Three Plays: Blood Wedding, Yerma, The House of Bernarda Alba (Paperback)

by Federico Garcia Lorca (Author), Michael Dewell (Translator), Carmen Zapata (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

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"Nimble and wise . . . A fresh, flowering translation."—Robert Kohler, The Los Angeles Times
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Review

"Nimble and wise . . . A fresh, flowering translation."—Robert Kohler, The Los Angeles Times

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Product Details Paperback: 192 pages Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 1st edition (September 1, 1993) Language: English ISBN-10: 0374523320 ISBN-13: 978-0374523329 Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #24,595 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in these categories: (What's this?) #1 in  Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( G ) > Garcia Lorca, Federico #16 in  Books > Literature & Fiction > Drama > Continental European #21 in  Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Spanish

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Citations (learn more)

1 book cites this book:

• The Demon and the Angel: Searching for the Source of Artistic Inspiration by Edward Hirsch in Back Matter

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	86% buy the item featured on this page: Three Plays: Blood Wedding, Yerma, The House of Bernarda Alba 4.7 out of 5 stars (9) $12.24
	4% buy The Selected Poems of Federico Garcia Lorca 5.0 out of 5 stars (4) $10.17
	3% buy The Collected Poems: A Bilingual Edition (Revised) 4.8 out of 5 stars (9) $16.50
	3% buy Yerma a play (Spanish Edition) 3.2 out of 5 stars (4) $12.39

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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews 5 star:  (7) 4 star:  (1) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.7 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 11 of 11 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful plays by LORCA set in SPAIN, September 24, 1999 By  [e-mail] "senhor" (Charlottesville, VA) - See all my reviews These are all well worth reading and deal with themes including indominable passion, society's strictures on women (and men), revenge, family, poor Andalusian society, and much more. Highly recommended (though better in the original Spanish, of course) Note that these are plays by Federico Garcia Lorca, not Ana Maria Matute, as stated in the above review. Also, they are set in Spain, not Peru. Just for your information... 16 of 20 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Simply brilliant, March 9, 2000 By  Alex (London) - See all my reviews Lorca uses simple mathematical expressions to convey emotions. A colour, for example white, combined with an object, for example a baby in the opening sequence of Yerma, will add up to a symbolic meaning where either two factors can be used somewhere else. Basically, anything white is a dream of happiness which is destroyed by an event. This very basic set of symbols and the application of "equations" makes Lorca one of the most powerful and accessible writers i've come accross. Oh and the stories are good too (!) 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful: 3.0 out of 5 stars Lyrical, but not captivating, January 17, 2009 By  ScrawnyPunk (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews To my understanding, the three tragedies included in this volume are considered to be amongst the author's most well-known plays. Each play is strongly influenced by his primary literary outlet (poetry) and exhibits a lyricism and scripted efficiency that is rarely exhibited in modern theatrical works. His use of symbolism is also well-documented is attributable, no doubt, to his involvement in the Spanish Avant-Garde movement in the 1920's and 30's. With that being said, two of the three are less than impressive upon a first reading which leads me to believe that either a) they require multiple readings and instruction to be fully appreciated, or b) the plays' critical acclaim is related more to the act of critical acclamation than actual content. The introduction by Lorca's brother attempts to make a case for the former and provides a valuable postscript to the three plays (assuming you read it after the plays, as opposed to before). * Blood Wedding A simple story of forbidden love and deadly revenge. Perhaps it is better in its original language, but the story is nowhere near as compelling as other love-or-death dramas in my opinion. Songs and choruses provide thematic direction in most instances and remind me of Greek dramas without the mythological background which would otherwise ease character development. The emotional impact is stunted somewhat by the groom's lack of clear interest in his bride other than honor. * Yerma Poetry and lyricism take center stage here more so than the other two dramas. However, it is difficult to emotionally connect with the protagonist, especially the perversion of her matronly desire into the abrupt murder of her husband. It is almost as if the play requires not a suspension of disbelief, but a willing acceptance of a dramatic conclusion withouth knowing anything about any character other than Yerma. It feels more like an experiment than a timeless piece of literature. * The House of Bernarda Alba This is the best-constructed of the three in terms of character and plot development. The first act seems much more immediate than anything in the other two plays and the pacing makes it easy to understand the conflict between the oppressive tradition required by the mother and the cloistered daughter's desire to choose and act for themselves. Here we see the mother's oppression translating into secrecy and conspiracy amongst the daughters, similar to the behavior of a populace during dictatorial regimes. In such a case, it is easy to see that the end of repression is a violent transition, even if directed inwardly. My presumption is that this is required reading for students of theatre and Spanish literature. However, the casual reader will probably be better served to read `Bernarda' and skip the other two.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars Verde Que Te Quiero Verde Here is one of Federico Garcia-Lorca's most famous poems, in Spanish. It will give you a taste of what it is like to read him in English or Spanish: Verde que te quiero... Read more Published on November 28, 2003 5.0 out of 5 stars Lyrical, Passionate, Elemental I saw BLOOD WEDDING and THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA on television during the '50s or '60s. I loved them so much, I got the books out of the library read and re-read them during... Read more Published on October 22, 2003 5.0 out of 5 stars read and buy this book!! garcia lorca is simply a person who must be read. And where has gone the Argentine "Valsa de Requerda??"" Where? Published on January 26, 2003 by Roberto Olivera 5.0 out of 5 stars Spain not Peru The trilogy by FGL, Yerma, Blood Wedding and The House of Bernarda Alba is set in Spain not Peru. They are an excellent portrayal of life in rural Spain during those times. Read more Published on August 3, 2001 by John A. Lombardo 4.0 out of 5 stars It's short As a spanish literature book, i have found 'la casa' to be very intriguing, while i lamented over the class separation, and the discrimintation which gave a quite clear picture of... Read more Published on November 4, 1999 5.0 out of 5 stars Intense tragic plays which places the reader in the culture This book was utterly amazing each story was individually evocative but when all three are read the reader finishes with a picture of life in Peruvian culture. Read more Published on May 24, 1999 Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 1st edition (September 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374523320
• ISBN-13: 978-0374523329
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #24,595 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #1 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( G ) > Garcia Lorca, Federico
  #16 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Drama > Continental European
  #21 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Spanish

