are any plays from Golden Age Spanish literature.They are called comedies simply because they are not allowed the name of Tragedies, which is reserved for plays written in Greek language and style.Spanish is a "vulgar" offshoot from Latin, and "tragedies" were not works for the vulgar (common) language.If you are looking for comedy in a Golden Age Spanish play it will be difficult.Most involve moral and religious issues.But you should still read this play because it is pretty [darn] good :)

Humor is not suitable for time travel
This is one of those books that any contemporary reader shall not face alone. Even if your first language is Spanish, the archaic nature of some words and phrases, force you to read the relevant line more that threetimes to get a notion of the idea behind them. Afterwards, you must figureout why the work was considered as a comedy in the XVI Century. Theinfatuation between Don Alonso and Ines is not a joyful event on thecontrary, both character are consumed by anguish and the rejected lover isonly thinking about revenge. Only Fabia presents an element which lights upthe gloomy nature of the play and that somehow is not predictable. Considerto read this book if you are interested in the evolution of SpanishLiterature but do not expect much pleasure of laughter out of it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Poesia Selecta
It came on time. It was a great book. It was useful for my presentation for Spa 752 (Spanish poetry class) this summer. ... Read more

Product Description
The five plays are Peribanez, Justice Without Revenge, The Knight from Olmedo, Fuenteovejuna, and The Dog in the Manger. ... Read more

Book Description
Wit's End is a loose adaptation of La dama boba (The Lady Simpleton), a comedy by the Spanish playwright Lope de Vega. A contemporary of Shakespeare, Lope developed a dramatic model that became the reigning formula in Spain during the period now known as the Golden Age. Wit's End, like La dama boba, features two sisters--one mentally challenged and the other exceedingly bright--and two less-than-constant suitors. Love and ingenuity combine to produce a happy ending, engineered by the newly enlightened simpleton. Building on the ironies of gender politics, Wit's End presents the metamorphosis of the "slow" sister while allowing the intellectual sister to maintain her lofty aspirations. The volume contains the text of Wit's End, together with an introduction that focuses on the background, criticism, and adaptations of La dama boba. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (2)

A treasure from the Siglo de Oro
The great dramas from Spain's Siglo de Oro may seem remote to those of us who feel the dust of the centuries between us and them. But a dual-language edition of the play sweeps away the problem of archaic vocabulary and obsolete turns of expression. This book offers still another title in a great series.

The main theme hasn't lost its edge...
This edition of "Fuenteovejuna", one of the most important classics of Spanish literature, includes not only the original version in Spanish, but also an English translation that will allow those who don't speak Spanish to appreciate Lope de Vega's book.

Lope de Vega (1562-1635) was a famous Spanish poet and writer, and "Fuenteovejuna" is one of his best-known works. "Fuenteovejuna"'s subject is how those without power can fight (and win) against a tyranny. He drew inspiration from a historical event that took place in a small town, in 1476, and managed to write a book that somehow retains its actuality even today. Yes, of course the language in which this book is written is outdated, and some expressions are certainly old-fashioned, but the main theme hasn't lost its edge.

The plot of this not overly long book is quite simple: the men and women of Fuenteovejuna, after enduring a great amount of injustices from their unfair Commendator, Fernán Gómez de Guzmán, killed him in a popular revolt. When the king sent the authorities to investigate, they couldn't find the culprits, because when asked who had killed the Commendator, all the villagers answered "Fuenteovejuna did it."

"Fuenteovejuna" has achieved a noteworthy place as one of the more relevant books in Spanish literature, and the phrase "Fuenteovejuna did it" is still used by many when they want to imply that a deed was provoked by an entire group, not merely by some individuals. If you can, try to read this book... I think you won't lose your time in vain:)

Belen Alcat ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Spanish Stage in the Time of Lope de Vega
The dramatic literature of Spain in the 16th and 17th centuries exceeded that of all other European nations combined. Lope de Vega alone wrote over 1500 plays; Tirso de Molina and Luis Velez de Guevara produced about 400 plays each. The present work is a history of that feverish age of theatrical productivity. With thorough scholarship and unfailing readability, it chronicles the Golden Age of Spanish drama, from the earliest "autor de comedias," Lope de Rueda, to the decline of the Spanish drama in the latter half of the 17th century.
--- from book's back cover ... Read more

Product Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1865 edition by Verlag des Bibliographischen Instituts, Leipzig. ... Read more

Product Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1865 edition by Verlag des Bibliographischen Instituts, Leipzig. ... Read more