'iiiTiiipi!'"' " ' '' AiNOSRbRAD'UATE LIBRARY DATE DUE Cornell University Library PQ6488.S321918 The dramatic art of Lope de Vega, togethe 3 1924 009 599 535 Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924009599535 SEMICENTENNIAL PUBLICATIONS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 1868-1918 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS IN MODERN PHILOLOGY VOLUME 6 CHARLES M. GAYLEY H. K. SCHILLING " RUDOLPH SCHEVILL EDITORS UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY 1918 THE DRAMATIC ART OF LOPE DE VEGA TOGETHER WITH LA DAMA BOBA EDITED, FROM AN AUTOGRAPH IN THE BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL AT MADRID, WITH NOTES BY RUDOLPH SCHEVILL UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS BERKELEY 1918 w •-H TO JUAX C. CEBKIAN SON OF SPAIN, CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES. HONORED AND LOVED IX BOTH COUNTRIES FOR HIS SINGLE-MINDED DEVOTION TO EVERY NOBLE CAUSE. PREFACE The large amount which Lope de Vega wrote for the stage manifestly demands a voluminous study of his art to do him full justice. The limited essay here presented may consequently be considered inadequate, and many points which could or ought to be included will be missed. Of that I am aware. But within the confined scope of this attempt my object became twofold: first, to indicate by brief hints along what lines a more detailed investigation could be instituted by someone better fitted than myself, and second, to have, at a future date, some justification for continuing an examination of the many items of interest which Lope constantly suggests. I have refrained from comparing the great Spaniard with other master writers for the theatre, for the obvious reason that it seemed to me more important to out- line first an objective presentation of the material derived from Lope himself. Comparative studies in literature are futile and unprofitable to the reader who is not well acquainted with all the elements compared. Moreover, comparisons frequently lead to unjust conclusions whenever they attempt to prove that one writer is greater than another instead of analyzing in an unbiased manner how their delineation and interpretation of life are re- lated. The offhand assertion is frequently to be met with that Moliere and Shakespeare are much greater than Lope de Vega, and yet the writers of such statements too often repeat merely a traditional catch phrase ; they do not prepare the ground by add- ing a just and indispensable picture of the economic and social background which accounts for much that is unique in Lope de Vega's art. The most satisfactory studies of Aristophanes, Shakespeare, Moliere and other master playwrights are those based on direct objective analysis of their productions, and the principles or formula of their art. With these before us, a com- parison may profitably be instituted which will further illuminate their methods of coinposition or reveal the extent to which they held a mirror up to the form of society in which they moved. A comparative study may also be attempted, which relates Lope to his predecessors in the national theatre of Spain. His indebtedness in this connection is not excessive, but a careful comparison makes evident the continuity of a number of features in Spanish dramatic art, features related, first to the technical side of composition, and second, to the ample scope which char- acterizes the popular dramatic formula of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. I refer especially to the break with classic tradition and precept, and the gradual disappearance of the prin- ciple of limitation in subject matter fit for the stage. The final programme of the drama of the Golden Age included every con- ceivable plot taken from history, fiction, legend, mythology and the like. Lope is a lineal descendant of a more primitive and a cruder art and nothing is more astonishing than the many inno- vations for which he alone is responsible. But in spite of all the features in which he may be compared with earlier playwrights to his decided advantage, one stands out preeminently, his undeni- able superiority in poetic endowment. The key-note to his crea- tion is freshness and constant inspiration; the prominent trait of the majority of his precursors is their lack of originality : they could not lose sight of something to imitate, they seem too often forced to toil and keep vigil in the hope that some divine afflatus may raise their efforts above the common level. In short, men like Bermudez, Argensola, Juan de la Cueva, Virues, Miguel Sanchez and Cervantes seem to be feeling their way, attempting forms of dramatic expression unrelated to any well-conceived artistic formula. Their theatrical gifts, though very pronounced in isolated details, never cry&talized into any well-rounded con- ception; they were generally overwhelmed by a lack of restraint and nullified by disregard of balance and form. It would be futile here to point out the noteworthy exceptions among Lope's predecessors, those playwrights who revealed in an occasional trait the evidence of genuine artistic gifts. A study of their productions could present with much profit not only the growth of numerous metrical forms and technical flexibility of the drama of the Renascence, but the origin of various elements which portray the outward aspects of Spanish life. In these two fea- tures, poetic charm and sparkling popular dialogue. Lope's worthiest ancestors were Gil Vicente and Lope de Rueda. No comparative study would be complete which does not exhaustively deal with these two prominent names. The main difference be- tween the teatro antiguo of the sixteenth century and the work of Lope may thus be said to be this, that while the former is char- acterized by a constant striving toward more adequate dramatic expression, Lope's work represents fullest achievement. There is hardly a feature in the drama of his contemporaries or suc- cessors, which cannot be found in embryo, at least, in his vast formula. In giving excerpts from Lope's plays, I strove to select pass- ages which would best illustrate my argument, even if taken from comedias not unknown to readers of Spanish literature. The majority of citations were taken from the accessible collection in the Biblioteca de Aiitores Espaiioles, unsatisfactory as this is, because the reader who approaches Lope as a new field of study could more easily obtain and read those plays. I have made no effort to be consistent in the matter of accents on vowels, because my quotations, taken from a variety of texts printed in many different epochs, could not be standardized. My thanks are due to Dr. Hills of the Hispanic Society of America, who with unfailing courtesy sent me transcriptions of items to be found in the library which he directs; to Mr. F. E. Spencer and Miss Patricia Moorshead, former students of the University of California, for collating plays and passages for me in the Biblioteca Nacional at Madrid, and to my colleagues, Pro- fessor Herbert Cory, Professor Jaen, and Mr. Eugene Joralemon for their valuable assistance in reading proofs. Berkeley, California, January, 1918. CONTENTS I. The dramatic art of Lope de Vega Introduction 1 Lope's dramatic art: the formula of art versus the formula of human life 10 Inheritance and tradition manifest in the characters 17 Inheritance and tradition manifest in specific traits of Lope's plots 26 Artificial devices in the technique: balance, the duplication of groups or combinations of personages 34 Poetic language and thought: Co nceytismo and Cu lto 46 Lope's learning: the influence of the classics 67 Lope's acquaintance with contemporary literature 71 Some technical features of Lope 's art : exposition, plots, recurring themes 74 Dialogue, monologue and narrative 80 Characters and customs 101 Two examples of Lope's Comedia: a tragedy and a comedy 113 II. La Dama Boba 117 The autograph 124 Variants of the first edition of Madrid, 1617 129 La Versificacion _..- - - 141 Aeto I - 143 Aeto II - 179 Acto III - - 212 Notes - - , ^ 251 Index 339 BIBLIOGRAPHY Lope Felix de Vega Carpio. Obras, edition of the Eoyal Spanish Academy, Madrid, 1890-1914, 15 vols.; vol. I, with a biography by la Barrera, and vols. II-XIII, with prefaces by Menendez y Pelayo. Eestoei, a. Critical reviews of the preceding edition in Zeitschrift fiir romanisohe Philologie, 1898-1906. Eennert, H. a. The Life of Lope de Vega, Philadelphia, 1904. Eennert, H. A. Bibliography of the Dramatic Works of Lope de Vega Carpio, based upon the catalogue of John Eutter Chorley, in Bevue hispanique, 1915. Eennebt, H. a. The Staging of Lope de Vega's Comedias, in Sevue Mspanique, 1906. Eenneet, H. a. The Spanish Stage in the Time of Lope de Vega, New York, 1909. Moeel-Fatio, a. La "Comedia" espagnole du XVII sidele, Paris, 1885. Mobel-Fatio, a. Les origines de Lope de Vega, in Bulletin Mspanique, 1905. Chorlet, J. E. Athenaeum, November, 1853; and Fraser's Magazine, vols. 59 and 60, 1859. Okmsby, J. Lope de Vega, in Quarterly Review, 1894. Fitzmatjeice-Kelly, J. Lope de Vega and the Spanish Drama. (Taylorian Lecture) London, 1902. Fitzmaueicb-Kellt, J. Chapters on Spanish Literature, (Chap. VII), London, 1908. BoNiLLA Y San MaetIn, A. Introduction to his edition of Peribdnez y el Comendador de Ooaiia, Madrid, 1916. Buchanan, M. A., At a Spanish Theatre in the Seventeenth Century, The University of Toronto Monthly, 1908. VON SCHACK, A. F. Geschichte der dramatischen Literatur und Kunst in Spanien, 2nd edit, enlarged, Frankfurt a. M., 1854. This work has been translated into Spanish by E. de Mier, Madrid, 1885-1887.' SoHAEFFEE, A. Geschichte des spanischen Nationaldramas, Leipzig, 1890. Faeinelli, a. Grillparzer und Lope de Vega, Berlin, 1894. Klein, J. L. Geschichte des Dramas; Das spanische Drama, vols. VIII-XI, Leipzig, 1871-1875. This work is unfortunately written in an involved and repellent style. For full lists of titles of.: Fitzmaueice-Kelly, J. Historia de la literatura espaiBola, Madrid, 1916, pp. 358, 436. Cejadoe y Feauca, Julio. Historia de la lengua y literatura espanola, vol. IV, Madrid, 1916, pp. 69ff. THE DRAMATIC ART OF LOPE DE VEGA INTEODUCTION The opinion is widespread that it is impossible for any human being to reach a fair and comprehensive estimate of the dramatic art of Lope de Vega on account of the unlimited number of comedias which he has produced. In other words, one of his chief claims to enduring fame, his superhuman productivity, turns out to be the main obstacle to any satisfactory study of his plays. He frightens students away. Nevertheless, this alleged reason for neglecting Lope and his art is, I am now convinced, merely one of several minor ones, which hardly weigh in the balance against a single overwhelming cause: the incredibly unattractive state of his printed works. And this fact touches human nature in its most vulnerable spot. After many years of fruitless effort to interest my students in Lope in any per- manent or productive sense, I hesitate to send them any longer to our libraries to consult the available editions of his plays. Is this not an inexplicable fault in the record of Spanish studies the world over? Can we point to the works of any truly great playwright of other nations, and affirm that the same is true? Are not scores of editions of Shakespeare, Goethe, Moliere or men of less fame, to be had in various acceptable forms ? In the case of Lope, on the other hand — surely one of the world's most fascinating geniuses — ^the record shows chiefly biographical or bibliographical studies and, as regards the plays themselves, either intermittent series of collections, or an occasional reprint of a single comedia. The volumes of the former are for the greater part misguided efforts which have been highly successful in keeping his works peacefully shelved. Take, for example, the question of Lope's autograph manu- scripts, which under all circumstances must form the beginning of any conceivable investigation of his dramatic art. Is it not natural to suppose that they would all be accessible in critical 2 DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE DM VEGA editions, or some form of adequate reprint? Yet in the face of this crying need our efforts have been spent, for the most part, on plays already printed in a form which does not give us the fundamental conception of his manner of creation. This implies no criticism of the results already offered ; it is rather an expres- sion of regret that the limited energies and enthusiasms of Spanish scholars should be thus scattered, and not directed to a single end. We shall never have even a working edition of any great Spanish writer, if these disconnected methods of study per- sist. The task is enormous, to be sure, and life very brief; our judgments are erring, and critics ever ready to tell us so. Yet it is inconceivable that so wealthy a literature as the Spanish should not stir us up to ever increasing efforts in order that its history and its master minds may be illuminated ; but we are hindered by the imperfect state of our tools, and a lack of cour- age and concerted energy to make them better without delay. It is with trepidation that one begins to speak of any of the printed versions or collections of Lope's comedias. The most easily accessible collection, the four volumes contained in the Biblioteca de autores espanoles, cannot be passed without praise in so far as it represented a commendable effort to gather his widely scattered productions. Nevertheless, this edition cannot be recommended to the average student. The diminutive type, the brittle paper, the crowded page in triple column, the num- erous inaccuracies, which are apparent especially when compared with autographs or early editions, all seem to have been devised to make Lope repellent. In the case of the plays included in the Obras Sueltas, printed by Sancha in the eighteenth century, we have a more acceptable format; this set has the disadvantage, however, not only of being relatively scarce in our libraries, but of containing dramas which manifest no judicious selection or absolute trustworthiness of text. And what can be said to con- done the mountainous edition begun by the Academy ? Much has already been written concerning the defects of the collection, its untoward size, its heavy, thick paper, its inaccuracies even where an autograph could have served as a basis. (Compare, for ex- DBAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE VEGA 3 ample, the printed version of el Bastardo Mudarra with Lope's original.) I shall, therefore, add no additional, gratuitous word of blame; and indeed were it not for the unequalled and im- mensely stimulating introductions by the late Menendez y Pelayo, one would be tempted to pass over the edition in "silence. As regards the continuation of the Academy's project the volumes which have appeared up to date only awaken feelings of pain and regret. No principle can be falser than that enunciated by the Academy's editor when he says that it is essential to publish all the works of Lope; no text can be more unwelcome than an unreliable one; no edition of twenty plays per volume can be manageable ; no volume can be of as little service as one that will never be read. Does it not seem that we are face to face once more with an amateurish project, which, if not modified at once, will again miscarry, and leave only the discouragement which follows every abortive effort? There are thus problems which always confront the Spanish student and which deserve a prompt solution. Is this collection to be forever a torso ; can the latest venture be carried to a successful issue ; is Lope never to receive, if only in part, what is his due 1 Perhaps I may be forgiven for inserting at this point a plea to the distinguished members who compose the Royal Spanish Academy {de la lengua) and with such authority or prestige as my name may possess, be these ever so slight, urge upon them that something fruitful be determined at once. I speak out of my great love for Spanish letters and because, as scholars are aware, the steps already taken to bring out some of Lope's works have been singularly potent in killing any latent interest in his art. Why not proceed forthwith to make good this lamentable defect ? Surely Lope has precedence over many other literary matters in which the Academy has shown great generosity and upon which it is no doubt willing to spend its funds. A committee could be first appointed to examine very carefully the actual condition of affairs; it could then make a practical report on what must be done to assure students of Lope that a readable working edition of his comedias will see the light. The basis of 4 DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE VEGA any successful project should be easy to determine since it depends entirely on a judicious selection of plays sufficient to give a comprehensive idea of his dramatic art, on a painstaking reprint of that selection, and on a form simple and attractive. As regards a careful selection of his best plays, this is feasible and highly desirable since it clears away much dead weight. After reading available plays and forming an opinion of Lope's art, no new play which I have been able to find and read, has modified my conclusion. This must also be the experience of others, and means that the large number of Lope's plays is no drawback to printing an edition 'of his best comedias. Perhaps the suggestions of those who know Lope may aid in making out an admirable list of plays. At all events, would not thirty or forty small volumes, each containing at the most three plays, care- fully reprinted, and, if need be, without notes or introduction, be a greater monument to Lope than any other that critics could devise ? In connection with the manner of reprinting his works, it must be remembered that no arbitrary procedure can ever again make Lope a modern, that the body of readers who will study him intelligently and sympathetically must ever remain small — no unusual fate for the greatest of our writers — and that a depend- able reprint of the best available texts, not modernized, is all that can be asked. Finally, the format of the edition may be easily determined, if its main purpose be never lost from view, namely, to place a scholarly selection within reach of any student of Spanish letters the world over. May this ardent hope be realized in the near future ! Various editions of single plays need not be mentioned here as they hardly change the facts presented regarding the lack of opportunity to study Lope's art. Moreover, when we come to examine into the state of Lope criticism, we are but little better off. The reader who hesitates to form his own opinion of Lope 's dramatic gift, invariably goes off on a still hunt for aid, and presently returns with the opinions of Schack, or Ticknor, or DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE VEGA 5 Chorley, or Menendez y Pelayo, or of some author who derives from these. Nothing can be more disheartening to a teacher, and when recently a student returned with a revamped opinion ex- tracted from the above critics, I determined to lay aside for a little while all other work begun, in order to ease my troubled soul in this matter. Let me begin by stating very clearly that I have no desire to belittle the great work of these men, notably that of Menendez y Pelayo whose unfinished series of essays on Lope will ever make evident to us how irreparable is the loss of his uncompleted studies. But some of the criticisms referred to above were set down three-quarters of a century ago, and many of our points of view, as well as our information, have greatly changed siace then. Perhaps I should be less weary of it all, if I had not had it served up to me in various forms with rarely a new point of view. In Germany the words of August Wilhelm von Schlegel and Schaek are still religiously repeated from generation to genera- tion, and we are taught to believe that through them the last word on the Spanish drama has been said. Indeed the world knows how many admirable things these eminent judges have set down, and that their praise of the classic Peninsular theatre far outweighs any adverse criticism they may have uttered. But the motive power which formed their opinions was not infre- quently an uncritical enthusiasm. This had its roots in the ro- mantic movement and leaves us unconvinced today. As regards Schlegel's dicta especially I recall an experience of my student days in Germany which shows how deeply fixed a point of view may become even among scholars. When I ventured in class to express my doubts about an assertion which Schlegel had made concerning the nature of the Spanish drama, I received the cold reprimand : "An der Kritik dieses Mannes ist nichts zu rutteln." Perhaps so. But I have ever since been possessed by the desire to give the reputation of that worthy old gentleman a little shak- ing down, if only to help in destroying forever the principle of NacJibeterei. Schaek, for his part, set up a comprehensive system of dramaturgy inspired by a comparative study of the world's 6 DRAMATIC ART OF LOPE BE VEGA theatre and colored by his ardent love for those principles of the romantic movement which were in vogue during his youth. Hav- ing gathered innumerable dramatic elements or formulae, repre- sented by specific phrases such as the drawing of characters, the development of plot, truth to nature and actual society, psycho- logical excellence, careful execution of details, variety of moods, and scores of others, he thereupon fitted Lope into the system. It is evident from the beginning that Sehack has set up specific standards and that he is going to adapt his favorite authors to his idealized scheme. In the ease of Lope this is misleading, espe- cially for students who are not acquainted with his art. It is certainly an illogical procedure to conceive an ideal dramaturgy and then look about and see which authors satisfy most elements of the formula. Lope's individuality, his inspiration, were so peculiar and so original that to grasp him in his entirety we must start, if we wish to explain him, not from a general scheme, but with a purely objective analysis of what be wrote : not by con- ceiving principles which he never had or, at least, never lived up to, but by noting the specific elements or phenomena which constitute the unwritten formula of his art. In America we point with pride to Ticknor, our first Spanish scholar, who wrote at about the same time that Sehack produced his history of the Peninsular drama. Ticknor's analysis of the Spanish stage, notably of Lope's art and works, still finds many readers. But his presentation could not exceed in quantity what seemed compatible with the entire history of