"This anthology of "new" approches to literary study takes its name from Lope de Vega's Arte nuevo de hacer comedias. Like Lope's poem on poetics, this volume also operates as a defense, in the sense that many of the articles include a defense of the usefulness of literary theory in general, and of their chosen approach in particular, for enriching the study of the comedia." "In these essays, it is the not quite new art of "estudiar" rather than "hacer" drama that is the central concern, the contributors defending theoretical innovations approximately twenty years after James Parr, in the pages of Hispania, issued his challenge to Hispanists to update their approach. This volume, which combines innovative scholarship with the "metacriticism" that many critics advocate in all literary study, is directed both the students of literature and to scholars who wish to expand their knowledge of the many different areas of theoretical inquiry that comediantes are currently exploring."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Spanish Drama of the Golden Age describes this little-known field of European drama. This book describes and analyzes Spanish plays and drama. It reviews the Spanish plays from the 1580s to the death of Pedro Calderon de la Barca in 1681. This text also discusses the controversy to which direction the Spanish theater would take: whether it is for entertainment or a representation of the intellect and emotions. This book describes Miguel de Cervantes, Lope de Vega, and the rise of the Spanish comedia. The text describes how Lope wrote his plays and how he sold them outright to the manager of an acting company, which became its property. The text also describes the life of Tirso de Molina who was often criticized for his cavalier treatment of a historical fact. This book also discusses the works of Ruiz de Alarcon, Guillen de Castro, Velez de Guevara, and Mira de Amescua. This book also assess this period of Spanish drama in terms of the influence of other countries in Europe such as Britain and France. This book can prove valuable for university students of Spanish, Spanish literature teachers to students of sixth forms, and Spanish historians.