Document Type
Contribution to Book
Publication Date
1985
Abstract
Plays about martyrs form a curious subgenre within the comedia. In a direct contradiction of the values normally associated with the comedia, we are asked to accept that dishonor is glorious, that submission is courageous, and that death is a reward because it brings eternal life. The martyrs themselves, however, as presented in the comedia, are not of a single type; the way each comes to his or her final apotheosis is a function of the comedia setting in which the martyr acts. Too, because martyr plays almost always use external source material, a study of the presentations of the lives of the saints can give us valuable insight into the way literary fiction, folklore, and history come together in the comedia. In this brief overview of martyrs in the comedia, we shall discuss three martyrs represented in three works: Calderón's El principe constante, Lope's Lo fingido verdadero, and Angela de Acevedo's La margarita del Tajo.
Editor
Jean S. Chittenden
Publisher
University of Texas at El Paso
City
El Paso
Repository Citation
Stroud, M. D. (1985). Martyrs, martyrdom, and the comedia. In J. S. Chittenden (Ed.), Proceedings of the fifth annual golden age Spanish drama symposium (pp. 67-81). University of Texas at El Paso.
Publication Information
Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Golden Age Spanish Drama Symposium