I.

Introduction
A. Welcome to the Spanish Golden Age!
1. Takes place in Spain
a) Takes place during the early 16th century to the late 17th century
b) More approximately, takes place from 1500-1690
c) The Golden Age slowly ended as the Spanish transitioned to the
Baroque period which started an explosion of new music in Spain
2. This movement is often overlooked by other movements taking place such
as the English Renaissance movement
a) Originally claimed too traditional
b) Once further researched, people realized these plays were as
relevant as English and French works
c) Many plots for English and French plays were based off plays
from the Spanish Golden Age
3. Causes
a) The political unification of Spain in 1469 through the marriage of
Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand
b) Spain was originally under Muslim rule, but was defeated by
Christians in the Battle of Granada in 1492
c) Changes in power and religion caused the new age
II. Influence
A. Influence at the time
1. Writers directed specific sections of the writing/scripts to particular
sections of society
2. Wrote about every section of society to further spread their range of
influence
3. Influenced the playwright’s position in the social pyramid and what effect
they had on the people who viewed their material
4. Play topics touched on issues regarding the church, state, and politics
a) Church: Spain was facing problems regarding the church because
they had banned Muslims and Jews
b) State and politics: Spain had just recently been unified with the
marriage of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand
5. Unlike other theater elsewhere at the time, there were many female actors
and actors were praised not ridiculed
B. Contemporary influence
1. There is very little impact on theater outside of Spain
a) Hints of their dramas can be found in the Americas and the
Philippines
 2. In a way, influenced Dada age because it was focused around doing things
in unique and new ways and ridiculing the norm
III. Playwrights
A. Lope de Vega
1. Was born in 1562 and died in 1635
2. Estimated to have written 1,800 plays
3. Established a standard for plays
4. Combined tragedy with drama - "La Comedia"
5. Plays originated in Spanish history and folktales
6. Appealed to everyone because his plays focused on people from all social
class, not just the wealthy
7. Characteristics of his plays
a) clearly defined actions, arousing suspense, dealing with conflicting
claims of love and honor
b) happy resolved endings
c) characters representing every rank and condition of people
(1) female roles were in many of his best plays
d) natural and lively dialog
8. Notable works: “La corona trágica,” “La Dorotea,” and “Laurel de Apolo”
9. “Fuenteovejuna” was arguably his most popular and studied work
a) Used for political purposes in times of instability and to show how
loyalty to a monarchy can re-establish order.
b) Been staged during the Spanish Civil War to show the power of the
people, and in Spanish America in times of unrest and government
change
c) Critics have seen the play as both supporting the monarchy and as
a potential threat to it
B. Pedro Calderon de la Barca
1. Was born in 1600 and died in 1681
2. Wrote around 200 plays
3. Succeeded Lope de Vega and became the new master of the Spanish stage
4. Wrote plays intended for the court and eventually moved to write plays
intended for the public and royal family
5. Developed the standard Lope had created for plays
6. Notable works: “La hija del aire,” “El médico de su honra,” and “The
Constant Prince.”
7. “Life’s A Dream” is his most popular work
a) Has a universal theme
b) Teaches a philosophical lesson: the world of our senses is a mere
shadow and the only reality can in the invisible and eternal
 C. Other playwrights include Tirso de Molina, Agustín Moreto, Juan Pérez de
Montalbán, Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, Guillén de Castro and Antonio Mira de
Amescua.
IV. Performers
A. Many professional acting troupes
1. After 1603, only licensed acting companies could work in Spain
2. Companies could not perform in one place for more than two months
annually, and only one company was permitted to perform at that
location.
3. Women were licensed to perform by 1587 but their role in theater was still
controversial
B. Unemployed actors joined “companies of the roads” and performed around the
countryside
C. Popular performers include Lope de Rueda and Juan Rana
V. Audience
A. Varied audience members
1. constables
2. royalty
3. court
4. urban grandees
5. mosqueteros
6. the rich and the poor
VI. Theaters
A. As the arts scene grew, playhouses were created around the country
1. Acting troupes competed to perform in popular theaters.
2. Corrales became the popular theaters for plays in the Golden Age
a) Three sided theaters
b) Mimicked a social pyramid
c) Highest representatives in society were sat in boxes at the top of
the theater, groundlings or mosqueteros stood in patio area at the
base of the theater
d) Sexes were divided and women were seated closer to the stage
e) Casts would often talk to audiences
f) Shows were raucous with catcalling, jeering, and applause during
the shows
g) A lot of gender based conflict and social class arguments took
place at shows
VII. Characteristics
A. Themes
 1. People started ridiculing the government, social standards, etc. and
changing their perspectives and ideas about theater
2. Honor and morality were hugely popular themes
B. There were three major forms
1. Comedia - three act dramas with complex plots written in verse that mix
drama with comedy
a) Characters included caballero (gentleman), galán (cavalier),
dama(lady), and gracioso (fool)
b) Performed by professional acting troupes
2. Auto sacramental - one act religious allegories
a) Performed in multiple story wagons
b) Performed by professional acting troupes
3. Entremés - one act absurd comedies often performed in the middle of a
comedia
4. Main difference between other theater in Europe: typically performed in
three acts as opposed to five days
VIII. El Pintor de su Deshonra (The Painter of Dishonor)
A. Written by Pedro Calderon de la Barca in 1645
B. One of his many wife-murder plays
C. A artist is asked to paint a portrait of a woman and discovers she is his long lost
wife who has been kidnapped by her previous lover
D. The artist kills both of them but soon discovers that his wife loved him and was
faithful to him all along
E. We are performing Act I, Scene I with Don Juan, the artist and Don Luis, his
friend