a nation's literature and consequently is very inadequate, especially today. Nor have we in this particular followed up the fine tradition of Spanish studies which he established by making any attempt at a comprehensive study of Lope's dramatic art. We have — ^beside Mr. Rennert's excellent biographical and bibliographical works — a number of brief monographs to our account which, however, do not claim to do him full justice. Ticknor, too, measured Lope by the conventional rod of his day. Owing to his sane tempera- ment, his poise, he never reached out for glowing colors to express his sympathy, nor did he ever exceed the bounds of cool and fre- DBAMATIC ART OF LOPE DE VEGA 7 quently very dry exposition ; but he none the less shows every- where that his vast early reading reposes on romantic founda- tions, that his sympathies are with such elements of dramatic art as have been customarily emphasized by the chief exponents of that movement. This is all quite logical. Ticknor wrote when literature in England and especially in America had not yet drifted away from romanticism, and literary criticism frequently held up standards based upon "the warm and passionate produc- tions of southern Europe. ' ' A Petrarch, or a Calderon especially, seemed to vindicate these standards, and the romanticists were able to turn to account in their theories many of the salient traits of Italian and Spanish literature. It would be absurd to deny that Lope has any of the qualities which found an echo in the romantic movement. But to explain Lope's dramatic art in the light of romanticism would be equally so. In Ticknor 's opinion a number of the plays which he discusses, present a faithful picture of Spanish society. When I come to speak of Lope's art I shall try to show that this is not convincingly so, and that such assertions made without qualifications are exceedingly mislead- ing. But this opinion was, and still is, one of the hobbies of dramatic criticism, to find wherever possible "a delicate observa- tion of local or national customs. ' ' England has given us Chorley's admirable exposition of the character of the Spanish stage; few scholars have labored over Lope and his bibliography as sympathetically as he and a great many of his affirmations are, therefore, highly suggestive. But I must emphasize again, that I am speaking from the point of view of the teacher who is attempting to make Lope attractive to the average student. From this point of view Chorley's atti- tude is often a poor guide because he reaches back altogether too far to explain matters directly before him. For this reason it is difficult to agree with those who think it necessary to quote Chorley whenever Lope's art is discussed. It has from time to time been the habit of English critics who have followed in Chorley's footsteps to call Spanish society "essentially super- ficial," one to which "the occasional moment of philosophic re- 8 BE AM AT IC ART OF LOPE DE VEGA flection is uncongenial." By these and similar assertions the Spaniard naturally gets the impression that such foreign critics are chiefly impressed with the fact that they themselves, on the other hand, belong to a society essentially profound, and the modern student is thus introduced to those unfortunate antagon- isms which go back to the days of Queen Elizabeth. Such phrases also constitute an easy way of explaining our inability to do justice to the principal features of an art as peculiar as that of Lope de Vega. Chorley, moreover, applies methods of historical and philosophical analysis which seem top-heavy to the beginner because he reaches back to the earliest crude phases of Spanish culture to explain a great art of the seventeenth century. No one today is seriously inclined to base his judgment of the culture of the Peninsula on Buckle's brilliant chapter on Spain, to be found in his History of Civilization. And yet a great deal of Chorley has the ring of Buckle, for however true the latter may be here and there he has for the most part become old-fashioned ; he presents an attitude which we can no longer accept unless renovated by a few new ideas. The following quotation will explain best what I mean by Chorley 's reaching back too far to explain the character of the Spanish drama. He is talking of the "intensely self-conscious individualism" of the Spaniard, and continues : In the earlier times it presents itself without disguise in the form of personal independence and fiery self-assertion; and from its action on the general ideas of worth and duty diffused throughout Europe, by the development, on the feudal basis, of the institution of Chivalry, may be deduced the qualities involved in the Gastilian type of honor — overween- ing self-assertion, punctilious resentment of offence, jealous maintenance of privilege in title and oflSce, the importance attached to purity of blood and the high sense of the obligations annexed to the claims of nobility. On this ground, the mighty influences, political, social and moral, let loose by the turn in Peninsular affairs that began in the days of Ferdinand and Isabella, have, at the period which concerns us, now been working for more than a century; and a strange work they have made! What was once rude, simple and vigorous, has become in some respects fancifully refined, in others altered or weakened, in all vastly complicated. It is a combination in which relies of the ferocitv of war- like ages, and of the wild ways of personal independence, are mingled DBAUATIC ABT OF LOPE BE VEGA 9 with the courtesies and caprices of a time of luxury and ostentation, and forced into unnatural shapes by the high pressure of despotism in State and Church. Pare listed la iurra, we unconsciously exclaim at this point, come back to our own days and the matter in hand. For after all is said and done, to have Lope's art thoroughly illuminated, we need go only to his own comedias. Lope explains Lope better than the days of Wamba explain him. In Spain the criticism of the late Menendez y Pelayo, to be found in his Historia de las ideas esteticas en Espama, and in those essays on individual plays which he prefixed to the volumes of the Academy's edition, has no equal. These scattered utter- ances are throughout inspiring, and coming from one whose understanding of Lope was so profound, whose taste was so un- erringly sound, should be gathered at once and reprinted in a form accessible to all. I may be pardoned for not mentioning all of the recent critics nor the monographs which are related to Lope's work. The fact that they deal largely with bibliographical matter must justify their exclusion from my argument. The fear expressed above lest we accept too lightly current Lope criticism will meet with opposition on the part of many conservative readers. Of that I am well aware. But perhaps a defence of these giants of old on the part of others will bring out something new, and that is all I desire. The very best criticism is bound to grow musty and stale unless ventilated and renewed from time to time ; the differ- ence between certain books on shelves and men in their graves is not very great after all. Hamlet's "How long will a man lie i ' the earth ere he rot ? " also applies to the criticisms of bygone days. What we say today ought of right to be replaced tomorrow by something more illuminating, more comprehensive, more true. 10 DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE BE VEGA LOPE'S DRAMATIC ART: THE FORMULA OF ART VERSUS THE FORMULA OF HUMAN LIFE The first tendency of the average student who desires to dis- cover Lope's principles of composition is to search through his essay el Arte nuevo de hacer comedias, and the numerous pro- logues and dedications prefixed to the first editions of his plays. This is, to me at least, a fruitless academic procedure. Lope writing a comedia, and Lope trying to explain how it is done, are two absolutely different men, two minds working in wholly dis- tinct fashion and on different levels. The Arte nuevo especially is no clue to what we desire most to know, but pedantic ill-com- bined material drawn from his reading ; it is the acceptance in theory of dramatic principles to which the work of his life gave the lie, an uncritical repetition of traditional phrases concerning the units of time, place and action, rarae aves which never lodged on Lope's tree, a naive explanation of the differences apparent between his own creation and the standard works of old, coupled with excuses for catering to the poor taste of the contemporary theatre-goer. Nor do his prologues and his casual definitions of the comedia lead us out of the woods and into the sunshine. Indeed, when all is said and done, the Lope who tells us of his art is a mind circumscribed by accepted academic teachings to which any deliberate opposition would have been unpardonable heresy. Cervantes, with his meagre dramatic and slight poetic gift, and the various mediocre contemporaries of his early efforts, jogged all their lives through in these trammels, and if Lope's original genius had not broken the academic bonds which his uninspired self-criticism tried to accept, we would have had no monstruo de la naturaleza; Spain could not point with pride to his repertoire which furnishes an example of every note, or com- bination of notes, struck by any of the playwrights destined to follow in the steps of this master composer. BEAMATIC ABT OF LOPE BE VEGA 11 Take, for example, the foreword of the Dorotea, a work always dear to Lope's heart. Although it is written by Lope's friend, Francisco Lopez de Aguilar, it presents a series of arguments which unquestionably voice Lope's own opinions. For they not only defend the prose form of the play, but insist that the poet succeeded in making the language and the action truer to life than was usually the ease. The writer says: "Siendo [la Dorotea] tan cierta imitacion de la verdad, le parecio [a Lope] que no lo seria hablando las personas en verso como las demas que ha escrito.'' Moreover, the stage demands expression in verse, a creation along accepted lines, while a play not intended for the theatre, is not bound: "que el papel es mas libre teatro que aquel donde tiene licencia el vuglo de graduar, la amistad de aplaudir y la envidia de morder. Pareceranle vivos los afectos de dos amantes, la codicia y trazas de una tereera, la hipocresfa de una madre interesable, la pretension de un rico, la fuerza del oro, el estilo de los criados. ' ' And if the usual pro- cedure is violated, the reader is asked to remember that the author is reproducing life {la verdad). "Si algun defeto hubiere en el arte, por ofrecerse precisamente la distancia del tiempo de una ausencia, sea la diseulpa la verdad; que mas quiso el poeta seguirla, que estrecharse a las impertinentes leyes de la fabula; porque el asunto fue historia y aun pienso que la causa de haberse con tanta propiedad escrito." Those who admire the prominent characteristics of Lope's art, who prefer the charm of his verse to the prosaic features of the Dorotea — disfigured by its academic discussions and its pedantic show of learning — will have no difficulty in fiiiding "otra imitacion mas perfeta, otra verdad afeitada de mas donaires y colores retoricos, la erudicion mas ajustada a su lugar. ' ' Indeed to me this foreword of Aguilar is not far from verbiage and may, therefore, be misleading. Could Lope after laboring for years at his profession, within the limits which the formula of his art had set him, present speaking char- acters and contemporary customs with all the unartificial colors of real life by a mere act of volition, if he had not already done 12 DRAMATIC AST OF LOFE DE VEGA SO through the dictates of his own genius? He certainly could not, and the Dorotea is there to prove it. We are told in the foreword that the sentiments of the lovers are presented mas vivos because of the prose. As a matter of fact, their conversation seems much more stilted and unnatural by the very fact that it is in prose. Take, for example, the dialogue of Act I, scene v. Could two lovers ever speak as do Fernando and Dorotea here, and be considered sane? Such overdone exclamations, so many references to the classics, such patent imitations of the Celestina and other novelistic works, such readings of letters and reciting of verses, what are they but the usual combination of features char- acteristic of Renascence dialogue? It is gratuitous to add that there are also mingled qualities of great, undying charm, that a poet who had drunk so deeply of life as Lope could not fail to add genuine notes. Thus Dorotea 's words to Celia, defending herself for having yielded to Fernando 's personality and genius, have an exquisite touch: she would live forever through his verses. ' ' j Que mayor riqueza para una mujer que verse eterni- zada? Porque la hermosura se acaba, y nadie que la mira sin ella cree que la tuvo; y los versos de su alabanza son eternos testigos, que viven con su nombre." On the other hand, the formal conversation of lovers may lose all unnatural traits when expressed in verse, and if the reader wishes to see an example not unworthy to be set by the side of Romeo and Juliet, let him read some scenes in el CabalUro de Olmedo, notably the third scene of the second act. I have mentioned Lope's casual definitions of the comedia, of which there are several examples in his plays, and asserted that they too tell us but little that is illuminating about Lope himself, little that is distinctive about his own peculiar art. Thus we are told in el Acero de Madrid: No en balde se inventaron las comedias, primero en Grecia que en Italia y Eorna. AUf se ven ejemplos y consejos, porque son de la vida los espejos. DBAMATIC ABT OF LOPE DE VEGA 13 And again, at greater length, in el Castigo sin Venganza: jAhora sabea, Eicardo, que es la comedia un espejo, en que el necio, el sabio, el viejo, el mozo, el fuerte, el gallardo, el rey, el goberuador, la doncella, la casada, siendo al ejemplo escuchada de la vida y del honor, retrata nuestras costumbres, o livianas 6 severas, mezclando burlas y veras, donaires y pesadumbres? Basta que oi del papel de aquella primera dama el estado de mi fama: bien claro me hablaba en el. J Que escuche me persuades la segunda? Pues no ignores que no quieren los senores oir tan claras verdades. According to this we are to see in the comedia ' ' a mirror of actual human life, ' ' a phrase, not so new but that other playwrights have used it frequently with slight variations. In theory this may be so, but how Lope has modified it in actual practice we shall see as we proceed. If, therefore, Lope 's art was not intrinsically one of deliberate premeditation, one that he could reason about, can we none the less successfully analyse the complicated nature of his vast crea- tion? I believe so: for the conclusion which I have gradually reached is that Lope's handiwork is a combination of tangible elements, conceived by his imagination and modified only in par- ticular phases by the facts of human life. The formula of Lope 's comedia is thus one of the purest art, which does not by any means, consciously at least, always hold a mirror up to nature, and, consequently, it makes a sharp contrast with the formula of human life. But no great creative genius has ever expressed himself wholly in one or the other, and while a drama which more fully satisfies the latter formula, like that of Shakespeare, 14 DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE FEGA must embrace also many elements of the former, so the art of Lope betrays increasingly a tendency to reduce the scope of his artistic formula and to extend and make more his own the formula which is always true to human life. If he was not wholly suc- cessful in this effort, if posterity, generally unbiased in those judgments which concern literary immortality, has allowed his plays to become literary and artistic treasures open to the few, he nevertheless represents the highest point reached by any ex- ponent of the formula for which he stands. And by an even stranger decision of posterity, he has suffered but little more than his great contemporary, Shakespeare, whose works are appar- ently becoming less and less the spiritual possession of our younger generations. Before we begin to analyze in detail the artistic formula of Lope and present its living qualities as well as its defects, we pause to ask ourselves in what atmosphere his type of play could be perfected. This question, however, is best answered by the whole of the exposition which follows. Yet it may not come amiss to speak briefly here of two things: the attitude of mind of Lope's public toward the comedia, and the kinship of other Spanish works beside which Lope's productions as children of the inventive faculty take their place. The Spaniard of the Renascence couples with his unsurpassed power of imagination a gift of self-delusion and a simplicity of Weltanschaioung — speaking of the average man of the people — which have made possible the creation of unique types of litera- ture of peculiar artistic inspiration. I refer in fiction to the romances of chivalry and similar stories of adventure, the pas- toral novels, and in verse, to the great body of lyric poetry and the comedia. In immediate connection with this very statement we must take into consideration not only the abyss which exists between the relatively much smaller body of realistic fiction (such as the Celestina books, the rogue stories, the satirical writ- ings), and all of Spain's imaginative prose literature, but also the abyss existing between the relatively much smaller body of realistic drama (represented by the farces of Lope de Rueda, DRAMATIC ART OF LOPE BE VEGA 15 the entremeses of Cervantes, Lope and others), and the highly poetic comedia. If we are to judge by bulk alone this literature of the imagination looms very much larger in the history of the Spanish people than their realism, extraordinary as the latter is. Works of pure invention appealed longer and had a greater hold on their artistic intelligence than any other type. If Lope 's comedia is here classed with the great types of literary invention an analysis of its chief elements may presently justify this point of view ; like them his creation is an extraordinary tribute to the artistic powers of appreciation of the Spanish people whose con- stant favor alone vitalized his works and allowed them to hold the stage in uninterrupted popularity throughout his long career. Yet we shall later feel inclined to wonder at this artistic intelli- gence, this boundless love of a poetic work of the imagination, when we come to learn that Lope's comedia represents a rare composite expression which mingles reality with various idealized features, and not seldom with unrealities for which I have never found any parallel in contemporary documents, nor any founda- tion in reliable pictures of Spanish society of his time. We still have to state the chief reason why the comedia takes its place beside works of the inventive faculty rather than those inspired by the unadorned actualities of life : that reason may be found in Lope's concessions to tradition, not infrequently at the expense of a closer observation of contemporary manners and of psychologic accuracy. In spite of his overwhelming produc- tivity, his variety and originality. Lope's inventive genius was never free from the grip of literary, academic and stage tradi- tions, and the reader will see from what follows to what extent they determined the formula of his art. It is the presence of these traditions, the acceptance or imitation of specific, inherited features, the inability to shake off the influence of something already printed, the assimilation of traits of style or of currently used material which compel us to class the comedia with works of the imagination rather than with those which held a mirror up to nature. The influence exerted by the former will be appar- ent from what is said hereafter. 