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful plays by LORCA set in SPAIN, September 24, 1999

By	[e-mail] "senhor" (Charlottesville, VA) - See all my reviews

These are all well worth reading and deal with themes including indominable passion, society's strictures on women (and men), revenge, family, poor Andalusian society, and much more. Highly recommended (though better in the original Spanish, of course)

Note that these are plays by Federico Garcia Lorca, not Ana Maria Matute, as stated in the above review. Also, they are set in Spain, not Peru. Just for your information...

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply brilliant, March 9, 2000

By	Alex (London) - See all my reviews

Lorca uses simple mathematical expressions to convey emotions. A colour, for example white, combined with an object, for example a baby in the opening sequence of Yerma, will add up to a symbolic meaning where either two factors can be used somewhere else. Basically, anything white is a dream of happiness which is destroyed by an event. This very basic set of symbols and the application of "equations" makes Lorca one of the most powerful and accessible writers i've come accross. Oh and the stories are good too (!)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lyrical, but not captivating, January 17, 2009

By	ScrawnyPunk (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews

To my understanding, the three tragedies included in this volume are considered to be amongst the author's most well-known plays. Each play is strongly influenced by his primary literary outlet (poetry) and exhibits a lyricism and scripted efficiency that is rarely exhibited in modern theatrical works. His use of symbolism is also well-documented is attributable, no doubt, to his involvement in the Spanish Avant-Garde movement in the 1920's and 30's. With that being said, two of the three are less than impressive upon a first reading which leads me to believe that either a) they require multiple readings and instruction to be fully appreciated, or b) the plays' critical acclaim is related more to the act of critical acclamation than actual content. The introduction by Lorca's brother attempts to make a case for the former and provides a valuable postscript to the three plays (assuming you read it after the plays, as opposed to before).

* Blood Wedding
A simple story of forbidden love and deadly revenge. Perhaps it is better in its original language, but the story is nowhere near as compelling as other love-or-death dramas in my opinion. Songs and choruses provide thematic direction in most instances and remind me of Greek dramas without the mythological background which would otherwise ease character development. The emotional impact is stunted somewhat by the groom's lack of clear interest in his bride other than honor.

* Yerma
Poetry and lyricism take center stage here more so than the other two dramas. However, it is difficult to emotionally connect with the protagonist, especially the perversion of her matronly desire into the abrupt murder of her husband. It is almost as if the play requires not a suspension of disbelief, but a willing acceptance of a dramatic conclusion withouth knowing anything about any character other than Yerma. It feels more like an experiment than a timeless piece of literature.

* The House of Bernarda Alba
This is the best-constructed of the three in terms of character and plot development. The first act seems much more immediate than anything in the other two plays and the pacing makes it easy to understand the conflict between the oppressive tradition required by the mother and the cloistered daughter's desire to choose and act for themselves. Here we see the mother's oppression translating into secrecy and conspiracy amongst the daughters, similar to the behavior of a populace during dictatorial regimes. In such a case, it is easy to see that the end of repression is a violent transition, even if directed inwardly.

My presumption is that this is required reading for students of theatre and Spanish literature. However, the casual reader will probably be better served to read `Bernarda' and skip the other two.