4 
Indiana University Studies 
a pelear como los demas? A que me respondio: “Yo peleo aqul mas que 
ninguno, porque aqul estoy minando al enemigo. — Vuesa merced, le 
replique, me parece que esta buscando que tomar de esas comedias 
viejas. — Eso mismo (me respondio) me obliga a decir que estoy minando 
al enemigo; y echelo de ver en esta copla: 
“Que estoy minando imagina 
Cuando tu de ml te quejas; 
Que en estas comedias viejas 
He hallado una brava mina.” 
The purpose of the present study is not to attempt to de- 
cide the question of Moreto’s originality, but to make a com- 
parison of his El desden con el desden with all available plays 
which have been suggested as having furnished him with ma- 
terial for his play. The majority of the critics examined agree 
that Moreto took his play from some earlier work of the pe- 
riod, but there is an interesting discrepancy among them as 
to which particular play, or plays, he used. There are, also, 
those who maintain — as we shall see presently — that the ac- 
cusation is unfounded. Before going into any detail concern- 
ing these sources, a synopsis of the play at hand is given, and 
the comparisons follow in the order of the plays mentioned by 
the greater number of critics. 