16 DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE BE VEGA The scope of this essay obliges me to discard any considera- tion of the less vital themes of Lope's vast programme. I refer to such works as the comedias de Santos and to those which deal with peculiar legends, mythological subjects and semihistorical tales. The first, indeed, are not remote from Spanish culture of the epoch under consideration, but they are farther removed, as a rule, not only from the dramatic formula of human life than any plays we choose to include, but often do violence even to Lope's purely artistic achievement. As regards all of the latter type, they indeed increase the bulk of his output but add practically nothing vital to the great elements of his art; they give certain arbitrary principles, such as that every subject is fit for theatrical presentation, a wider range, but owing to the vague dramatic application of these principles they add no im- portant or illuminating feature to our analysis. I am dealing only with those plays through which the name of Lope has any hope of surviving, in which he presents actual, living themes in an infinite variety of form, and on a canvas which has not wholly paled as have so many comedias of his day. In short, I am drawing my inferences chiefly from those plays which present Lope's nearest approach to the game of life and love in all of its comic or tragic aspects. For we can retain an abiding interest only in those children of Lope's fancy which reveal the traits of our common, human heritage, the whims and passions of all men and women clothed by him in the living colors of his unparalleled poetic gift. I shall now take up the chief elements of his literary inherit- ances and the tradition which forms a part of the foundation on which his comedia was raised. DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE BE VEGA 17 INHERITANCE AND TRADITION MANIFEST IN THE CHAEACTBRS Let US go back three hundred years and imagine ourselves seated among the spectators at various representations of Lope 's comedias. As we try to seize and hold the images that stand out from the whirl of rapid action passing before our eyes, numer- ous indelible impressions are stamped iipon our memories. The foremost of these is that we have seen the work of a master hand, which, after fashioning a certain number of characters, has, with magic skill, given them motion, presenting them day after day in an unlimited number of different combinations. Their speech is never the same, never monotonous, their witticisms cannot fail to arouse the laughter of the audience; their emotions of pain, anguish, hatred, jealousy, and love awaken in all a sympathetic response. Yet in spite of the incredibly rapid action which characterizes the great majority of Lope's comedias and lends his artistic formula all the outward manifestations of life, in spite of the large amount of pure stage business, which, as is apparent at every turn, permitted talented actors and actresses to hold the attention and to win the favor of the public, we are bound to ask ourselves again and again, is this the perfect image of actual contemporary Spanish society which so many writers take it to be 1 The answer must be in the negative. Let us look at some of the phenomena which pass before us. No art which professes to picture human society, family life, daily episodes of the average man or woman, can set itself any restrictions ; it cannot omit arbitrarily nor overemphasize a cer- tain number of facts or elements. Thus we are impressed with the fact that human society in the comedia has with rare ex- ceptions no mother. All reasons given in defense of this omis- sion but emphasize the fact that we are not dealing so much with a limitation imposed upon a great art by etiquette or cur- rent manners as with a silent acquiescence in a literary tradi- tion which goes back through centuries of the life of Rome and 18 DBAMATIC AST OF LOPE BE VEGA the Latin nations, a tradition none the less fixed because it shows occasional exceptionsy We may presume that the mother has always played an undramatic, a passive part in actual human society; her duties and her influence have been circumscribed; she might be seen but not heard, and even that only in her own home. The usual appeal to Moorish influence on the seclusion of women cannot be disregarded altogether, to be sure, yet by itself it makes a weak argument, because the daughters would have to be included in the elimination and we should have no comedia. Moreover, exceptions explain this phenomenon which was accepted by the Renascence drama all over Europe and make us realize that the introduction of a mother into the plot may lead us even farther away from the picture of actual society than her customary omission. Take, for example, la discreta Enamorada, in which the mother has all the gross traits of a duenna, all the undignified weaknesses of a silly old woman who courts the advances of a young gallant, and participates in rendezvous and other conventional episodes designed for con- niving old females ; or Quien ama no haga fieros, in which mother and daughter are rivals intriguing to win the same lover, in which race the logical victory of the young daughter leaves the mother angry and shamed, and the play closes with the latter reproaching her daughter for her cunning, "Tu has hecho esta invencion." Or take los Melindres de Belisa, in which the wid- owed mother, Lisarda, is depicted as ready to accept another husband. She falls in love with a supposed slave of the house- hold, who has already taken the daughter '& fancy, while the son also falls in love with a supposed female slave. Lisarda, there- fore, impresses one merely as a duenna with the title of mother, but without sweetness or dignity, for she, too, meets with dis- comfiture and ridicule at the close. Is this the retired and gentle mother of Spanish society ? Finally, in Lope 's Dorotea, in which critics see more personal history than is justifiable to assume, we find the repulsive extreme of a mother, Teodora, who is willing to sell her daughter's honor to a nabob for gold. Even if we grant the possibility of an individual case of such depravity in DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE VEGA 19 human society and admit that Lope had a living model in mind, we need only compare Teodora with the go-between of fiction and drama in Italy and Spain to see that she speaks the language of literary tradition. The plot, according to which the reader is permitted to see the interior of Dorotea's home, represents the latter with no spotless character, and imposes the conclusion that her conniving mother offered no objections to the life which her daughter has led. In brief, the omission of the mother was a novelistic element which the comedia had inherited, and as long as the majority of plots in novel and play alike turned on secret intrigues of amorous passion, games of hide-and-seek, .honorable or otherwise, lackeys' tricks and rendezvous, the mother could play no dignified part without bringing down the poet's scheme like a house of cards; if included at all, she naturally assumed a role by no means in keeping with her sacred position and name. The absence of the mother made it imperative for the poet to introduce an elderly female who would lend authority to this picture of society, and at the same time be a conceivable part of the plot. We, therefore, have either the aunt or simply a character not related to the household, very often depicted as a widow and partaking also of the character of duenna and go- between. That the latter personage existed in Spp,nish society as elsewhere we cannot doubt, but everything has its reasonable limits. In this particular case we are once more dealing with a character on which novelistic and dramatic episodes have turned for centuries as upon a main axis, and, however much poets abused the type and distorted the actual figure of reality by adding the traditional touches, copied through centuries of lit- erary imitation, it never lost its vogue or failed to occupy a prominent place in novel and theatre. Spanish literature of the Renascence made many contributions to that long line of able females beginning with the old hag of the classics and running down through the trota-conventos, the Celestinas and the duennas. The duenna especially became an obsession of numerous writers of the Golden Age, who set her up as an omnipresent, perverse social manifestation, and so found a pretty opportunity to rail 20 DBAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE VEGA at her in the best literary manner. In the elderly woman of Lope 's comedia, we are consequently dealing with an inheritance skillfully modified by the facts and made acceptable to the public by his incomparable wit and graceful verse. A theatre-goer of Lope 's day would be impressed in the next place by the numerous figures of the disguised or wandering damsel, the maiden who, deceived or abandoned by her lover, hides her identity under the garments of a servant, a slave, or even a lackey or a young gallant. This is a puzzling element in Lope's formula. How many young women were wandering through Spain or the streets of Spanish cities in disguise ? Why did the public accept this figure in its never-ending variety, and why was it copied by all the playwrights of the seventeenth cen- tury? It cannot be explained, unless we admit that a whole audience may become hypnotized by a literary type. That the disguised damsel was nothing else is manifest not only from her great age in fiction and legend but by the rather unoriginal way in which she reappears in the history of the comedia. Did the spectators find in the contrast between the restraints and limita- tions of reality and the freedom of fiction a kind of esthetic or artistic satisfaction? I have searched through matter-of-fact books and documents and yet never ran across the unrecogniz- able, disguised maiden. Does not Shakespeare make it evident as only he could that Viola of Twelfth Night is but a child of his poetic fancy? In both Lope and Tirso examples of this disguised damsel are fairly common, so that I need not pick out particular characters, nor make the futile effort to demonstrate that she must have been a common occurrence in actual society because she is so thoroughly at home in novel and comedia. Yet to be fair to Lope the runaway maiden is frequently charmingly drawn ; she shows all the wit, pathos, and poetry with which his genius was so abundantly endowed. On one occasion, at least, in Mas pueden celos que amor, act III, scene xiv. Lope appears not only to regard the disguised maiden with a twinkle of fun in his eye, but to admit frankly that she is a character inherited from books. DEAMATIC AST OF LOPE BE VEGA 21 Conde. jHabr&nse en el munclo visto mujeres que disfrazaclas hayan hecho extranas cosas? Mendoza. jQiiife duda que han sido tantas que han ocupado los libros, y de la fama las alas? Another puzzling feature of Lope's stage is the occasional presence of courtesans of the better class ; these stand out in glaring contrast with the refined girl hedged about by all the restraints of her position. This feature gives rise to striking contrasts in stage pictures because we have the freest morals by the side of seclusion and modesty. In this type of woman, however, Lope combined literary imitation with fact, presenting to us vivid local color in poetic guise. He unquestionably had in mind now and then the type of woman presented with great freedom in the Celestina literature, and, less frequently, that of the Italian novelle, mingling with this imitation a study of local morals and customs. This is not the place to speak at great length of the manners of the Latin capitals of the Renascence, especially the larger cities : Paris, Rome, Madrid, Seville and others. But a few words may serve to throw some light on the characters of the go-between and the courtesan. Most accepted narratives of moral corruption are always to be discounted to a certain degree, because they bear many signs of exaggeration. Innumerable writers have indulged their fancy in scandalous tales because unsavory morsels have always made attractive and salable reading. Glaring pictures of incredible freedom, descriptions of the immoral life of the entire society of a city, have always caused an agreeable shud- der in the credulous reader. In this, novelistic works especially have contributed their share, and the modern critic forgets that he is taking highly colored entertainment for fact. After sifting all the evidence and building rather on silent archives and un- adorned history, we are, to be sure, face to face with a condition unlike anything today. Madrid and Seville especially, cities which combined many cultures, in which Roman and Moorish customs dominated, present a freedom of manners excellently 22 DBAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE VEGA depicted in some of Lope's vivacious scenes. The existence of slavery, the democratic spirit of the servants, the quest of sex which is always in the atmosphere, the limitations of a society thrown entirely upon its own resources for amusement because restricted communications practically isolated it from the rest of the world, the animation of street life developed to an un- paralleled degree, and, finally, the unrestrained manifestations of the southern temperament, all these facts and many more made possible the presence of the free woman and gave her an established prominence in life and in art. It is, therefore, clear that Lope introduced a very human element into his comedia. But the remarkable fact remains that he presented this side of life with an unusual delicacy of touch. Since comparisons are often helpful, it is interesting to point out how much cleaner and purer he has kept his tone than the Elizabethan and Ja- cobean dramatists did in England, for these latter often sink into unspeakable depths*of filth and indecency. Lope's art con- sciously sought to attain a high level in its moral tone, for which we also owe a debt of gratitude, however slight, to the official censor, who protected public morals from the evils of literature. In short, we are dealing with a condition common to Latin society, and reaching far back into the classical age, which prohibited the virtuous maid from taking part in the social gatherings of men, and so brought about the substitution of the courtesan. The latter combined with her freedom of manners beauty and clever- ness, and became in life a visible part of society, and in literature the admitted companion of men. Among the novelistic characters to whom Lope has given traits of endless variety and originality is the young gallant, spirited, alive and consequently full of action. The type is not distinctively a Spanish creation, for we find him in all literature of the Renascence; he is prominent in novel and memoir, but especially on the stage, where his dashing qualities give him the first plaoe. Yet in the comedia of Lope he seems to me to sur- pass all others on account of the astounding diversity given to his speech, his moods, his impulses, his M'hims, his virtues and DBAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE VEGA 23 his follies. Logically a character all action must have a foil, and so Lope set by his side another traditional figure which he presents with no less variety, the attending servant or lackey. This inseparable appearance of master and servant easily be- comes dull and mechanical in the hands of an inferior genius, and so betrays the fact that we are dealing with a stage device rather than a common phenomenon of human society. Lope has managed to put into the servant the unbounded resources of his wit and made him one of his chief claims to rank among the world's great comic playwrights. The reason for the ex- istence of a companion for the gallant derives chiefly from his appearance in centuries of novel and drama. He was necessary to the plot and assumed diverse forms, such as that of advising friend, guardian, ayo, teacher, but especially that of servant, slave or lackey. On comparing Lope's gallant with all the types which preceded him we find how much this versatile play- wright improved his literary models, hew he managed to make a dangerously stereotyped character alive. How he succeeded in creating a never-ending series of comic scenes involving master and servant will always appear a miracle of invention. Indeed, he has so accustomed his reader to look for these witty scenes that any play without them causes genuine disappointment. But let us see to what extent the servant is an invention of Lope's mind. Real life, as contrasted with literature, reveals the presence of the commonplace rather than the witty servant, and in Spanish society no doubt could be found numerous ex- amples of the attending maid servant, the slave, the lackey, the lady's escudero and the rest. But we are now dealing with a personage endowed with far more than the average traits. The latter are not conceivable as dramatic possibilities. Even the average literary models, the servant that can be bribed or won over, the serious guardian, the grave ayo, the sentimental com- panion, or the mixture of messenger and go-between, these and others would have failed to add the vivacious, living touch neces- sary in plots based almost entirely on action. Lope, therefore, conceived a character to the flexibility of which there are no 24 DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE BE VEGA bounds. His attending servants embrace every conceivable quality: they are shrewd and witty advisors, they invent tricks and discover remedies, they overcome obstacles, they are full of delightful saws, they draw on a vast amount of human experi- ence, they are filled with ready information, and not infrequently with substantial learning and classical instances, they are loyal, devoted and self-sacrificing friends, they may even be excellent philosophers, they represent in the most comprehensive sense the perennial resourcefulness of Lope's own gifts. And all this is true, although to a much lesser degree, of the criada who at- tends the heroine. In this very fullness and completeness of mental traits in the servant lies one of his chief defects, and we quite naturally ask ourselves how likely it was that such attendants or lackeys existed anywhere outside of Lope's fertile brain. Readers of the comedia get the impression that innumerable gallants walked the streets of the Spanish cities and that each was favored by heaven with a servant in some way extraordinarily endowed. If we may consider the best part of this figure as Lope's creation we are nevertheless dealing with an inherited type modified by the demands of the stage into a personage to whom his genius gave the breath of life. It is apparent that he kept actual ser- vants and lackeys, sufficiently in mind to make his ov.ni characters acceptable possibilities. They are alive, even if they move in what seems now and then an imagined form of society, raised above actual life, just as was their poetic speech above the prose of common day. They are alive because Lope borrowed with consummate skill the color, the movement, the kaleidoscopic ani- mation of the world about him, giving his handiwork warm blood and poetic existence. I do not presume to mention all the characters of Lope's plays which would ordinarily find a place in this discussion; I shall" limit myself to giving a few more which may be of interest to the reader. They are the father, occasionally replaced by the uncle, as the aunt so frequently took the place of the mother. Here Lope again exceeds mere tradition, betraying in these per- DEAMATIC ABT OF LOPE BE VEGA 25 sonages a more pains-taking observation of current manners. Indeed, some of his old men are amongst the greatest creations of his stage. To one traditional figure — the rich, old suiter who bases his advances on the power of gifts and gold — Lope has given an original turn by presenting him in the guise of a familiar, contemporary character, the Indiana or nabob. The novelty and romance which attached to an adventurer returning from the Indies laden with riches and boasting of strange experiences made a fruitful addition to the dramatic possibilities of the comedia, and Lope could scarcely fail to give him on the stage all the interest he awakened in real life. He is a part of the adventure element of the comedia, and takes his position by the side of the soldier who returns from campaigns in Flanders or Italy, that much traveled, wandering personage who injects into every plot new elements of intrigue, trickery and romance. In speaking of the influence of inheritance and tradition upon the characters a word must be said about the poetic nomen- clature of the dramatis personae. We deal here with one of the stereotyped features which characterizes not only the Spanish drama of the Golden Age but the whole Renascence drama every- where. The reason for the existence of these stereotyped names is not far to seek : they were adopted under the influence of the fiction sources of the drama, coupled with the exigencies of dialogue in verse. They seem especially suitable in a drama which is not entirely an image of contemporary conditions, but the picture of an idealized form of society. Lope presented on the stage between seventeen thousand and twenty thousand char- acters, for whom he devises a surprisingly wide range of names. Their drawback will of course always be their inevitable repe- tition, and the reader is sometimes hopelessly lost in the long lists of Dorotea, Teodora, Belisa, Fenisa, Feniso, Finea, Pineo, Laurencia, Laurencio, Turin, Chapin, Batin, Chacon, and end- less scores of others. They form one of the elements of Lope's art, which has grown pale, but which we must learn to endure as an inoffensive feature of the poetic language of the comedia. 26 DRAMATIC ART OF LOPE DE VEGA INHERITANCE AND TRADITION MANIFEST IN SPECIFIC TRAITS OF LOPE'S PLOTS The rapidity of action which characterizes practically all of Lope's plays has been touched upon above and will be discussed in connection with the chief features of his dramatic technique. At this point, however, it leads me to draw attention to the in- evitable result of constant forward motion in the plot./Tsycho- logical changes due to meditation, delay and repose are replaced in the majority of cases by stage devices of an external character, novelistic episodes, striking theatrical effects admirably conceived to surprise the spectators, by impulses, whims and passions which do not represent any spiritual growth in the characters. One of the excellent traits of Lope in this connection is his self- restraint, the manner in which he has refrained from overdoing this side of his dramatic formula. Critics of past generations, having taken for a starting point the work of Calderon, who used all these features with more mechanical skill than Lope and per- fected his technique, at times to the point of rigidity, have seen fit to include Lope in their schemes of classification, and made him, because of these outward signs, a romantic dramatist. This is misleading and inadequate, because no other fact stands out so clearly after a prolonged reading of his plays as this, that it is impossible to find any pigeonhole into which his vast genius can be compressed. The spirit of his art has a thousand windows and permits the reader to look upon a wide range of human activities ; it shows a comprehension of all that goes on in the hearts and brains of men, of which romantic dramatists and even Calderon had an inadequate conception. His gift of invention was so enormously taxed that it had to make concessions to literary and academic traditions in certain elements of his plot material which do not represent profound aspects of human life ; therefore critics have singled out these external traits and branded them as signs of the romantic drama. The fact is that DBAMATIC AST OF LOPE BE VEGA 27 Lope has romantic features as he has characteristics of every school, if one chooses to search them out, but more light is thrown upon his art if they are considered only from the point of view of his own day and treated as accepted elements of an inheritance which he received in common with the whole Renascence. What are some of these tangible outward stage devices or plot episodes? They are those which novel and drama have assimilated practically the world over. Indeed, some of them have their roots in folk-lore themes and are as old as the imagi- nation of man. Lope used them in his usual impressive manner, giving them a novel turn again and again. Among them are disguises of all kinds: women as men and less frequently the other way about, maidens as servants, doctors or even college professors, deceptions, feigned relationships, lies ranging from white to black, incredible experiences and adventures exempli- fying the delightful saying de luengas vias luengas mentiras, the substitution of one person for another, concealments which lead to comic or tragic ends and many other novelistic motifs. Among the common devices which help the plot forward are the bribery of servants, the exchange of the usual lover's tokens such as handkerchiefs, letters, rings, messages and the like. The tricks employed to open a conversation, to obtain an interview or send a bit of news include such methods as opportune stumbling and falling on the part of the girl, the lover hastening to extend a helping hand; the use of the holy water font at church, where a glove or letter may be left; the