DRAM A. 



97 



Drama, of the modem comedy, properly so called, is deeply 

 '"^'V""'' connected with moral satire. In the Spanish comedy, 

 satire is purely accessory and contingent. The por- 

 traiture of character is essential to the regular comedy 

 of the rest of polished Europe; but it is not essential to 

 that of Spain. The object is incident, intrigue, and 

 surprise ; a hardy and careless pursuit of the imagina- 

 tion, after such a change of scenes, interspersing the 

 pathetic and burlesque, the trivial and the marvellous, 

 as may keep the attention busy, curious, and astonish- 

 ed. Such a state of mind is obviously inconsistent 

 with the pleasure arising from what we call comedy ; 

 in which the draught of manners is perhaps the first 

 requisite, and wit and satire the second. But an in- 

 teresting exhibition of manners requires a clear probabi- 

 lity of incident ; and the enjoyment of moral satire re- 

 quires, not a hurried and tumultuous, but a well con- 

 nected and consistent flow of events ; leaving the mind 

 room to reflect on the past, as well as to conjecture re- 

 specting the future. 



, of Since the time of Lope de Vega, it has been usual to 

 the Spanish distinguish the pieces of the Spanish theatre into two 

 greatclasses, comedies sacred or spiritual,and comedies 

 profane, or belonging to human life, (Coniedias divinns 

 el humanas.) It is usual to divide tin's latter class of hu- 

 man-life comedies, into those which are called heroic, 

 and those denominated the comedies of the cloak and 

 sword, (Comedian de Capa ct Espada.) The heroic co- 

 medies were in their origin confounded with those of 

 history ; and the name of heroic was extended to those 

 founded on mythological subjects. Those comedies of 

 the cloak and sword were also called Comeiliat de Fi~ 

 garou, because the principal jK-rsonages of these pieces 

 is generally a knight of industry, who gives himself out 

 for a great lord, or a fine lady, who makes similar lire- 

 tensions. The spiritual comedies have been also sub- 

 divided, since the time of Lope de Vega, into dramas 

 drawn from the lives of the saints, (Pidas de Santo*,) 

 and into pieces of the holy sacrament, (Auto* Sacra- 

 mcnlales ;) the former have been formed upon the mo- 

 del of pieces called lives of the saints, which used to be 

 represented in the monasteries. The Autos Sncrnmeii- 

 tr.lcs seem to have arisen in the time of Ix>pe de Vega. 

 Finally, we must add to those different kinds of Spa- 

 nish comedy, the interludes which are played between 

 the prologue and the piece, and which used to be called 

 fiayiifler, until they were mixed with dancing and mu- 

 sic. The historical or heroic comedies of Lope de Ve- 

 ga are very numerous. The tragic scenes which were 

 incorporated in those wild compositions, made amends 

 to the Spaniards for the want of real tragedies. Very 

 few of those heroic dramas of Lope de Vega's are drawn 

 from foreign histories. His Grand Duke of Muscovy 

 is of this small numlx-r. There is little difference of 

 character in the vast variety which he produced. The 

 unity of action is only apparent ; and as to unity of 

 place and time, Lope de Vega never thought of thrm. 

 The style is as capricious as possible, sometimes ex- 

 tremely i legant, but falling again into laxness ami com- 

 mon-place. To give some idea of those pieces, we 

 shall tfive a very abridged extract of one of the best, 

 which is called ' The Fortress of Toro," Lax Almenas 

 de Toro. The subject is, the assassination of the king 

 De S-niclio, by Bellido a knight, whom the king had 

 offended by breaking his word to him. The s-m-e sub- 

 ject has furnished the subject of several old romances. 

 In this, as in these old romances, the Cid Ihiy Diaz 

 :ii important part The King, the Cid, mid the 

 Count Auxnres, appear first upon the scene, which re- 



VOL.1III. PART I. 



i.r.].. iV 



Vega's he- 

 roic dramas 



Account of 

 f Toro. 



i; 



presents a plain- at the foot of the strong city of Toro, Drams, 

 in the kingdom of Leon. The king declares to the ~\~"~ > ' 

 two knights, that political reasons do not permit him 

 to respect the testament of his father ; and that he can- 

 not leave his two sisters, Elvira and Urra, in possession 

 of the two strong cities of Zancora and Toro. The Cid, 

 with a generous liberty, represents to the King the in- 

 justice of his enterprise, and offers his mediation with 

 Elvira. The King and the Count Anzares withdraw, 

 and the Cid approaches to the walls of the fortress. He 

 meets the Chevalier Ordonez, who had stolen out of the 

 city with the design of rendering some service to the 

 Princess Elvira. The two knights at first prepare for 

 battle ; but, at the name of the Cid, Ordonez kisses his 

 sword, and they both embrace. The Cid here shews 

 himself in all the greatness of his character. The In- 

 fanta conies to speak to him from the top of the walls, 

 and explains to him the reasons that have obliged her 

 to shut the gates of the city against her brother. The 

 King returns, and orders an assault to be made on the 

 fortress. The scene changes. Don Vela, an ancient 

 cavalier retired from the world, walks in front of his 

 country-house, and makes a soliloquy. His daughter, 

 who is young and beautiful, enters on the stage sing- 

 ing, and surrounded by a troop of villagers. With this 

 scene commences the episode, or underplot of the piece, 

 of which, the hero is a Prince of Burgundy disguised 

 as a peasant, and in love with Sancha, the daughter of 

 Don Vela. The scene again changes to beneath the 

 walls of Toro. Negociations are set on foot between the 

 parties, and the King has an interview with his sister. 

 The conversation, which is pretty well seasoned with 

 abuse, and in which there is a great deal of quibbling 

 on the double meaning of Toro, which signifies both a 

 bull and the city besieged, produces no reconcilement. 

 A second assault is made, and is repelled, which closes 

 the lirst act. In the second act, the underplot of the 

 disguised Prince of Burgundy begins to have some con- 

 nection with the main action. The Prince, and the beau- 

 tiful Sancha, mutually breathe their tenderness in son- 

 nets. Don Bellido next appears. He promises the 

 king to make him master of the fortress, if he will agree 

 as a recompense to give him the hand of the Princess 

 Elvira. The Kmg promises this, and Don Bellido, by 

 the basest act of treachery, puts him in possession of 

 the fortress ; but the king conceives himself justified in 

 breaking his word with a traitor, and refuses him his 

 sister. This unfortunate Princess escapes in the habit 

 of a female peasant. She finds an asylum in the family 

 of Don Vela ; and the piece continues in this manner to 

 alternate tender and heroic, domestic and rural scenes, 

 till its denouement, which consists in the king being as- 

 sassinated by Bellido, and the Infanta brought back in 

 triumph to Toro. The piece concludes with the mar- 

 riage of the beautiful Sancha to her Prince of Burgun- 

 dy, and with the union of the Infanta to the traitor 

 Bellido, who had assassinated her brother. 



The comedies of the cloak and sword, or the comedies j (je 

 of intrigue of Lope de Vega, are not, it is true, plays of Vega's co- 

 character, but they present pictures of manners drawn media of 

 alter the life, however romantic. Their style, though in u 'e cloak 

 verse, has the same inequality, and the general character and 6Wor ^- 

 of their plots is the same with that of the heroic ones. 

 The scenes succeed each other, without the connection 

 of cause or probable motives. All the writer's object is 

 intrigue ; and frequently the plot gets so intricate, that 

 the poet is obliged to cut the knot of interest, which he 

 cannot unclose. The plays of our author are generally 

 strewed with reflections and maxims of prudence; but 



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