Customer Reviews

Three Major Plays (Oxford World's Classics)

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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.

I am no expert, but I do appreciate how difficult it is to translate Spanish literature from this period for a modern English-speaking audience, and I thought this edition was good. The notes complement the tranlation to give you a real flavor, and it is easy to see why these plays are classics.

Lope de Vega is the most famous playwright of Spain's Golden Age and a man with a very colourful life. I visited his house in Madrid not so long ago, and loved it so much I decided I ought to read some of his plays.

This edition by Oxford World Classics introduces these literary classics to the novice reader properly. This book has an introduction with a brief biography of Lope de Vega, an explanation of how Golden Age theatre was staged, an examination of the plays in the collection, a translator's note and a select bibliography. This is followed by the text of the three plays, and finally notes which illuminate literary allusions, stylistic features and performance matters.

The plays themselves were written in the early 17th century. Dealing with the themes of harmony and good conduct, "Fuente Ovejuna" relates the revenge the villagers of Fuente Ovejuna take on their cruel lord and questions where true nobility lies. "The Knight of Olmeda" tells the story of the love affair between Alonso and Inès, which starts out so well and ends so badly. "Punishment without Revenge" is set at the court of the libertine Duke of Ferrara and relates the disaster that unfolds when he marries a young woman, Casandra, whose children would dispossess his beloved illegitimate son, Federico - not knowing that Casandra and Federico have fallen in love. Honour and fate are strong presences in all three plays, and the contrast between appropriate behaviour then and now is fascinating.

These plays are short and I found them very readable, with strong characters and engaging stories. If I ever got the chance to see them performed live, I'd take it - surely a strong endorsement of Lope de Vega's talent, and Gwynne Edwards' as well.

If you think Cervantes was Spain's Shakespeare, you're dead wrong! 'Twas Lope; perhaps the greatest playwriter in history, after Billy the Bard!