traditional entrance into the girl's house of the vendor of knickknacks or ladies' articles of apparel, a personage who goes back to the instiior of the classics, and the trota-conventos of early Renascence literature ; and the protected rendezvous carried out under the aegis of some servant, friend, or relative. Possible meeting places are of course limited to accepted custom, the most common being the streets or public promenades, or the reja of the woman's house, if the lovers or interlocutors are unobserved. Servants are not as a rule consid- ered intruders. Next in importance is the church, to which every woman would repair daily as surely as the sun rises in 28 DBAMATIC ART OF LOPE BE VEGA the morning. Frequently inns are successful meeting places. The unheralded entrance of the lover into the very room of the beloved may be taken as an amusing, although arbitrary, breach of custom on the part of the poet,, since it is always greeted by an exclamation of fear and disapproval on the part of the girl. As a purely novelistic episode it is an inheritance out of the classics, for we may recall that Ovid advises the lover to make it one of his principles to force his way into the woman's house if possible, a principle made use of especially by the Italian novel. The proximity of the houses of the lovers, the possible signs exchanged from balconies, were no doubt applicable to local conditions, but are none the less common to all novels deal- ing with episodes of life in cities. "We are bound to view any great liberty of action on the part of young women, who are otherwise depicted as refined, and educated according to the retired position occupied by the aver- age mother and daughter, as a stage device by which the poet broadened the actual conditions. In those female personages who show independence of both thought and action Lope pre- sented characters and conditions which gave his wit freer play than colorless reality; he entertained his audience by means of a picture frankly intended as an exception rather than the rule. This is one of the features which makes certain writers voice their enthusiasm over the lifelike descriptions of Spanish morals and customs to be found in the comedia, but, as I already stated above, their assertions seem based on statements and pictures which in their turn are founded on inferences drawn from these very plays. As an argument this procedure involves us in a vicious circle, the probability being that in this whole matter we are dealing with another clever fusion of fact and fiction. Considering the wide range of poetic license, it is futile to criticize Lope for occasionally reducing the whole world to a small stage. Thus the mention of a personage living far away may prompt some one present to claim him as a relative, friend or acquaintance. This theme of universal acquaintanceship is a part of the artistic formula which found no obstacles in dis- DBAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE VEGA 29 tances, and took for granted that the imagination of the specta- tors was equal to any rapidity of action, to a flight over any distance, or to a removal to any place. The devices according to which characters in localities widely apart are known to one another are thoroughly accepted as stage possibilities, and are necessary to connect scenes in plots which rejected the unity of place, and which are, after all, only a mixture of reality and fancy. In connection with this fusion and the presence of in- evitable artificial elements not only in the Spanish but in every national drama, we are apt to overlook that a detailed study of life in the European capitals at the period under consideration makes evident a number of truths concerning human existence widely differing from the facts of modern city life. The ab- sence of newspapers, of communication with the outer world to which I referred above, the lack of all modern inventions, gave vast importance to the arrival and departure of all mail, to messengers and couriers ; it increased the carrying power and vitality of gossip, conceding undue prominence to all local occur- rences, however slight, to scandals, accidents, rumors, placards, pamphlets, letters and the like. Therefore individuals dependent upon their own resources lived a life measured by standards wholly different from our own. We may thus assume it to be extremely likely that individuals in families of reasonable prom- inence were widely acquainted among the inhabitants of the same city. But city life, however circumscribed, can never be dominated by an artificial formula in every phase or level of society. Even formal court manners have never meant that a whole city led an existence of pure etiquette. The court life of monarch and aristocrats maintained its course on one side of a cleavage, on the other side of which the masses of the people pursued their sane and commonplace ways. It must have been so with the society of the Phillips, or the actual Spanish world would never have survived. It seems more critical to accept with many quali- fications the peculiar point of view which makes the artificial traits found in the comedias of the seventeenth century a mirror 30 DRAMATIC ABT OF LOFE DE VEGA of reality. This conclusion is hardly borne out by objective documents dealing with facts. The vast majority of the Spanish men and women who lived during the reign of the Phillips did not constitute an unnatural or a non-moral community; they were a mass of sound beings with red blood and sane thoughts. Yet we read of vogues in dress, for example, and imagine the whole Spanish people pursuing the idle fashion of a Walloon collar or a round-toed shoe; we are told of rascals and picaros in the streets of Spain, and so believe that every city swarmed with them ; we are impressed by theatrical duels, and therefore imagine that the streets rang at night with the clashing of swords, and we visualize the processions of alguaciles dragging culprits to prison; we recall the intriguing, adventure-seeking career of certain young women, but fail to remember that the cities were fuy. of virtuous girls living the normal, secluded life. We have heard repeatedly of the severities of the Inquisition, and picture Spain tormented by a blind, inhuman tribunal. Contemporary criticism of the actions and usages of human society are worthy of the most careful scrutiny, but they are, it must be remembered, almost invariably aimed at abuses, misguided efforts and sporadic follies, and not at normal conditions. A playwright may draw certain pictures of society on the admitted principle that a comic, a pathetic, or a tragic scene need not be taken as a direct criti- cism or a fixed image of contemporary life. In short, it is a question of the balance he may strike between the artistic formula and the formula of actual human life. The dramatic poet may put on the stage episodes or events not because he considers them frequent occurrences, but isolated happenings worthy of record. This is especially so with tragedy. The conclusion dra^Vn from an Oedipus Tyrannus is not that this character or his career is a common occurrence ; Blectra is a unique creation of the poetic mind. We cannot infer from Shakespeare's art that the world is full of foolish old men like King Lear, who divide their prop- erty according to the hollow protestations of love made by their daughters. How many Macbeths or Othellos or Falstaffs are there ? Descending into the realm of comedy, the principle holds DRAMATIC ART OF LOPE DE VEGA 31 with a somewhat wider range of application. Specific events of common life are duplicable, but successive series of artificial combinations very rarely so, and that only when we are dealing with arbitrary modifications of local customs or literary imitation and inheritance. Of poetic abuses, artificial or stereotyped language, of the speech of love, courtship and intrigue I shall write below, as that demands a special chapter. Having mentioned devices of plot and elements of plot-content, a few additional words will suffice touching upon the repetition or limitation evident in the range of thought of the personages, a quality to be attributed not only to the rapidity of action which hinders a philosophic treatment of life but to Lope 's artistic formula in general, which is devoted to an infinite number of combinations of the themes of love, jealousy and honor. Lope undoubtedly recognized the inadequacy of this formula when applied to the fullness of human activities, and notably in his tragedies he knew how to descend to the depths of all emotions which may stir the heart. A dis- cussion of the variety of motive forces in his mighty themes of self-sacrifice, duty, infidelity, revenge, his highly diversified pic- tures of inner struggles can hardly find room within the scope of this essay, and the reader will be best rewarded by studying them in Lope himself. Of the prominent themes of love and jealousy little need be said. No other poet of the world's liter- ature has sounded their sombre depths more skillfully; no one has given them more graceful, witty or humorous turns and definitions, or presented them in more different moods. But we must dwell a moment upon the theme of honor, ex- panded into a veritable code which dominates all other senti- ments. It was, like few other dramatic motives, the happy hunt- ing ground for every dramatist. Much has been written about it, and it is therefore trite to add a disquisition on the Spaniard 's character, showing that he was "jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel." Indeed, we know from formal works on the subject that there were well defined grades of grievances, affronts and insults, as there were also principles governing the amends 32 DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE BE VEGA which could be exacted. In other words, the Spaniard is pre- sented as meticulous in all matters concerning his honor. But so were all peoples of the South: the Greeks, the Italians, and the French. Even the colder northern races rehearse this tradi- tional theme in novel and drama ; its effectiveness was so apparent that it was seized and repeated for decades on every stage. Is it therefore a specifically Spanish theme, or is it not the fact that the Spaniards have merely written more and more impres- sively about it? After comparing a great many writers and plays, I find that the treatment of honor is, to no small extent, a matter of formal phraseology, together with constant imitation and copying which gave unoriginal minds a welcome opportunity to deal with a lofty subject.' Consequently the reader wUl fre- quently come across a stilted disquisition on honor in the liter- ature of the Renascence, which is generally in keeping with an accepted, contemporary point of view. To resume, no analysis of the elements of Lope's formula, which I have just treated, can be as illuminating as his own words, for he has, after all, an inimitable way of describing the world which his fancy has set up. The traditional lines along which so many of his plots move are best given in the following verses : Fetiisa. i Que mancebo me pasea destos que van dando el talle? J Que guijas desde la calle me arroja, porque le vea? J Que sena me has visto hacer eu la iglesia? jQuiSn me sigue, que a estar oelosa te obligue? J Que vieja me vino a ver? J Que billetes me has hallado eon palabras deahonestas? 4 Que pluma para respuestas, que tintero me has quebrado? jQu6 cinta, que no sea tuya o comprada por tu mano? jQufi ehapin, qu^ toca? Belisa. En vano quieres que mi honor te arguya. — La discreta Enamorada. DSAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE VEGA 33 Or the following : Hernando. jQui^n ha hecho milagro tan notable en tu sentido? Lucindo. La confianza de que soy querido. jBendiga el oielo la invencifin, la traza, la hora, el movimiento, el manto, el Prado, los celos, los disgustos! Hernando. Y jno dices que bendiga tambifin a Estefania? — La discreta Enamorada. 34 VBAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE VEGA AETTFICIAL DEVICES IN THE TECHNIQUE; BALANCE, THE DUPLICATION OF GROUPS OR COMBINATIONS OP PERSONAGES In speaking above of certain characters in Lope's comedia who may be considered as taken in part from tradition, but modified by the poet's art, I gave one of the prominent places to the young gallant and his servant, and to the heroine or dama with her attendant, combinations or pairs repeated in infinite ways and presented in such a manner that we cannot conceive either master or servant existing without the other. "We now go one step further and examine the artificial result obtained by balancing these pairs one against the other. This device has already been spoken of by writers on the comedia, and its iinnatural character condemned. It, therefore, requires a defence or an explanation only if we cling to the untenable idea that everything in the comedia reflects real life. But if we keep in mind certain wholly artistic elements of Lope's stage, and get his own point of view on the dramatic interaction, the theatrical effectiveness of these games of duplication, we shall find in them a conscious development of infinite possibilities in situation, humor and comic confusion. It is apparent that the servant may not only duplicate the master's love affair (see, for example, el Acero de Madrid, Act III, scene vii) but he may also find himself involved in the same predicament as his em- ployer and frankly burlesque, by the absurdity of his own situ- ation, the mock-serious plight of his master. These possibilities Lope recognized as a source of comedy, and occasionally a ser- vant makes plain the object of this invention. Thus Fisberto in el Ausente en el Lugar tells us : Sabina, ya tu sabes que danzamos los oriados al son de nuestros dueiios. M vuelve a Elisa, y yo me vuelvo a Paula; Dios sabe que me pesa. DRAMATIC ABT OF LOPE DE VEGA 35 And in los Comendadores de Cordoba, the servants, we are told, must duplicate the relationship between master and mistress : Luego, donde un amo honrado tiene alguna prima honrada, J no viene a ser la criada la prima de su criado? Were it not for lack of space many examples of amusing situa- tions and witty dialogues arising from this invention might be given. A single one will suffice. In el Ausente en el Lugar Carlos tries to make Elisa believe that he is obliged to absent himself while ia reality he does not leave town. Esteban, the servant of Carlos, has in the meantime agreed to have a ren- dezvous with Paula, Elisa 's servant, and the following comic scene takes place : Esteian. iQue es lo que habemos de hacer? Carlos. J No dices que has concertado hablar eon Paula? Esteban. He pensado ' que te podran conocex-. Carlos. No haran: que estare escondido; aunque mucho mejor fuera que yo ser tii me fingiera, y hablara a Paula atrevido. Esteban. j No podre deeirle yo lo que tu le has de decir? Carlos. No lo sabras tu sentir. jAbri6 la ventana? Esteban. Abrio. Carlos. Apartate, como que eres yo, que estoy alii arrimado. Esteban. Habla como yo, embozado, ya que ser lo que soy quieres. (Embdzanse:) {Elisa y Paula, que salen a una ventana. Carlos y Esteban, en la oalle embozados.) Eliza {Aqui dijo que vendria Esteban a hablarte agora? Paula. Esto me dijo, Senora, hoy; que le habl6 a mediodia. Eliza Gente a nuestra puerta veo. Que soy tu quiero fingir. Paula. J No le sabre yo decir lo que tu tienes deseo? 36 DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE BE VEGA Eliza Desvlate; que ya llega. jEs Esteban? Carlos. Y tu acaso eres Paula? Elisa. (Ap.) jExtrano caso! I Oh oudnto amor puede j ciega! En la voz he conocido a Carlos. Carlos. (Ap.) Elisa es 6sta; que la voz lo manifiesta, aunque la voz ha fingido. The lovers now quarrel and the rest of this scene as well as the subsequent ones are among the best comedy that we have from Lope's pen. For another example of this humorous balance see Act I, scene viii, of this play. Technically the close interinflu- ence of master and servant has the drawback of making them too dependent upon one another, their exits and entrances are generally simultaneous, and the individuality of one overlaps that of the other. But it is an element of Lope's formula to which one grows accustomed as one does to a peculiarity of a great painter, and the fact remains that the servant has not deteriorated into a mechanical attendant as in the hands of less ingenious playwrights. The juxtaposition on the stage of groups or pairs of person- ages is logically accompanied by a duplication in situation. Of this many examples could be cited, but an excerpt or two must suiRce to illustrate this phenomenon introduced by Lope into both tragedy and comedy. In el Castigo sin Venganza the car- riage which brings Casandra and her attendant has been over- turned at the crossing of a stream ; both are rescued by Federico and his servant: Sale Federico con Casandra en los hrazos Federico. Hasta poneros aqui, los brazos me dan llceneia. Casandra. Agradezco, caballero, vuestra muoha gentileza. Federico. Y yo a mi buena fortuna traerme por esta selva, casi fuera de camino. Casandra. jQu^ gente, Senor, es esta? DEAMATIC ART OF LOPE BE VEGA 37 Federico. Criados que me acompanan. No teng4is, Senora, pena: todos vienen a serviros. Sale Batin con Lucrecia en los brazos Batin. Mujer, dime, jc6mo pesas, si dicen que sois livianas? Lucrecia. Hidalgo, jdonde me Uevasl Batin. A saearte por lo menos de tanta enfadosa arena, eomo la falda del rio en estas orillas deja. Pienso que fu6 treta suya, por tener ninfas tan bellas, volcarse el coche al salir; que si no fuera tan cerea, corrierades gran peligro. The same play offers an example of duplication in dialogue which could easily pass unnoticed as such. In Act I Casandra asks her servant, Lucrecia, what she thinks of the young count, Federico ; when Casandra has left the room Federico asks Batin, his ser- vant, to give his opinion of Casandra. In al Pasar del Arroyo we have a typical duplication of situation and language. The action of Jacinta in taking leave of her lover Carlos, is followed by a similar decision on the part of her maid Isabel who bids farewell to Mayo, the servant of Carlos. (See Act II, scene xxiii.) The repetition of similar sentiments or phrases may assume a poetic form of great charm, found especially in scenes in which only the lovers and no servants take part. Thus the dialogue between Sancho and Elvira in el mejor Alcalde el Bey is in Lope's best vein: Sancho; despues, Elvira Sancho. Sal, hermosa prenda mia; sal, Elvira de mis ojos. (^Sale Elvira) Elvira. (Ap.) jAy, Dies! jCon cuantos enojos teme amor y desconfia! Que la esperanza prendada, presa de un cabello esta. Sancho. Tu padre dice que ya tiene la palabra dada a un eriado de don Tello. iMira que estranas mudanzas! 38 DBAMATIC ABT OF LOPE DM VEGA Sancho. Elvira. Elvira. No en balde mis esperanzas eolgaba amor de un cabello. J Que mi padre me ha casado, Saneho, con un escudero? Hoy pierdo la vida, hoy muero. Vivid, mi dulce cuidado; que yo me dar4 la muerte. Paso; que me burlo, Elvira. El alma en los ojos mira, dellos la verdad advierte; que, sin admitir espacio, dijo mil veces que si. Saneho, no lloro per ti, sine por ir a Palacio; que el criarme en la llaneza desta humilde caseria, era cosa que podia causarme mayor tristeza. Y que 63 causa justa advierte. iQue neeio amor me ha enganado! vivid, mi necio cuidado; que yo me dare la muerte. Enganos fuerou de Elvira, en cuya nieve me abraso. Sancho, que me burlo, paso. El alma en los ojos mira; que amor y sus esperanzas me han dado aquesta lici6n. Su propia definicion es que amor todo es venganzas. Sancho. Luego jyo soy tu marido? Elvira. jNo dices que estS. tratado? Sancho. Elvira. Again the spirit of duplication and balance of cross-purposes may deal only with groups of lovers as in Quien ama no haga fieros. (Act II, scenes iv and v.) Here Felix and Ana are both cousins and lovers, but Juana is also in love with Felix and secretly asks Ana to help her win him, while Count Octavio is also in love with Ana and secretly asks Felix to help him win her. Thus each of the two lovers is supposed to lend a helping hand to a rival. A good example of duplication in situation, this time matri- mony, can be found in el DSmiiie Lucas, a charming jeu d' esprit, DSAMATIC AST OF LOPE BE VEGA 39 full of life and action throughout. The chief characters are two students, Ploriano and Alberto, cousins, balanced against Luc- recia and Leonarda, also cousins, constituting a formula accord- ing to which one pair of cousins marries another, that is, Floriano marries Lucrecia while his cousin, Alberto, marries her cousin, Leonarda. Alberto. Si eontigo me casS, no creo que te he enganado; que soy caballero honrado y alguna renta hered^. De Floriano soy primo; y asi, pues eres tu prima de Lucrecia, a mi me estima en lo mismo que la estimo. Leonarda. Digo que ya soy contenta de hacer tan buen casamiento, y perdono el fingimiento. In la Noche de San Juan artifice dominates, although the romantic color and movement have made some critics very enthu- siastic over the play. An occasional genuine note of real life is struck, but many of the themes lack true inspiration, possibly because all of them had been employed many times before by Lope. He especially makes use of his well known devices of balance, cross-purposes and duplication, applying them to the gaieties of St. John's Eve. The play presents two groups, in each of which a brother and sister play the chief parts, each brother naturally loving the other brother's sister, while the sisters have secretly given their affections to two other men. La Esclava de su galdn presents a balance and crossing of in- trigues based upon the love of Don Juan and Elena for one another while at the same time Elena is loved by Ricardo and Don Juan by Serafina, constituting a kind of subplot. In comedy balance and duplication of intrigue are naturally far more at home than in serious drama or tragedy. Indeed in the first we find it developed to its highest complexity as may be seen from the following combination in la discreta Enamorada. 40 DRAMATIC ABT OF LOFE DE VEGA Here a father, el Capitdn Bernardo, and his son, Lueindo, ari set over against a mother, Belisa, and her daughter, Penisa Son and daughter are secretly lovers, but the plot really turn on the father's desire to marry the daughter, while the son ii supposed to be courting the mother, an example of amusinj cross-purposes which Lope himself has put into graceful verse Capitan. [a Belisa] Si yo eatuviera avisado de que Lueindo os querla ■ — que en opinion le tenia de hombre menos asentado — yo propio tratara aqui, Belisa, del casamiento; que es dar a mi bien aumento que nos troquemos ansi. Casado con quien es madre de mi bien, como confio de vos misma, el hijo mio vengo yo a tener por padre; y Fenisa, mi mujer y vuestra hija, tendra padre en Lueindo; y darS, a todo el mundo placer la disereeion del trocar las edades por los gustos. Repetition in sentiment and verse form, a kind of poetic jeh d 'esprit, is a characteristic manifestation of Lope's comedia As dialogue it is wholly artificial although frequently saved bj his wit or graceful verse or both. In el Acero de Madrid Lisardc and Riselo together with the clever servant, Beltran, have agreed to meet Belisa and her aunt, Teodora, on the Prado. Befort the latter appear with their servant, Leonor, Beltran recalls the verses of a popular cantar, whereupon the idea is developed by each in turn (a romance in a-o), the lackey closing with i humorous burlesque of the culto sentiments of the other two : Paseo del Prado Lisardo y Miselo con capas de color, bizarros; y Beltran Lisardn. \0, como tardan, Eiselo! jQu6 he de haeer? Hiselo. Amor te valga. DBAMATIC ABT OF LOPE BE VEGA 41 Lisardo. Temo que de envidia saiga deste mi sol el del eielo. Biselo. Antes no saldr^ si sabe que es sol y que fuera esta. Beltrdn. Las aves le cantan ya a Belisa en voz siiave: Mananicas floridas del mes de mayo, recordad a mi nina, no duerma tanto. Lisardo. Campos de Madrid dichosos, si soys de sus pies pisados; fuentes, que por ver la huerta del Duque subis tan alto el cristal de vuestros ojos, que asomdis los blancos rayos por las verdes celosias, muros de sus verdes cuadros; hermosa alfombra de flores, donde tejiendo y pintando esta la naturaleza mas ha de einco mil aflos; arroyuelos cristalinos, ruido sonoro y manso, que parece que eorreis, tonos de Juan Bias cantando, porque ya corriendo a prisa, y ya en las guijas despacio, parece que entrais con fugas, y que soys tiples y bajos; recordad a mi nina, no duerma tanto. Miselo. Aves que vais por el viento, ya del sol olarificado, sobre sus plumas tendiendo vuestros vistosos penachos; las que asomais por los nidos las cabezas gorjeando, y las que ya en altas ramas dais buenos dias al Prado; trigos que con amapolas, y mil amarilloa lazos sois un tapiz de verduras sembrado de papagayos; Slamos verdes, a quien con tantas hojas y ramos vistio de alegre librea. 42 DRAMATIC ABT OF LOPE VE VEGA a pesar de octubre, mayo; para que la nifia venga, que estd esperando Lisardo, recordad a su tia, no duerma tanto. Beltran. Tabernas de San Martin, generoso y puro santo, que ya poneis reposteros como aeemilas de Baco; eajones, que ya os cubris con el pan de leche bianco; franeeses, que pregon5,is aguardiente y letiiario; earretones de basura, que vais las oalles limpiando; roperos, que amaneeeis con sollcito cuidado, sin ser procesi6n del Corpus, las tiendas entapizando; y vosotros, aires frios, que dais tos y resfriado, romadizo y otras cosas a los que aalen sudando; porque despierte a la tia, y ella a Belisa, si acaso duerme descuidada agora de que la aguarda Lisardo, recordad mi fregona, no duerma tanto. While this is a striking example of Lope's poetry and wit, he repeats the feat later in the play (Act II, scene xxii) , and we havf another specimen of the duplication of sentiment and poetic form in an apostrophe to the winds of Madrid by Lisardo and Riselo (s romance in a-e) , the idea being again burlesqued by Beltran, th( servant. In la Viuda valenciana Lope presents three young gal lants, who generally appear together and on various occasions in dulge in a balance of dialogue with a repetition of verse form. Ir Act I, scene v, each enters and recites a sonnet without bein^ aware of the presence of the others ; thereupon all agree to nar rate what kind of favors they had enjoyed at the hands of th( young widow. We have three evenly balanced, amusing accounti of their unsuccessful courtship told in varied romance forms. A; BSAMATIC AST OF LOPE BE VEGA 43 a piece of narrative written with grace and sparkle, nothing could be better designed to amuse the audience. In a later scene we find the three gallants together once more ; one calls for a verse, whereupon the three proceed to compose a gloss on it. (Act III, scene vii.) After these manifestations we are not surprised to have the play close with another example of this tripartite dia- logue. The division and equal distribution of verses or parts thereof constitute a phenomenon common in the later comedia, espe- cially that of Calderon and his school. It makes a highly arti- ficial form of dialogue, capable of certain dramatic effect on the stage, but is easily exaggerated and abused. A fair example in a comic vein may be found in el Premio del hieii hablar: Don Juan. Dejame, necio. Martin. 4 Que haces"? Don Juan. jQue tengo de hacer? Morir. Martin. Pues jde esa manera sales* Leonarda. jQue es esto, Bon Juan? Don Juan. Perdernie. Leonarda. jAdonde vas? Don Juan. A matarme. Leonarda. jPor que, senor? Don Juan. Por tu gusto. Leonarda. j Gusto? jDe qu§? ■ Don Juan. De casarte. Leonarda. jOiste a mi padre? Don Juan. Si. Leonarda. Pues jque dijo? Don Juan. Que me mates. Leonarda. Yo jque respond! ? Don Juan. Tibiezas. Leonarda. Y 4 don Pedro? Don Juan. Necedades. Leonarda. Sosiegate. Don Juan. jComo puedo? Leonarda. jDi yo el si? Don Juan. Basto callarle. Leonarda. Necio estas. Don Juan. Soy desdichado. Leonarda. Y yo mujer. Don Juan. Eso baste. Leonarda. Hiblame bien. 44 DBAMATIC ART OF LOPE DE VEGA Don Juan. Estoy muerto. Leonarda. Escucha. Don Jiian. J Que he de escucharte? Leonarda. Eso es locura. Don Juan. Es por ti. Martin. Parecen representantes que saben bien el papel. (Ap.) — Act II, scene ix. And another in a serious tone in la Boba para los otros y discreta para si: Alejandro. Escucha . . . Diana. jYo? jPara qu4? Alejandro. Hasme de escuchar. Diana. ■ No quiero. Alejandro. Teodora me hablo . . . Diana. No hablalla. Alejandro. jPor que? Diana. Porque yo me ofendo. Alejandro. 4 Y si me detuvo? Diana. Huir. Alejandro. iHuir! Diana. Y fuera bien hecho. Alejandro. jComo pude? Diana. Con los pies. Alejandro. Looa estas. Diana. Como tu necio. Alejandro. jTanto rigor! Diana. Teugo amor. Alejandro. Yo, mayor. Diana. Yo no lo creo. Alejandro. Mas jque te pesaf Diana. No har&. Alejandro. Eso jes valor? Diana. Tengo celos. Alejandro. jMorir me dejas? Diana. iQue graeia! Alejandro. Ya me enojo. Diana. Y yo me vengo. Alejandro. Dire quien soy. Diana. Ya lo has dicho. Alejandro. jA qui^u? Diana. A quien aborrezco. Alejandro. jFuerte mujer! Diana. Esto soy. — Act III, scene v. DRAMATIC ART OF LOPE DE VEGA 45 In my notes appended to la Dama boba I had occasion to speak of an artificial distribution of stanzas, verses and verse fragments occurring in IwNoche toledana (Act III, scenes xi-xv), and repre- senting the extreme to which this can be carried. A final example of this feature, taken from a tragedy, and demonstrating that there is no characteristic of form or content for which a parallel cannot be found in the original inventor, Lope, is the last scene of Act II of la Corona merecida: Sey. Don 'inigo. {ap.) Dona Sol. (ap.) Leonor. (ap.) Bey. (ap.) Leonor. (ap.) Sey. (ap.) Don Inigo. Don Alvaro. Don Manrique. Don Pedro. Don Manrique. Don Pedro. Don Manrique. Don Pedro. Don Manrique. Muy bien venidos sedis. Voy a acompafiar a la Eeina; vedme despues. Tiemblo. Temo. Yo me abraso. Yo me quemo. Celos viven. Amor reina. (vanse los'reyes). Vamos, Sol. Contento estoy. (vanse Dona Sol, Don Ini y Don Alvaro). El Eey se abrasa. A Sol mlra. J Que OS ha dieho dofia Elvira? Que muy en su gracia estoy. Bella es Sol. De un angel eopia. Mucho temo que este sol a nuestro rey espanol nos le ha de haeer de Etiopia. Even in los Comendadores de Cordoba, in which one would hardly expect such artifice, may be found a balance of three son- nets and other verse pendants (Act I, scene vi). The mechanical features of the dialogue just discussed are by no means a characteristic to be found only in Lope's latest man- ner. Their presence in numerous plays mentioned in the list of comedias first printed in 1604 proves that their rhetorical effectiveness appealed to him early in his career. (46 ' DRAMATIC ART OF LOPE DE VEGA POETIC LANGUAGE AND THOUGHT: CONCEPTISMO AND CULTO It is a great misfortune that the language of poetry has in so many cases proved to be a barrier between a great writer and posterity. That this is so in the case of the drama especially is evident for two reasons. First, we do not speak in verse, and the world of all verse-plays is therefore on a higher level and moves in a finer atmosphere than that of common day. Second, the appreciation of verse is the gift of a few: it demands a special attribute of spirit, an esthetic emotion or effort of which only a small minority of men is capable. If we add to this the passing moods, the temporary vogues, individual and national peculiarities, to say nothing of the structural and mechanical difficulties of which verse is capable, the average student of literature is apt to find himself in front of a stone wall. To all this Lope's unlimited poetic gifts are no exception. While he is unequalled in superior qualities of genius which will never let a large part of his creation die, but will place him always in the forefront of the world's great poets, his poetic language possesses to no small degree certain elements of a local or transi- tory quality. These demand in the reader not only an excep- tional gift of esthetic appreciation but an intelligent grasp of a peculiar type or vogue of literary culture distinctly a thing of the past. The difficult characteristics of Lope's style which the average student may understand less and less as the years go on are those of all poetry of his time, and are generally designated, for the sake of convenience, as conccptismo and culto. I shall use the latter form instead of the longer culte- ranismo since it is the one preferred by Lope himself. To stigma- tize with these names everything poetic which has the earmarks of either quality is a mistake, for isolated conceptos, or an occa- sional culto verse by no means indicate a poet's manner. Indeed it should be clearly understood in any criticism of Spanish poetry of the Golden Age that the presence of these elements DRAMATIC ART OF LOPE DE VEGA 47 would never have created the names conccptismo and culto had it not been for their abuse. Poetic language has never been and could never be devoid of either trait, and the centuries imme- diately preceding Lope furnish many fine and illuminating examples of them. I shall presently attempt to describe both conceptismo and culto a little in detail, especially by giving cita- tions from Lope himself. Nothing throws more light on his art and his work than consideration of the growth of poetic language and of the universality of peculiar thoughts, figures and word colors. Poetry may be the most assimilative and imitative, even if it is the most original form of expression which the human spirit has. To put it baldly everything is grist to its mill. It absorbs from nature, science, philosophy and the whole thought-realm engendered by human experience ; it takes color from the arts and gets its voice from music itself. Ideas related to all these are consequently present in all poets. Let me be a little more specific as regards Spanish literature. Provencal poetry and its lineal descendants in Spain are filled with conceptos and culto; the cancioneros, the chief poets of the fifteenth century, whose name is legion, furnish excellent examples, and the great poets of the sixteenth century employ this form of language, though in varying degree. I do not believe that any date can or need be set for the earliest presence of conceptismo and culto; nor need we be concerned with anything but their abuse, and that falls chiefly within the seventeenth century. Our English poets furnish abundant examples of this form of expression, but it has passed without a particular designation as only the exaggeration of the phenomenon makes it offensive. Neither Spanish term as such can be related to Eupjiuism. When Shakespeare says: "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players," he puts a speech ^into the mouth of Jacques which is full of conceptos. "To take up arms against a sea of troubles" is a concept o, as is also Hamlet's little dog- gerel : 48 DRAMATIC ART OF LOPE DE VEGA Imperious Caesar dead and turned to clay, Might stop a hole to keep the wind away: O, that that earth, which kept the world in awe Should patch a wall to expel the winter's flaw! On the other hand : Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York, {Richard III) is pure culto in its figures of speech ; and ' ' This to me in dreadful secrecy impart they did" (Hamlet) is decidedly culto because of the inverted syntax. Tennyson's charming verses, Her feet have touched the meadows. And left the daisies rosy, present a beautiful concepto for which we have a parallel in Lope's el Acero de Madrid: Nina que, al salir el alba dorando los verdes prados, esmaltan el de Madrid de jazmines tus pies blancos. Lowell, so fond of over-fine writing, is full of conceptos and culto, even in his prose. When Carlyle tells us of Burns that "he has a poet's soul, and strives towards the Infinite and Eternal, and soon feels that all this is but mounting to the house-top to reach the stars," he indulges in a remarkably beautiful concepto. But why shall we give it this name, and spoil what we are in the habit of calling pure poetry by an absurd designation? Let us rather return to conceptismo and culto, that abuse of legitimate, poetic language, and get a little clearer idea of their nature. I shall then give some examples taken from Lope's comedia. To begin with, the two phenomena are closely related as are most manifestations of darkness and obscurity in literature, and the extended use of one was bound to involve the other. As they overlapped in their uses, so they strengthened one another in DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE BE VEGA 49 that vogue which was successful, in part at least, in ruining Spanish poetry of the seventeenth century. Lope hardly seems to make a very clear distinction between them, and when he criticises his contemporaries he quite generally brands their defects only as culto. Thus he wrote in the Dorotea: Cesar. Aquel poeta es culto, que cultiva de suerte su poema, que no deja cosa 5,spera ni escura, como un labrador uu campo; que eso es cultura, aunque ellos dirfi,n que lo toman por ornamento. Ludovico. La ley aegunda de las cosas que no se tienen por escritas dice, que son iguales lo no entendido y lo que no fue esorito. Cesar. A mi me pareee que al nombre culto no puede haber etimologia que mejor le venga que la limpieza y el despejo de la sen- tencia libre de la escuridad; que no es ornamento de la oracion la confusi6n de los t^rminos mal eolocados, y la bdrbara frase traida de los cabellos con met^fora sobre metafora. Ludovico. Viciosa es la oracion en buena logiea, que se saca por terminos eseuros y improprios, y que mas esourece que declara la naturaleza de la cosa definida; y si las que entre si tienen esencial correspondencia no se pueden definir la una sin la otra, jqu6 relacion hard velera yaloma a, las naves para describirlas o definirlas por este termino, pues que lo mismo fuera velero cernicalo a un galeon, velera cigiiena a una fragata? This justifies the inference that a poet guilty of obscurity and of using too many conceptos is plainly culto. In many ways c^dto writing was an abuse and distortion of conceptismo, as gongo- rismo was a pathological and finally an insane exaggeration of culto. Conceptismo as such, that is as an abuse, was a conscious attempt at fine writing, the e-ii.yi ' eiji!iioii of a tnougnt series in peculiar figures7 es pecially similes and metaphors wEiclr Trere, on the whole_.clear enough, but avoided normal denotations, descrip- tions or sentiments too directly and baldly expressed. A marked distiucLlOii of conceptismo is its decided leaning toward meta- physical expression. Culto involves the syntax and outer form first of aJ L.then does aw a y w1TFP flTT''rl1'rpc rnessJ ^nd makes~it a rule never to call a spade a spade. "While conceptismo may say ' ' the butterfly is a w inged flower," culto goes farthe r, drops any~7;nmparisori which explains, and speaks onlv of winged 50 DRAMATIC ART OF LOPE DE VEGA flowers and stationary butterflies; from which absurdity the reader infers that one is meant for the other. Conceptismo involves the influences of philosophy and wit, culto, the inven- tion of unknown latinized words, the transfer of the function of parts of speech, nouns being tortured into verb forms, color phrases taking the place of the noun, and inseparable words being separated. Culto is thus frequently a question of the mechanism of speech, together with an abuse of poetic license and the unwar- ranted form of isolated and twisted expressions of thoughj;,^ Con- ceptismo is based on clever ideas; culto is^gured, obscured and unwarraifE5d~phras6^-^y7 apparently intended to shock and im- pressby^ts originality, jit their worst both are guilty of un- iKctHralT^emiacademic phrase-making, influenced in many of its earlier expressions of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries by a misguided attempt to imitate the classics. This efEort concerned itself not only with the elements of style, such as inversion, trans- position, and so on, but also of content, the verbiage of classic mj^thology, fiction and legend being especially responsible for much useless lumber in the language of the Renascence. Of this I shall have a little more to say in a subsequent chapter. It is impossible to overestimate the figures of speech which drew their life's blood from the classics. We need think only of Aurora, Phoebus, Diana and the long list of personifications to get a faint idea of this inherited vocabulary. As early as the Celestina we have a specimen intended to ridicule this growing mannerism. Calisto exclaims: . . . aunque primero sean los cauallos de Pebo apacentados en aquellos verdes prados, que suelen, quando han dado fin a su Jornada. Sempronio — Dexa, senor, essos rodeos, dexa essas poesias, que no es habla conueniente la que a todos no es comun, la que todos no participan, la que pocos entienden. Di: aunque se ponga el sol, e sabran todos lo que dizes. And how shall we estimate properly the influence exerted upon this language by works of the realm of religion and phil- osophy? The growth of the poetic language of the sixteenth century can be admirably studied in the writings of the most prominent authors, beginning with the one whose taste was always unerringly good, Garcilaso de la Vega. In him the classic char- DSAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE VEGA 51 acter fused with the spirit of the Italian poets is noticeably the strongest, but as we advance in the century the influence of neoplatonism, followed by that of the mystic and ascetic writers, makes itself felt more and more, so that before the close of the century we have a fusion of the three. Both neoplatonism and mysticism furnished spiritual and metaphysical conceptions and their philosophic thought a pleasing semiobscurity which became the hall-mark of most conceptismo. Imitation of vague imagery was, furthermore, justified on the ground that Plato himself puso cortinas (veiled) his 'divine' writings. The philosophy of such books as Leon Hebreo's Didlogos de Amor spread over the whole Latin world ; in Italy and Spain especially it found an echo in works of a novelistic or seminovelistic character, in love and adventure stories, in the pastoral novel, and especially in lyric poetry. It is small wonder, then, that among the poets of Spain the inflxience of this philosophy and, close upon its heels, that of mysticism should have added so greatly to the wealth of their poetic language. Nor can there be any doubt that as long as all imitation was kept within proper bounds it served to develop new veins of exquisite expression. The writings of the remarkable poets enumerated by Lope in his Dorotea (act IV, scene ii) contain some of the best and some of the worst of Spanish lyric verse ; therefore a study of their speech could be made in proper order from Garcilaso to Quevedo and Gongora to show the development of all those poetic traits which make verse of the siglo de oro a highly complex creation, and its reading no unmixed enjoyment. From what has just been stated, it is clear that prose fiction also contributed to strengthen the above mentioned influences. This is especially true of the pastoral novel, and careful consideration of the Diana of Montemayor, particularly that of the great poet, Gil Polo, the Galatea of Cer- vantes, the Pastor de Filida by Galvez de Montalvo, and others, will bear me out. All are full of innumerable specimens of this language. Lope, the greatest member of the brotherhood of poets as well as the most assimilative and versatile genius of them all. 52 DRAMATIC ART OF LOPE DE VEGA naturally gave expression to every phase of poetic speech o his day. Examples of his lyric verse in its purest form, leas affected by vogues or peculiarities of any kind, are known to al lovers of Spanish literature. His comedia furnishes example; of every conceivable vein : from profoundly tragic passages whicl must have gripped his audience, to the lightest and gayest vers( imaginable. There are models of every verse structure togethei with an infinite range in sentiment. Passages with concessions t( conceptismo and culto are found as well as every type of purelj popular poetry ; this is generally marked by exquisite local flavor and is as full of life and sparkle today as it was three hundred years ago. Ballads, letrillas, glosas, cantares, fables, anecdotes, notably romancillos, which are a pure jeu d' esprit, and many other forms, are a part of the treasure which he has left us. Of his popular verse practically untarnished by culto innumerable examples might be given of the flavor of the following; here we have a picture which recalls scenes, painted by Goya, so vividly do we see the dancer Gil before us. Musicos. (cantando) jOh quS bien que baila Gil eon los mozos de Barajas, la chacona a las sonajas y el villano al tamboril! jOh que bien, cierto y galan, baila Gil, tanendo Andres! O pone fuego en los pies, o al aire volando van. No hay mozo que tan gen til agora baile en Barajas, la chacona a las sonajas y el villano al tamboril. j,Qu§ moza desecharla un mozo de tal donaire, que da de coces al aire, y a volar le desafiaf A lo menos mS.s sutil, cuando baila se hace rajas, la chacona a las sonajas, y el villano al tamboril. — Al pasar del Arroyo, I, xii. DRAMATIC AMT OF LOPE BE VEGA 53 Or of the following, a version of a well known fable : Uu cuento viejo ha venido aqui a pedir de cogote. Jutdronse los ratoues para librarse del gato, y despufis de un largo rato de disputas y opiniones, dijeron que acertarlan en ponerle un cascabel; que andando el gato con 61, guardarse major podian. Salifi un raton barbicano, colilargo, hociquiromo, y encrespando el grueso lomo, dijo al senado romano, despues de hablar culto un rato: jQuien de todos ha de ser el que se atreva a poner ese cascabel al gato? • — La Esclava de su galdn, I, x. Nothing, however, equals Lope's lyric inspiration at its best, as, for example, the following: Musieos. {Canten y danzan) Dente parabienes el mayo garrido, los alegres campos, las fuentes y rios. Alcen las cabezas los verdes alisos, y con frutos nuevos almendros floridos. Echen las mananas, despues del rocio, en egpadas verdes guarnici6n de lirios. Suban los ganados por el monte mismo que cubrio la nieve, a pacer tomillos. (Folia) Y a los nuevos desposados eche Dios su bendicion; 54 DBAMATIC ABT OF LOPE BE VEGA parabien les den los prados, pues hoy para en uno son. (vueiva a danzar) Montanas heladas J soberbios riscos, antiguas encinas y robustos pines, ■dad paso a las aguas ■" en arroyos limpios, que a los valles bajan de los hielos frios. Canten ruisenores, y eon dulces silbos sus amores cuenten a estos verdes mirtos. Fabriquen las aves con nuevo artifieio para sus hijuelos amorosos nidos. (Folia) y a los nuevos desposados eche Dios su bendicion; parabien les den los prados, pues hoy para en uno son. • — Peribdnes y el comendador de Ocana, I. I spoke above of the barrier which verse forms may be to a reader of subsequent ages. How true this is becomes especially evident from the passages where the language of genuine inspira- tion is marred by lapses into culto. Lope rarely spoils the work of his hand, but there are, nevertheless, verses in which the logical clearness and simplicity receive an ugly and unnatural tvirn by touches of the current vogue. Sometimes even the speech of char- acters supposed to be of the people is artistically endangered and given an artificial turn. This, in my opinion, is the ease with the rustic Peribanez, otherwise one of Lope's great creations. In el Anzuelo de Fenisa the language is not always satisfactory because the characters of low life — gamblers, soldiers, bawds, and others at home in a shipping port — indulge in a singular purity of speech. We have, however, another good bit of evidence here of Lope's shrinking from unveiled improprieties and indecencies DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE BE VEGA 55 which compel his worst enemies to admit that in his literary art he is marked by a singular and pleasing fineness of feeling. He is always at his best when he gives us pictures in little, brief characterizations presenting an attitude of mind or a personal trait in which his gift of succinct phrase is astounding. I can- not refrain from quoting the following domestic scene, so that the reader may judge for himself how deep were Lope's sympa- thies with the people : Cuando ae muestra el lucero, viene del eampo mi esposo, de su cena deseoso; sientele el alma primero, y salgo a abrille la puerta, arrojando el almohadilla; que siempre tengo en la villa quien mis labores concierta. :61 de las mulas se arroja, J JO me arrojo en sus brazos; tal vez de nuestros abrazos la bestia hambrienta se enoja, y sintiendola grufiir, dice: "En dandole la cena al ganado, eara buena, volver^ Pedro a salir. ' ' Mientras el paja lea echa, ir por cebada me manda; yo la traigo, SI la zaranda, y deja la que aprovecha. Eevu61vela en el pesebre, y alll me vuelve a abrazar; que no hay tan bajo lugar que el amor no le celebre. Salimoa donde ya estd dindonos voces la olla, porque el ajo y la cebolla, fuera del olor que da por toda nuestra cocina, tocan a la cobertera el villano de manera, que a bailalle nos inclina. Sacola en limpios manteles, no en plata aunque yo quisiera; platos son de Talavera, que estdn vertiendo claveles. 56 DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE VEGA Avahole su escodilla de sopas eon tal primor, que no la come mejor el senor de muesa villa; y SI lo paga porque a fee, que apenas bocado toma, de que, como a su paloma, To que es mejor no me d^. Bebe y deja la mitad, bebole las fuerzas yo; traigo olivas, y si no, es postre la voluntad. Aoabada la comida, puestas las manos los dos, damosle gracias a Dios por la merced recebida; y v4monos a acostar, donde le pesa a la aurora cuando se Uega la hora de venirnos a llamar. — Peribdnez y el comendador de Ooana, 1. The following is the portrait of a fortune-hunting Undo, with realistic touches not unworthy of Velazquez, while the satirical wit reminds of the great Quevedo : jNo sine veuga un mancebo destos de ahora, de alcorza, con el sombrerito a orza, pluma corta, cordon nuevo, cuello abierto muy parejo, punos a lo veneciano, lo de fuera limpio y sano, lo de dentro sucio y vie jo; betas justas, sin podellas descalzar en todo un mes, las calzas hasta los pies, el bigote a las estrellas; jaboncillos y eopete, cadena falsa que asombre, guantes de ambar, y grande honibre de un soneto y un billete; y con sus manos lavadas los tres mil de renta pesque, con que un poco se refresque entre sdbanas delgadas; DRAMATIC AST OF LOPM DE VEGA 57 y pasados ocho dlas, se vaya a ver forasteras, o en amistades primeras vuelva a deshacer las mias! Vendr4 tarde, yo estarfi celosa, dara mi hacienda, eomenzard la contienda desto de si fue o no fu6. Yo escondere y el dard; buscara deudas por mi, entrara justicia aqui, voces y aun coces habr4; no habra noche, no habrd dia, que la casa no alborote . . . — Daca la carta de dote. — Soltad la hacienda que es mia. — Entrad en esta escritura. — No quiero. — jAh si! {No quer&s? Yo OS hare, infame, que entreis, si el brio de .ahora os dura. — Y que mientras mfi,s me postro, me haga muy mas apriesa de dos titulos condesa, Cocentaina y Punoenrostro. Yo he dicho. — La Viuda valenciana, I, iv. The soldier sketched in the following exeerpt stands bodily before the reader: Los soldados no podemos amar con secrete, y ser constantes en el querer; que estas dos faltas tenemos. Apenas entra el soldado con las medias de color, calzon de extrana labor, sombrero rico emplumado, ligas eon oro, zapato bianco, jubon de Milan, cuando ya todos estin murmurando su recato. Llevan colores y brio los ojos, y en galas solas mas jarcias y banderolas que por la barra el navio. 58 DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE BE VEGA Pues jconstancia en el querer? jeomo puede ser eonstancia? Ya estd en Flandes, ja, esta en Pranoia, el ausente, ella mujer . . . — ]Bien hay a mi condicion! — La Noche toledana, II, i. Or take an inimitable example of a servant's wit; he counsels his master to steer away from the shoals of matrimony : Considera una mujer a tu lado al acostar, a tu lado al levantar, y al mismo lado al comer; luego otra noche a tu lado, si el pie alargas, mujer topa, si quieres tirar la ropa, mujer te gana el cuidado; si echas un brazo, mujer; si miras, a mujer miras, en mujer das si respiras, J aun te sabra responder. Considfirala tambi^n con dos mil imperfecciones, que no caben en razones ■ ni en boca de hombre de bien; y verfi,s que esta Diana, que hoy como el sol maravilla, por cualquiera fregoncilla querr^s trocarla manana. — El Ausente en el lugar, III, xvi. In the latter passage we have the cynical attitude toward womankind of the delightful Esteban, one of Lope's most note- worthy creations. But these sparkling and natural passages are occasionally impaired by concessions to the current vogue of poetic speech. Perhaps Lope yielded in this, as he did in his assimilation of literary inheritances, to the spirit of contemporary verse. This is all the more to be regretted, because he had per- fected his gift of expression in many ways since his experimental , beginnings. The elaborate, less facile, less plastic style of his early verse had given place to simplicity, grace and flexibility, to a fine sense of fitness in word and expression, to a variety of DRAMATIC ART OF LOPE BE VEGA 59 melody in which sweetness alternates with force and depth, in short, an abundance of qualities surpassed by no other Spanish poet and equalled by very few. It is, therefore, to be regretted that he included the defects of conceptismo and culto. Examples of the abuse of the latter are by no means excessive, although they increase in his later style, that is, during the last twelve or fifteen years of his life. One of the most striking examples of Lope's kind of culto may be found in la Noche de San Juan, which has the excuse of having been written for a highly artificial purpose, namely, a court festival. A great many passages of this play appear to have been designed for the roydl box, but if Phillip and his court family understood them they should be given credit for extraordinary powers of divination. Una manana de abril cuando nueva sangre cobra cuanto en tierra, en aire, en agua, o corre, o vuela o se moja; cuando por los seeos ramos nuevo humor pimpollos brota, en cuyas pequenas cunas estan los frutos sin forma; cuando Pilomenas dulces cantan y piensan que lloran haciendo musicos libros de los alamos las eopas, con achaques del calor (invencion de gente moza que contra el recogimiento tal vez por remedio toma) baje a la casa del campo cuando la celeste concha abierto el dorado nacar flores banaba en aljofar. Llevaba por compania esas dos esclavas solas que por el color pudieran servir para el sol de sombra, etc., Act II. Since every defect is more fairly judged by comparison with the works of compatriots, it is only just to say that we may find examples like the above scores of times in Calderon and his con- 60 DRAMATIC ART OF LOPM DE VEGA temporaries when we should find but a single instance in Lope. Let me now give a few more examples of Lope 's conceptismo and cuUo, as they may aid in the necessary study of one of the features of his art. A good example of conceptismo consisting of a clever series of figures may be found in the following characterization of el Amor: Y es molinero el amor; que tambien dentro del peeho un molino tiene hecho para moler mi dolor. La piedra del pensamiento con el agua de mis ojos, moliendo trigo de enojos, hace harina de tormento. De aquesta se cuece el pan de dolor que me sustenta; que cuando mas me alimenta, es cuando menos me dan. — El Molino, II, viii. Or the following from la Viuda valenciana; Leonarda receives her lover in the dark, so as not to be recognized ; he says : Por Dios, que es hecho cruel. Ya me enciende el corazon amor sin luz, pues no veo; que ha tocado en el deseo como piedra el eslab6u. Como el hombre que estd a escuras, y, para eneender luz, toca, fue en mi alma vuestra boca, que ha dado centellas puras. Yesea ha sido el corazon, que era materia dispuesta, y el golpe fue la respuesta, J la lengua el eslab6n. Teugo una luz encendida en el alma, que os ve y trata, si el aire no me la mata de veros escurecida. No OS vea yo como ciego dentro en la imaginacifin, porque parece inveuci6n haber tinieblas y fuego. DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE VEGA 61 Si no es mi fianza bueua, no se comience la historia; y pues es limbo sin gloria, no sea limbo con pena. Sed vos, para que yo os vea, eomo pintor extremado, que aunque la noche ha pintado, deja luz con que se vea. In these we find a relative simplicity of thought; hut the fol- lowing forced play on the concepto, "ser", recalls the travesty in Don Quixote on " la razon de la sinrazon. ' ' The metaphysical nature of conceptismo is also evident in this passage : J Creeras entonces, Senora, lo que estimo tu belleza? Diras tu que es m5,s riqueza ser, Elena, mi mujer; y sabr^ yo responder que aun el propio ser perdiera, si, no siendo, ser pudiera que fuera tuyo sin ser. Pues quien dejara por ti el propio ser en que vive, no hard mucho en que se prive de lo que es fuera de si. — La Esclava de su galdn, I, i. An example of a mechanical heaping of brief conceptos may be found in la Boba para los otros y discreta para si: El brio nace en las almas, la ejecucion en los pechos, lo gallardo en el valor, lo altivo en los pensamientos, lo animoso en la esperanza, lo alentado en el deseo, lo bravo en el corazon, lo valiente en el despecho, lo cortes en la prudencia, lo arrojado en el desprecio, lo generoso en la sangre, lo amoroso en el empleo, lo temerario en la causa, lo apaeible en el despejo, lo piadoso en el amor, y lo terrible en los celos. 62 DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE VEGA In most of the passages just cited the metaphysical charactei of conceptismo is absent, but it is very frequently present in th( numerous sonnets which Lope has introduced into his comedia. in the form of letters or monologues. In many cases conceptismt may be amusing and unobjectionable when combined with Lope'i wit. Take, for example, the following passage in la Esclava di su Galdn: Elena. jY el Serafin? Don Juan. Serfi, fin. En mi vida le ver6, sino a ti, que lo eres mia. Pedro. iQue glosa hacerse podia! Elena. j C6mo ? Pedro. Escucha. Elena. Di. Pedro. Dire. Es el ti diminutive del tu, y es hijo del mi, porque le regala ansi con el acento mas vivo. El tu es bajo, j tiple el mi. Tu manda, tli desafia, tu es trompeta, tii es cochero; ti es clarlu, ti es chirimia: J por eso al tu no quiero, sino a ti, que lo eres mla. But Lope's sane judgment always triumphs, and his ridicule of the contemporary vogue with its unpoetic defects forms a valuable contribution to the literary criticism of his time. Ir Guardar y guardwrse we have an amusing passage in which a lackey conjures his master in culto: Dona Elvira. jlngrato! Quejosa quedo de tu crueldad. Chacdn. (A su amo.) J No te mueven aquellas perlas hermosas, que en aquel jardln de rosas dos cielos de ninas llueven? Don Felix iCielos de ninas, Chac6n? Chacdn. J, No la ves hacer pucheros? DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE VEGA 63 Don Felix Ojos, traicion es perderos . . . — Mas si quedarme es traicifin, el quedarme difieulto, y el irme si ingrato soy. Chacdn. Para eonjurarte estoy, Senor, en lenguaje culto. Por aquel candor brillante que viva luz y alma ostenta, aunque canoro se argenta el pielago naufragante, que de sus, te duelas, ojos. And in the same play the servant burlesques the speech of Ines who described her mistress as she rises and dresses, in exaggerated ciilto. Chacon. En efeto, Ines, jesta tocdndose tu senora, "y es sol que los cielos dora?" Ines. jPues no? Chacon. No. Ines. jComienzas ya? Chacon. Pareceme que la veo con cuarenta redomillas, cofrecillos y vajillas, ir per extrano rodeo en busca de la hermosura. In lo Cierto por lo dudoso a very obscure sonnet of Don Enrique is ridiculed by the servant Ramiro (act III, scene iv). While in Servir a Senor discreto we find a characterization of culto poetry which classes it as a disease : Elvira. Oigo decir que a poetas suele venirles furor, y mas en cosas de amor, por ciertas causas secretas. Girdn. Dicen los libros verdad. Elvira. Y aun un medico decia que era esta negra poesia especie de enfermedad. Sarna, dijo, a lo divino, que de uno en otro se pega, porque se rasca y se estriega, y es todo un pure venino. Digame, senor poeta, J Por ml ha hecho esta invencion. 64 DBAMATIC ART OF LOPE DM VEGA The first scene of act II of la Boha para los otros y discrete para si may also interest the reader. But best of all is the fol- lowing sonnet with which we close Lope's ridicule of the current poetic fad : Conjtirote, demonio culterano, que saigas deste mozo miserable, que apenas sabe hablar, easo notable, J ya presume de Anfion tebano. Por la lira de Apolo soberano te conjuro, cultero inexorable, que le des libertad para que hable en su nativo idioma castellano. "jPor qu6 me torques barbara tan mente? jQu6 cultiborra y brindalin tabaoo caractiquizan toda intosa frente?" ' ' — Habla ciistiano, perro. — Soy polaco. — Tenedle, que se va. — No me ates, tente; sueltame. — Aqui de Apolo. — Aqui de Baco." — Bimas del Licenciado Burguillos. The above examples may suffice to show that certain qualities of culto and conceptismo are not to be wholly condemned, that they are capable of rising to genuine expressions of beauty and wit, and that their danger lay not in their use but their exag- geration and abuse. Inasmuch as I am merely attempting to give a brief outline of Lope's dramatic art I cannot do justice at this point to his mind and thought, related and fascinating though they be. In- deed, Lope deserves to have a comprehensive work written on this subject on account of the richness and the wide scope of his sympathies. It would be strange were it otherwise in a dramat- ist who has composed so many plays touching every human theme. This does not mean that Lope gives utterance to a distinct phil- osophy any more than does Cervantes, unless unrebellious acqui- escence in the constituted order of things makes one. His point of view on a great variety of questions concerning the individual, society and the state can be gleaned from his comedias. His loyal religious attitude, as expressed in words, at least, is as normal and undisturbed as that of any man of the people; his ideas on politics and society throw a great deal of light on the DBAMATIC ART OF LOPE DE VEGA 65 current thought of his time. In no other sense is his comedia a more complete or satisfactory picture of contemporary life. This is the real, the unstudied Lope who presents an image of his times in those highly diversified thoughts of his innumerable characters. Although the elements of his dramatic formula may be circumscribed by tradition or stage limitations, still the thought processes of the great playwright, consciously or un- consciously, filled his dialogue with some of the best documentary evidence that we possess on the mental and spiritual life of the men and women of his day. As regards the political side, much may be gleaned from the comedia on monarchy, kingship and government in general, the utterance revealing now and then a surprisingly frank criticism of the abuses and injustices inher- ent in sovereign power. To be sure, Lope usually sets up hypoth- etical cases, discusses ideal states, and where he chooses to give detailed examples of evil deeds or impulses in rulers, he places his action in times long past and presents a king of distant cen- turies or foreign lands. His attitude toward the power and position of aristocracies is on the whole fairly illuminating, his most convincing expressions being those in which he depicts injustice, violence, depravity, or other vices of the selfish grand seigneur. No more striking condemnation than his can be found of the undemocratic existence of the powerful lord whose chief principle is that might makes right. But Lope is generally at his best when he presents the Spanish people, the middle and lower classes as they thought, spoke and acted. There can be no doubt that his heart was with the great bourgeoisie in spite of all his social intercourse and friendliness with aristocracy; he too would have voiced the sentiment so well expressed in La Bruyere 's words, ' ' Faut-il opter, je suis peuple. ' ' One of the most genuine notes in Lope is, therefore, his cham- pioning of the democratic spirit of the Spanish people, mani- fest especially in his pictures of the lower classes, his country folk, his sane types of the bourgeois, together with the simplicity of speech and the sound common sense with which the latter are endowed. Very frequently we find a defence of the lowly, the 66 DRAMATIC ABT OF LOPE DE VEGA poor, the unprivileged and disinherited members of a very im- perfect form of society. This does not necessarily imply any incisive criticism directed against contemporary conditions, for, as stated above. Lope was not critical of his times, nor was he by nature or gifts a satirist in any profound sense. He also championed a saner and if we may call it so, a freer position for women, he emphasized again and again the necessity of granting them greater liberty of choice in determining their own happi- ness in marriage or any other state. He justified their opposi- tion to distasteful unions and their desire to see and speak freely with the men they are to marry. We reach this conclu- sion chiefly by inference from many scenes in his plays. Per- haps the exaggerated liberties which some of his women char- acters take, quite contrary to local custom, also imply a desire on Lope 's part to see a greater freedom for womankind realized. In this connection we may add that nowhere is the honor code so overemphasized as in the cases in which arbitrary fathers or brothers keep a hawk-like vigilance over the actions of daughter or sister lest she bring discredit on their honor and name. These pictures frequently imply a criticism of the selfishness and arbi- trary authority of the man and a plea for a more reasonable position for the woman. DBAMATIC ABT OF LOPE DE VEGA 67 LOPE'S LEARNING: THE INFLUENCE OF THE CLASSICS A prominent feature of Lope's language is the constantly recurring reference to classical authors and ancient themes. No element of his speech is as antiquated as this, no note of his dialogue finds as little response or awakens as little interest in the modern reader. It does not mend matters to be told that the classics still formed a part of the daily routine thought in his day, that the popularity of the ancients during the Renascence represented a sympathy for antiquity of which we have no conception. The sound of the Latin language, although with a Spanish pronunciation, was familiar to man, woman and child through sermon and ritual, and an occasional classical quotation on the stage would not be taken for an absurd piece of pedantry, even if it passed over the heads of the listeners. In spite of the unsurpassed originality of the literature and philosophy of the Renascence, imitation of standard classics was not only countenanced but considered good taste. In all this the comedia was no exception. But what a strange mixture this spirit of imitation produced! It is fortunate indeed for our modern art, that these classic instances are no longer dragged in whether they fit or not. This criticism is not altogether fair, to be sure, if we judge literary tastes in the light of Lope's times. But we are attempting to present all the reasons why the comedia, notably the creation of Lope, has features which will survive all changes of taste while certain others tend to reduce it to the level of a literary curiosity. It is not my purpose to give more than the briefest outline of the influence of the classics on Lope, as manifested in his plays. The material available for such a purpose would fill many a volume. But the character of his art will be better understood if the reader has an idea of this manifestation in his language. The great body of classical literature, whether prose or verse, reached the Renascence public of Spain through the medium of 68 DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE VEGA translations, popularized versions, or undigested compilation of learning of all kinds. The latter stricture may sound to harsh until we wade through miscellanies, jest books, classica commentaries, fiction, or philosophic discussions on the ancients whose utterances were now and then presented in a form hardl; recognizable by the authors. The same is true of dramas, lyri verse, chronicles and the rest, the authors of which seem impresse( with the necessity of winning prestige by citing classical author when and wherever possible. In the majority of cases, there fore, the influence of the classics reduces itself to common-places Only in the rarer cases of such profoundly learned men a Quevedo, the most striking intellect of his time, we find i thoroughly satisfactory acquaintance with the classics. Lop' stands halfway between Quevedo and the popular, superficia presentation of classical material. He is acquainted with ever; author of old, every type of ancient literature is known to him Of the Greeks direct reference to Plato seems to me to be the mqs common, and this must be due chiefly to the existence of neo platonic literature, to its interpreters, commentators, and imita tors who gave voice to its philosophy. Of the latter, Leon Hebre( is mentioned most frequently by Lope, and his works occupy i prominent place in any consideration of this influence. The; contributed to Lope's comedia a peculiar metaphysical languag evident in discussions of love, beauty, desire and the like. Aris totle, too, is mentioned with reference to his Ethics, his treatise on the soul and his work on animals. Among the historian Herodotus occupies the first place, as far as I am aware, hi style of narrative, his fiction and folk-lore elements being mori appreciated than the writings of more scientific historians lik Thucydides. Of the Greek dramatists I have noticed only occa sional and unimportant reminiscences. The writers of late: ages were also known to Lope, especially Plutarch, whose Moralit exerted an influence all through the Renascence not to be over stated. I am of the opinion that the influence of Plutarch' Lives was not so great. To us it may be astounding that th name of this writer should have carried with it such extra DBAMATIC AST OF LOPE BE VEGA 69 ordinary weight; yet even so great a thinker as Montaigne is full of Plutarch's animadversions, some of which have the stamp of the commonplace. But it must be remembered that the note- worthy translations of Amyot in France and Diego Gracian in Spain were much read books. Lope must have known the latter well. Much more recent, but still belonging to Greek literature, are the Byzantine romances, Theagenes-and Karikleia, KlUophon and LeuMppe, and others which were known in Lope's day through Spanish and Italian versions. They are responsible for a few romantic or episodic features in the comedia. By constantly uniting the names of Homer and Vergil, the fusion of the influence exerted by the Iliad, the Odyssey and the Aeneid, became inevitable. It would be difficult to find a promi- nent character in any one of these epics who is not mentioned by Lope. The stories of Ilium and Rome, the adventures of Ulysses, the tales of Helen and Dido, pathetic and semiseandalous, the charms of Circe, the youthful beauty and valor of Achilles, these and scores of other characters and episodes are mentioned again and again. The chief Latin poets, too, are well known to Lope, Ovid holding a very prominent place, followed by Horace, Catullus, Juvenal, Martial and others. I spoke briefly of Ovid's influence on Lope in my book on that Latin poet and the Rena- scence. I need supplement what I said there merely by adding that scores of Lope's plays show a very profound indebtedness to the thoughts, episodes and amorous principles of the Meta- morphoses, the Ars Amatoria, the Remedia Amoris, and the Heroides. The Latin poets proved a mine of information on the gods, and demigods, the heroes and heroines of legend and mythology. Venus and Adonis, Cupid and Psyche, Orpheus and Burydice, Jason and Medea, Perseus and Medusa, Pygmalion and Galatea, the labors of Hercales and the stories connected with the Golden Fleece, semihistorical heroes of Greek and Roman history, to mention some instances disconnectedly and at random, these and scores of others appear on Lope 's pages again and again. The numerous anecdotes connected with classical antiquity. 70 DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE VEGA biographical details of famous men and the like, were takei ' chiefly from compilations which in their turn extracted then from historians and biographers, such as Livy, Tacitus, Suetoniui and others. One prominent work which furnished Lope witl innumerable bits of lore and nonsense concerning nature anc the animal kingdom was Pliny's Natural History. No bird oi beast was too strange or rare to have its existence vouched foi by Pliny or his Renascence commentators who have won ar immortal place among "the spinsters and knitters in the sun,' or "las viejas que dicen eonsejas tras el fuego. " The mattei available for a study on the influence of Pliny alone would make several large and entertaining books. Among Latin works of fiction the chief place is occupied by the Golden Ass of Apuleius ; its novelistic incidents are full ol vivacity and originality and prompted imitation among drama- tists and novelists alike. Reference to medical treatises, espe- cially Galen, to books on natural phenomena, superstitions and the like, abound, but cannot be discussed now. How much of all this was beyond the intelligence of the audience when recited on the stage is difficult to determine. Suffice it to say- that ser- vants, lackeys, ruffians and courtesans are not ignorant of things classic, and that we must take for granted that all this material was in the air and the common possession of all people. References to biblical characters and episodes, above all the Old Testament, are not uncommon, but by no means as frequent as those just treated. Their presence in plays of a religious character is natural, but a discussion of them falls without the scope of this essay. DBAMATIC AMI OF LOPE DE VEGA 71 LOPE'S ACQUAINTANCE WITH CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE Among the meagre autobiographical details which Lope has given us in his Dorotea a statement concerning his education, his reading and literary taste in general is of interest. He there tells us in the part of Don Fernando : de la edad que digo ya sabia yo la gramitica, y no ignoraba la retorica; deseubri razonable ingenio, prontitud y docilidad para eualquiera ciencia; pero para lo que mayor le tenia era para versos; de suerte que los oarta- pacios de las licionos me Servian de borradores para mis pensamientos, y muchas veces mas escribla en versos latinos o castellanos. Comence a juntar libros de todas letras y lenguas; que despues de los principios de la griega y ejercicio grande de la latina, supe bien la toscana, y de la fran- eesa tuve noticia. This tells us three things in regard to Renascence literature: that French was not unknown to Lope, that he was well ac- quainted with Italian, and that he was ever occupied in reading and writing Spanish verse. If we limit ourselves only to the evi- dence of the comedia, this conclusion is everywhere corroborated. Although Lope may have known something of the French lan- guage, I find practically no evidence of any acquaintance with contemporary French literature. On the other hand, he must have read Italian extensively, while every Spanish poet or col- lection of Spanish verse must have been known to him. With regard to Italian literature, the novellieri from Boc- caccio on, including the extensive collections of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, were familiar ground to Lope. Some of his plots are not only directly traceable to Italian novelle, but cer- tain episodes of others betray all the marks of Italian influence. This is logical, if we recall that Spanish literature offered but little in this style of fiction, that in the field of the short story we have to deal with hardly more than third rate imitations of Italian sources until we reach the novelas of Cervantes, which strike the first independent note of importance. Italian litera- ture of chivalry was also known to Lope, especially the epics 72. DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE VEGA of Boiardo, Ariosto and Tasso, while Dante and Petrarch ai frequently mentioned, or some thought of theirs is repeatei Among the poets the influence of Petrarch overshadows that ( all others, not only because of the warm, living qualities of h verse, but because his spirit had already been assimilated h so many Spanish poets before Lope's day. All this deserve an extensive, separate study in so far as it throws light not onl on the growth of Spanish lyric verse, but also on certain poeti elements of Lope's artistic formula. As regards Lope's extraordinary acquaintance with Spanis verse the fact that the large body of Renascence lyrics had becom bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh would be evident from h: works at every turn, even if we chose to limit ourselves to th testimony of the comedia. Again and again he speaks of th chief poets, and a study of all the names mentioned would mat a comprehensive history of contemporary literature. As wa the case with Cervantes, Lope's great model seems to have bee Garcilaso, whose musical line and unerring good taste ver justly placed him out of reach of any adverse criticism and mad him the niodel for the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. 1 would be futile to give inost of the names which Lope mentior since his own fine tact and delicate touch made him appreciat the best which that astoundingly productive period had t offer. In prose literature Lope was no less at home than in versi but the type which he mentions most frequently in the coynedi is the pastoral romance. His manner of referring to it leads m to believe that he considered it the only other type of literatur outside of verse production with artistic finish. And this is s( The pastoral novel has paled after all these years, above a its artificiality is evident to us, but the fact remains that it ver often reaches high poetic levels which rightly give it a place b( side lyric verse. Of far greater importance is the Cclestina, an Lope, who no less than the author of that unique work is a maste of dialogue and of the expression of passion, imitates it both coi sciously and unconsciously in many scenes of his plays. Refei DBAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE VEGA 73 ences to the story of Calisto and Melibea and to the great figure of Celestina herself are a common occurrence, while similarities in style, language and episodes can be pointed out with fre- quency. The indebtedness of Lope to any single creation is not very pronounced, but if there is an exception to this rule, it is the Celestina, which made a deep impression upon him as well as upon all the writers of the Renascence. I have else- where treated the influence of this remarkable book upon Lope 's Dorotea and his el Cdballero de Olmedo, which are good examples of how the spirit of the whole work manifested itself in the comedia. As regards the Dorotea, I am inclined to see in that strange play an extremely artificial fabric in which Gerarda, a wonderful imitation of Celestina, is practically the only living character, the others being too often spoiled by a display of pedantry, academic dulness and bad art. The romances of chivalry, contemporary chapbooks containing such novels as la Doncella Teodor, besides novels of love and adventure, were known to Lope, nor need I speak of the chronicles, lives of heroes and saints from which he borrowed ideas and plots. Finally, the late Menendez y Pelayo has on various occasions pointed out how unlimited is Lope's acquaintance with the great body of national romances or ballads. If any further evidence were required to prove that his memory was as prodigious as his inventive genius, his acquaintance with the popular and traditional poetry of his people would more than prove his case. 74 DM AM AT IC ART OF LOPE DE VEGA SOME TECHNICAL FEATURES OF LOPE'S ART: EXPOSITION, PLOTS, EECUREING THEMES Inasmuch as Lope 's inventive genius is characterized by free- dom and spontaneity, he was at his best whenever the plot was wholly his own creation. A mere suggestion was enough to give him an idea for a whole play. It is therefore clear that he must have been hampered in his construction, in the sequence of his conception of scenes and episodes, when he undertook to repro- duce dramatically a ready-made story. In so vast a creation as his comedia we are enabled to reach the good productions only by an elimination of the inferior ones, and, to me, his least inspired plays are almost always based on borrowed plots. These were, for the greater part, taken from fiction sources, chiefly Italian, and, therefore, absorbed many episodic adventure ele- ments which strike a false note on the stage. They represent an artistic blunder, and spoil a certain portion of his work. It would add but little to my argument to mention here the many plays related to stories of Boccaccio, Bandello and others, but the influence of Italian novelle throws a certain light upon his plot construction. In certain plays which may be characterized as extravanganzas, or novels in dialogue, we may note that Lope hesitates to localize them in Spain, for he gives the plot an Italian background as if to make the spectator believe that the events of his play are more likely to take place outside of the Peninsula. I refer also to plays in which Lope made concessions to improbable romantic themes, ill-suited to any stage, and though these may have been acted in an amusing way, they add nothing original or enduring to his artistic formula. Take, for example, el Alcalde mayor in which the heroine's lover is im- plicated in a murder plot ; she flees to Salamanca disguised as a man, attains the degree of doctor after years of study, and being considered worthy of higher honors she finally becomes ' ' alcalde mayor of Toledo." As such she again meets her lover and all DRAMATIC ABT OF LOPE DE VEGA 75 mysteries are cleared up. Or take Servir a Senor discreto, m which a tyrannical father favors an aged suitor of his daughter. The latter consequently throws herself into the arras of a younger and more acceptable lover. But the young man, of humble fortune and station, sets out for Madrid in order to improve his position, whereupon daughter and father follow him to the capital. In Madrid the young lover assumes the posi- tion and fortune of a certain "Senor discreto" whose service he had entered, and thus he is enabled to win the lady of his affec- tions. In los Embustes de Celauro there is an inartistic confusion of themes taken from fiction and folklore, while even la Viuda valenciana, one of the most charming, sparkling and poetic crea- tions from Lope's pen, is marred by an occasional jarring note due to concessions to these elements. It is also of interest to observe that Lope, who did not fail to touch every conceivable dramatic note, suggests the lines along which the subsequent drama of fate, which the Germans called the Schicksalsdrama, was conceived. In los Comendadores de Cordoba the two crim- inal lovers are warned of their impending fate by unexpected occurrences, and in el Caballero de Olmedo, one of the great masterpieces of the siglo de oro, don Alonso is forewarned* of his tragic end in a profoundly impressive manner. On the whole Lope's great comedies are those which deal with a simple theme, handled with extraordinary lightness and grace, a theme which plays flexibly and quickly with an idealized form of Spanish society, while his best tragedies are based on subjects so intense and so overwhelming that there is little room for the accessories of unrelated novelistic material. One of Lope's chief claims to being a complete master of his art is his exposition. In most of his plays the opening could not be improved upon. But we realize that he wrote altogether too much to carry this perfection to the end of every plot, and no special critical acumen is necessary to note that some of his plays betray a distinct falling off in the construction as they proceed. Having conceived his formula with its dominating ele- ment of rapidity of action, the great simplicity of almost every 76 DBAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE VEGA exposition is normally modified as we move forward by the addi- tion of subplot, secondary action or explanatory scenes, and when the audience possesses all the factors necessary to under- stand the story. Lope is merely concerned with his forward process, with weaving in and out action, counter-action, senti- ments, cross-purposes, and impulses until he comes to the logical end of his various threads, or chooses arbitrarily to cut his skein. The usual analysis of Lope's characters fails to lay stress on the fact that in rapidity of action impulses must dominate over reason and deliberation because the latter demand too many delays to fit into his formula. Another mistaken procedure pointed out above is that of applying the principles of other national dramas to the comedia. No other type of play in the world is so thoroughly an improvised creation as that of Lope. As a highly endowed musician may sit down at an instrument and compose without premeditation, so Lope always had at his disposal, without any seeming effort, all the unusual gifts which nature had so generously bestowed on him. It is, therefore, futile to look for deliberate processes, mechanical construction or a conscious rearing of his artistic edifice'. Careful scrutiny of the majority of Lope's plays reveals that he had no fixed conception of dramatic steps purely by acts and scenes, and only a sense of forward movement, of progressive exits and entrances, which carry the game through its successive steps until an end satisfactory to the author is reached. In many cases the solution could be attained earlier in the play, but the fanciful creation of new impulses bridges every gap until the improvisor sees fit to stop. Inasmuch as the dramatic formula of Lope depends entirely upon a successful opening, and thereafter upon rapidity of procedure, he was wont to observe carefully what kind of exposition won his hearers, nor did he hesitate to repeat such scenes if popular. A good example of this repetition can be found in la discreta Enamorada (Act I, scene i), and el Acero de Madrid (Act I, scene ii) ; in the former mother and daughter enter followed by a young gallant, while in the latter it is an aunt with her niece. The dialogues are very DRAMATIC ART OF LOPE BE VEGA 77 similar. A study of model expositions might also be made in such plays as el Premio del Men hablar, la Moza de Cdntaro, Quien ama no haga fieros, los Melindres de Belisa, el Domine Lucas, not to mention scores of others like Fuente Ovejuna, Penbdnez y el Gomendador de Ocana, and los Comendadores de Cordoba of tragic content. As a consequence of all this we must be prepared for recur- ring themes not only at the opening of Lope's plays, but woven into the bodies of the plots. Although this element of repetition has been ascribed to popular applause, it was a logical result of the superhuman amount which he produced. I have already touched on some of his more common stage devices, such as tricks which enable the lovers to converse, the stumbling theme, acci- dents upon the highway, disguises of all kinds, concealment, the entrance of a messenger who pretends to be a hawker or vendor of ladies' articles, or books and the like, all of which generally produce light and sparkling episodes. A character who enjoyed great popularity, whether male or female, was the simpleton {bobo and boba) either real or feigned, and by this I do not mean the gracioso, but one of the leading characters. Examples are la Dama boba, la Boba para los otros y discreta para si, el Bobo del Colegio, and many others. Among the more serious themes which recur is that of parental authority, or of that of uncle or brother, involving questions of honor and morality. Although Lope frequently praises modesty, humility and other domestic traits in woman, he also advocated, if not always by direct propa- ganda, a freer and saner social position for her. He presents his plea, as I have stated above, more by making plain the abuses to which the subservience of womankind may lead. A highly dramatic theme is the protection of a murderer by a relative of the murdered man who is ignorant of the nature of the crime or not aware of the identity of victim and murderer. Again, in other dramas, in which some criminal plot is afoot, the personage who is an obstacle to the plotter must be removed, and this object is achieved in an arbitrary manner by entrusting to the former some distant military post, or some official occupation 78 DBAMATIC AMT OF LOPE DE VEGA which may take him out of the way for a sufficient space of time The chief theme^ of this kind of plot is the base desire of some one high in authority to possess the wife, tianeee or sister oJ a vassal or dependent, a theme very old in fiction, so that manj examples could be cited. Among them is the well-known story contained in Juan Manuel's Libro de Patronio: "De lo que conteseio a Saladin con una buena duena, mujer de un caballerc su vasallo." Saladin wishes to seduce the wife of a vassal; he, therefore, creates him mayoral and sends him to distant lands, but his evil scheme is frustrated by the wise conduct of the wife. The reader will also recallr that in the story of David, Bathsheba and Uriah we have a variant of the same theme. ** We may summarize certain features of Lope's technique as follows : exits ,and entrances are treated more arbitrarily and whimsically than would be permissible in less spontaneous drama, the characters moving rather with the motive force of Lope's fancy. His conception of time is so indefinite as to make us believe that in the vast majority of his plays the question of a limited number of hours, days or even months was entirely dis- regarded. The audience was transported into an idealized world not confined by the limits of the stage nor controlled by the usual flight of time. In a number of plays Lope falls into the technical error of leaving the stage empty various times during an act. Take for example, la Esclava de su galdn, in which on twelve separate occasions every person quits the stage leaving the plot disconnected and so interfering with smooth action. Finally, as regards the frequent interweaving of a subplot, this feature was very often a necessary addition to the principal action, giving more body to the main plot when it was thin and weak in con- tent. It also furnished matrimonial material for the secondary characters. Cervantes ridiculed this device of having everybody married off at the end of the play in his comedy la Entretenida. Exaggeration in the heaping of tone and color eifect is rare in Lope, and consequently his great themes are seldom marred, as in los Comendadores de Cordoba where the spirit of vengeance of the Veinticuatro consciously turns into a sanguinary chase. DBAMATIC AMT OF LOPE DE VEGA 79 and the tragic close fails to maintain the solemn grandeur of the rest. The apparent defects of Lope's formula are due to an excessive number of combinations of recurring elements which are entirely possible and acceptable, if the probability of the resulting picture be not too closely compared with actual human society. The technique, notably the structure of Lope's comedia, has frequently been compared with that of less inspired but more careful writers like Alarcon or Moreto to his disadvantage. Yet nothing can take from his art the claim to a unique charm of presentation unlimited in its variety, a sound mixture of youth and maturity which never knew the touch of old age, a knowledge of the depths of human experiences without overemphasizing their weight on the soul, a comprehensiveness of poetic expres- sion which makes every attempt at comparison futile and every effort of analysis unsatisfactory. 80 DRAMATIC ART OF LOPE DE VEGA DIALOGUE, MONOLOGUE, AND NARRATIVE No task seems more hopeless at the outset than a discussion of Lope's dialogue, so astounding is its variety, so vast its range in tone, colgr, feeling, speech and situation. No critical presen- tation can embrace more than a part of his work, nor can a limited number of examples hope to give more than a bare sug- gestion of all the forms of emotion, thought and experience for which Lope has found expression. Any specimen taken out of its content cannot give the full measure of the effect intended, a thing especially so in the case of comedy. But the examples which I have chosen may suffice to show his masterly touch. The number of his genuinely comic scenes cannot be counted, and no better reason could be alleged for giving unstinted praise to his miraculous inventive power than the hundreds of plays with which he unceasingly amused the Spanish public. In his tragedies Lope has shown a remarkable gift of impress- ing the audience by the sudden and unexpected tragic turns in the career of hero or heroine. This is the case where light dialogue is followed by an event entirely changing the face of things. Thus in la Moza de cdntaro the heroine is discussing with her maid the qualities of her many suitors when her aged father enters, and tells her of a mortal affront inflicted upon him, the result of which alters her whole career. Luisa. Don Diego est& confiado; joyas te ha hecho famosas. Dona Maria. J Joyas ? Luisa. Y galas costosas; hasta coche te ha comprado. Dona Maria. Don Diego de noche y eoche. Luisa. iDe noche un gran caballero! Dona Maria. Mas jay Dies! que no le quiero para don Diego de noche. Otra le goce, Luisa, no yo. [De noche visiones! Luisa. Oigo Unas tristes razones. DRAMATIC ART OF LOPB DE VEGA 81 Don Bernardo. Dona Maria. Don Bernardo. Dona Maria. Don Bernardo. Doha Maria. Don Bernardo. Doha Maria. Volvi6se en llanto la risa. J No es ^ste mi padre? Luisa. -^i es. {Don Bernardo, de hdbito de Santiago, eon un Uenzo en los ojos. Diohas.) jAy de ml! Sefior, jquS es esto? Vos Uorando y descompuesto, jy yo no estoy a esos pies! jQufi tenuis, padre y senor, mi solo y unico bien? Vergiienza de que me ven venir vivo y sin honor. jC6mo sin honor? No se. Dejame, por Dios, Maria. Siendo vos vida en la mia, jComo dejaros podre? jHabeis acaso caido? Que los anos muchos son. Cayo toda la opini6n y nobleza que he tenido. No es de los hombres llorar; pero lloro un hijo mio que esta en Flandes, de quien fio que me supiera vengar. Siendo hombre, llorar me agrada; porque los viejos, Maria, somos ninos desde el dia que nos quitamos la espada. Dona Maria. Sin color, y el alma en calma, OS oigo, padre y senor; mas J que mucho sin color, si ya me teneis sin alma? J Que habia de hacer mi hermano? jDe qui^n os ha de vengar? In el Cahallero de Olmedo extraordinary naturalness, vivacity and wit running through more than two acts make as delightful comedy as Lope ever penned, the whole giving place suddenly to a brief and tragic close. The happy days of Don Alonso's court- ship are gradually filled with a foreboding of his untimely end and few effects which Lope has devised are artistically more successful ; he is returning home at night after the crowning day of his career : 82 DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE BE VEGA Don Alonso. . . . [Que escuridad! Todo es horror, hasta que el aurora en las alfombras de Flora ponga Ids dorados pies. AllI cantan. jQuien sera? Mas sera algun labrador, que eamina a su labor. Lejos parece que esta; pero aeercando se va. Pues i como ! Lleva instrumento, J no es riistieo el acento, sine sonoro y siiave. jQufi mal la musica sabe, si esta triste el pensamiento ! Una Voz. (Dentro.) {Canta desde lejos y viene acercdndose.) Que de noche le mataron al caballero, la gala de Medina, la flor de Olmedo. Don Alonso. jCielos! jQue estoy escuchando? Si es que avisos vuestros son, ya que estoy en la oeasion, jde qu^ me estais informando? Volver atras jcomo puedo? Invencion de Fabia es, que quiere, a ruego de Ines, hacer que no vaya a Olmedo. La Voz. (Dentro.) Sombras le avisaron que no saliese, y le aconsejaron que no se fuese el caballero, la gala de Medina, la flor de Olmedo. Don Alonso. jQue de sombras finge el miedo! i Qu6 de enganos imagina ! Oye, escuelia. jDonde fu6, que apenas sus pasos siento? [Ah, labrador! Oye, aguarda. Aguarda, responde el eco. jMuerto yo! Pero es cancion que por algun hombre hieieron de Olmedo, y los de Medina en este camino han muerto. A la mitad del estoy: J que han de decir si me vuelvo? DBAMATIC ART OF LOPE DE VEGA 83 Don Sodrigo. Don Alonso. Don Fernando. Don Alonso. Don Bodrigo. Don Alonso. Don Fernando. Don Alonso. Tello. Don Alonso. Tello. Gente viene. . . . No me pesa. Si alia van, ire eon ellos. {Don Bodrigo, Don Fernando, Mendo, Criados.) jQuien va? Tin hombre. jNo me ven? Detengase. Caballeros, si acaso neoesidad los fuerza a pasos como Istos, desde aqui a mi casa hay poco: DO habre menester dineros; que de dia y en la calle se los doy a cuantos veo que me hacen honra en pedirlos. Quitese las armas luego. Yo vengo a matar, no vengo a desafios; que entonees te matara cuerpo a euerpo. (a Mendo.) Tirale. (Dispara Mendo.) Traidores sois; pero sin armas de fuego no pudierades matarme. j Jesus! (Cae.) Bien lo has hecho, Mendo. (Vanse don Bodrigo, don Fernando y su gente.) jQue poco credito di a los avisos del cielo! Valor propio me ha enganado, y muerto envidias y celos. jAy de ml! jQue hare en un eampo tan solo? {Tello entra.) Pena me dieron estos hombres que a eaballo van hacia Medina huyendo. Si a don Alonso habian visto, pregunte; no respondieron. Mala senal. Voy temblando. jDios mio, piedad, yo muero! Vos sab^is que fue mi amor dirigido a easamiento. jAy, Ines! De lastimoaas quejas siento tristes ecos. Hacia aquella parte suenan. 84 DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE BE VEGA Von Alonso. Tello. Don Alonso. Tello. Don Alonso. Tello. ■ No est4 del camino lejos quien las da. No me ha quedado sangre. Pienso que el sombrero puede tenerse en el aire solo en cualquiera cabello. jAh, hidalgo! J Quien es? jAy, Dios! jPor que dudo lo que veo? Es mi senor. jDon Alonso! Seas bien venido, Tello. jComo, Senor, si he tardado? jComo, si a mirarte llego heeho un pielago de sangre? Traidores, villanos, perros, volved, volved a matarme, pues hab^is, infames, muerto el mS,s noble, el m^s valiente, el mas galan caballero ' que cino espada en Castilla. Tello, Tello, ya no es tiempo m^s que de tratar del alma. Ponme en tu caballo presto, y llevame a ver mis padres, j Que buenas nuevas les Uevo de las fiestas de Medina! J Que dir4 aquel noble viejo? jQu6 hard tu madre y tu patria? jVenganza, piadosos cielos! (Llevase a don Alonso.) Fuente Ovejuna presents the vigor of an untutored, demo- cratic community standing out for its rights against the vicious overlord, and we have side by side with rustic dialogue deeply impressive tragic passages of which the following may serve as an example. The peasants sitting in council against the scoundrel who has ruined their lives are moved to action by a woman's appeal : Eegidor. Ya, todo el arbol de paciencia roto, 1 corre la nave de temor perdida. La hija quitan con tan gran fiereza a un hombre honrado, de quien es regida la patria en que vivis, y en la cabeza DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE BE VEGA 85 la vara quiebrau tan injustamente. jQuS esclavo se tratfi con mas bajeza? Juan Bo jo. jQufi es lo que quieres tu que el pueblo intente? Segidor. Morir, o dar la muerte a los tiranos, _ pues somos muchos, y ello3 poea gente. ' Barrildo. ; Contra el senor las armas en las manos! ^ Esieban. El Bey solo es senor despufis del cielo, '^ y no barbaros hombres inhumanos. C Si Dios ayuda nuestro justo celo, V* 4 que nos ha de costar? Mengo. Mirad, senores, *- que v&is en estas cosas con recelo. Puesto que por los simples labradores t: estoy aqui, que m&s injurias pasan, ^' m4s cuerdo represento sus temores. "£ Juan Mojo. Si nuestras desventuras se compasan, \' para perder las vidas, jqu6 aguardamos? Las casas y las vinas nos abrasan: tiranos son; a la venganza vamos. (Laurencia, desmelenada. Dichos.) Laurencia. Dejadme entrar, que bien puedo, en consejo de los hombres; que" bien puede una mujer, si no a dar voto, a dar voces. jConoceisme? Esteian. j Santo cielo! J No es mi hija? Juan Bo jo. jNo conoces a Laurencia? Laurencia. Vengo tal, que mi diferencia os pone en contingencia quien soy. Esteban. jHija mla! Laurencia. No me nombres tu hija. Esteban. }Por que, mis ojos? 4 Por que? Laurencia. Por muchas razones, y sean las principales, porque dejas que me roben tiranos sin que me vengues, traidores sin que me cobres. jVosotros sois hombres nobles? jVosotros padres y deudos? jVosotros, que no se os rompen las entranas de dolor, 86 DBAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE VEGA de verme en tantos dolores? Ovejas sois, bien lo dice de Fuente Ovejuna el nombre. Dadme unas armas a mi, pues sois piedras, pues sois bronces. Los Comendadores de Cordoba represents, as far as I know, the extreme to which Lope has gone in giving the whole play an atmosphere of gloom, without attaining the tragic depth and dignity either of the foregoing play or of that masterwork, la Estrella de Sevilla. No tone in this mars the exquisite presenta- tion of the character of the heroine, and when we see her over- whelmed by a course of tragic events which take place inevitably one after the other, we feel justified in claiming that no finer example of a fearful peripeteia exists on any stage. Estrella is in the midst of her wedding preparations, when without warn- ing the fateful hour is upon her: (Sola en casa de Busto. Estrella y Teodora.) Estrella. No se si me vestl bien, como me vesti de prisa. Dame, Teodora, ese espejo. Teodora. Verte, Senora, en ti misma puedes, porque no hay eristal que tantas verdades diga, ni de hermosura tan grande haga verdadera cifra. Estrella. Altei-ado tengo el rostro y la color encendida. Teodora. Es, Senora, que la sangre se ha asomado a las mejillas entre temor y vergiienza, solo a celebrar tus dichas. Estrella. Ya me parece que llega, el rostro banado de risa, mi esposo a darme la mano entre mil tiernas earicias. Ya me parece que dice, mil ternezas y que oidas sale el alma por los ojos, disimulando las niiias. J Ay venturoso dia! :6sta ha sido, Teodora, estrella mia. DEAMATIC ART OF LOPE BE VEGA 87 Teodora. Estrella. Teodora. Estrella. Clarindo. Estrella. Clarindo. Estrella. Teodora. Clarindo. Estrella. Estrella. Von Pedro. Parece que gente siiena. Cay6 el espejo. De envidia (dlzale), el cristal, dentro la hoja, de una luna hizo infinitas. jQuebrose! Senora, si. Bien hizo, porque imagina que aguardo el cristal, Teodora, en que mis ojos se miran. y pues tal espejo aguardo, quiebrese el espejo, amiga; que no quiero que con el, este de espejo me sirva. (Clarindo, muy galdn. — Dichas.) Ya aquesto suena, Senora, a gusto y volateria; que las plumas del sombrero los casamientos publican. A mi dueno di el papel, y diome aquesta sortija en albricias. Pues yo quiero feriarte aquestas albricias. Damela y toma por ella este diamante. Partida esta por medio la piedra: sera de melaneolia; que los jaeintos padecen de ese mal aunque le quitan. Partida por medio esta. No importa que este partida; que es bien que las piedras sientan mis eontentos y alegrlas. jAy, venturoso dial :fista, amigos, ha sido estrella mia! Gran tropel suena en los patios. T ya la escalera arriba parece que sube gente. jQu4 valor hay que resista al placer? {Los dos Alcaldes mayores, con gente que trae el cadaver de Busto. — Dichos.) Pero . . . J que es esto? Los desastres y desdichas se hicieron para los hombres; que es mar de llanto esta vida. DBAMATIC ABT OF LOPE BE VEGA Estrella. Don Pedro. Estrella. Don Pedro. Estrella. Don Pedro. Farfan. Don Pedro. Clarindo. Estrella. El Senor Busto Tabera es muerto. [Suerte enemiga! El consuelo que aqui os queda es que estd el fiero homicida, Sancho Ortiz de las Eoelas, preso, y del se har^ justicia mauana sin falta. . . . Dejadme, gente enemiga; que en vuestras lenguas trails de los infiernos las iras. jMi herraano es muerto, y le ha muerto Sancho Ortiz! jHay quien lo diga? 4 Hay quien lo escuehe y no muera? Piedra soy, pues estoy viva. jAy riguroso dia! IBsta, amigos, ha sido estrella mla. Pero si hay piedad humana, matadme. El dolor la priva, y con razon. j Desdichada ha sido la estrella mia! j Mi hermano es muerto, y le ha muerto Sancho Ortiz! jEl quien divida tres almas de un corazon! . . . Dejadme que estoy perdida. Ella estd desesperada. jlnfeliz beldad! Seguidla. Senora . . . DSjame, ingrato, sangre de aquel fratricida. Y pues acabo con todo, quiero aeabar con la vida. jAy riguroso dial fista ha sido, Teodora, estrella mla. Satisfactory selections from his eomedies are, as I have stated, extremely difficult to make, but a survey of their variety may be attempted. At the opening of el Aiisevte en el Lugar we have a delightful scene which repeats the characteristic gossip of ser- vants who meet on the street ; in los Melindres de Bdisa we have the whimsicality and capricious action of a young daughter who finds nothing to her liking, who ridicules her suitors, finds fault DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE BE VEGA 89 with all her surroundings and makes life unbearable for those nearest to her. La Noche de San Juan is an example of Lope's ability to paint laughter, gaiety and confusion, in which the spectator follows a whirl of amusing, loosely connected scenes. For wit and clever jeu de mots combined with admirably comic episodes la Viuda valenciana and el Molino are noteworthy ex- amples. Plays so uniformly good in their exposition must have held the attention of the public from the very outset, and Lope no doubt consciously put some of his most graceful verse, his finest wit and humor into the opening scenes. As it was also his purpose to capture the good will and enduring patronage of the multitude, a large number of the expositions are filled with amus- ing dialogues designed to appeal to the people. In Quien ama no haga fieros we have the following conversation between master and servant: Gaston. . . . J Has alguna vez tenido dama con cunado? Don Felix. No. Gaston. jDichoso tu! porque yo desdichadlsimo he sido en materia de cunados. Don Felix. Amor es siempre importune, y querria que ninguno se metiese en sus cuidados. Todo estorba a los que quieren: padres, hermanos, sobrinos, hasta vecinos. Gaston. j Vecinos? fisos son los que refieren toda una historia de amor; que, no atendiendo a su casa, ven lo que en las otras pasa. Don Felix. Eso es general error. Gaston. No se acostara un vecino hasta ver al otro entrar, si all! se pensase helar. Don Felix. De eualquier desgracia es dino. Gaston. Yo conozco una mujer, adonde un galan hablaba, que toda la noche estaba a una ventana, por ver 90 DBAMATIC ART OF LOPE VIE VEGA J por escuchar los toques; y obligole deseompuesta, a traer una ballesta y disparalle bodoques. Mas ella, con la flaqueza de escuchar, o la porfia, cada noehe se ponia un caldero en la cabeza, con que el galan que le tiraba hacia tanto riiido, que despertaba al marido, y a la senora llamaba. Don Felix. Yo, por ver caza tan nueva, con arcabuz la tirara. Gaston. J Que importa? Tambien buscara algun morrion a prueba. Peribdnez y el Comendador de Ocana offers an example of Lope 's rare gift of putting into facile verse a domestic dialogue in which husband and wife demonstrate their mutual obligations and necessary qualifications by means of the alphabet : Casilda. jQu6 ha de tener para buena una mujer? Peribdnez. Oye. Casilda. Di. Peribdnez. Amar y honrar su marido es letra deste abeoe, siendo buena por la B, que es todo el bien que te pido. Hardte cuerda la C, la D dulce, y entendida la E, y la F en la vida firme, fuerte y de gran fe. La G grave, y, para honrada, la H, que con la I te hard ilustre, si de ti queda mi easa ilustrada. Limpia seras per la L, y por la M, maestra de tus hijos, eual lo muestra quien de sus vicios se duele. La N te ensefia un no a solicitudes loeas: que este no, que apreuden pocas, est& en la N y la O. DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE BE VEGA 91 La P te harfi, pensativa, la Q bien quista, la R con tal razon, que destierre toda locura excesiva. Solicita te ha de hacer de mi regalo la S, la T tal que no pudiese hallarse mejor mujer. La V te hara verdadera, la X buena eristiana, letra que en la vida humana has de aprender la primera. Por la Z has de guardarte de ser zelosa; que es eosa que nuestra paz amorosa puede, Casilda, quitarte. Aprende este canto llano; que con aquesta cartilla, tu ser4s flor de la villa, y yo el mds noble villano. Casilda. Estudiar^, por servirte, las letras de ese abece; pero dime si podre otro, mi Pedro, decirte, si no es acaso lieencia. Feribdnez. Antes yo me huelgo. Di; que quiero aprender de ti. Casilda. Pues escueha y ten paciencia. La primera letra es A, que altanero no has de ser; por la B no me has de hacer burla para siempre ya. La C te hara eompanero en mis trabajos; la D dadivoso por la fee con que regalarte espero. La F de fdcil trato, la G galdn para mi, la H honesto y la I sin pensamiento de ingrato. Por la L liberal y por la M el mejor marido que tuvo amor, porque es el mayor caudal. Por la N no seras necio, que es fuerte castigo; por la O solo conmigo 92 DBAMATIC AST OF LOPE BE VEGA todas las horas tendras. Por la P me has de hacer obras de padre; porque quererme por la Q, ser4 ponerme en la obligaci6n que cobras. Por la E regalarrae y por la 8 servirme, por la T tenerte firme, por la V verdad tratarme; por la X eon abiertos brazos imitarla asi (Ahrdzale), J eomo estamos aqui, estemos despues de muertos. The pleasing description of Peribanez 's home-coming has already been quoted above. A comic reversal of fortune may be found in la Esclava de su galdn, in which we have a delightful picture of the sudden collapse of the son's position in his father's good graces. Don Juan arouses the latter 's rage by confessing that he is engaged to be married to a poor but virtuous girl; the father slams the door in the son's face and orders that his cloth- ing and books be thrown out of the window. Don Juan and his servant are left in the street stunned and disconcerted. Pedro. iQue eerca estis de Uorar! Don Juan. Pues j de eso, Pedro, te espantas ? Ayer un coehe y criados, casa, hacienda, padre y galas, y hoy (Cerradaa estas puertas! Then follows the comic anguish of the two, as the son's posses- sions come flying through the window. Pedro. Ya arrojan por las ventanas tus vestidos. Von Juan. i Bravo enojo! Pedro. Anda la mar alterada, y alijeran el navlo. "Voy a buscar mi sotana. Don Juan. jAy Diosl jsi so hau de perder de dona Elena las cartas y una cinta de cabellos! Pedro. jQue joy as! Don Juan. Joyas del alma. DBAMATIC ART OF LOPE DE VEGA 93 Fedro. Don Juan. Pedro. Don Juan. Pedro. Don Juan. Pedro. Don Juan. Cierto que hay almas buhoneras, pues andan siempre cargadas de cintaa y de papeles. jAy, mi Elena! jAy, mi sotana! jAy, papeles! jAy, gregiiescos! jAy, mis cintas! jAy, mi camal Quien supiere que es amor, apruebe mis esperanzas; quien no, diga que estoy loco, pues quedo eon sola el alma. Indelicacy is, as I have asserted above, exceedingly rare in Lope, and such a conversation as that carried on between the Countess and the escudero Durango in las Flores de don Juan (act II, scene xviii), during which he narrates a coarse anecdote, would have to be curtailed on the stage of today. It may be explained, however, in view of the fact that throughout Europe society of the Renascence indulged in topics of conversation not counte- nanced today because we have become more reserved and also less naive and less natural. On the other hand, broad humor and farcical play intended for the masses are fairly common in the comedies and even in the tragedies. La Noche toledana offers an excellent specimen. Plorencio and his servant are attempting to escape from an inn over a neighboring housetop, in order to get away from the police whom they imagine in pursuit ; the scene must have delighted the populace. (Vista de Tejados: Florencio y Beltrdn.) Florencio. j Haste hecho mal? Beltrdn. No tengo hueso sano. Florencio. jAd6nde estamos? Beltrdn. jPuedo yo sabello? J Hay mapas de tejados en el mundo? J Hay carta que sefiale rumbo o linea de chimeneas ni de caballetes? J Hay Tolomeo ni otro algun cosmografo que trate de azoteas? Florencio. Esta casa me parece meson. 94 DEAMATIC ART OF LOPE BE VEGA Beltran. Y eslo sin duda; porque lo son las desta acera todas desde la Concepcion al Carmen. Florencio. Oreo que es palomar aqueste o galllnero. Beltran. To pienso que en algun tejado destos hay alguna colmena. Florencio. Y no de abejas, sino de aleves zdnganos o avispas, que la cara, las piernas y las manos me tienen hechas criba. Beltran. En las narices me ha dado un avispon un picotazo, que me ha hecho elefante, vive el cielo. Florencio. 4 Si estaremos mejor con las gallinas? Beltran. Dalas al diablo; porque entraba apenas, euando oerro conmigo el senor gallo, creyendo que robarle quise alguna, y me ha sacado un ojo eon el pico. Florencio. jEstoy muy sucio? Beltran. Estas eomo un estiercol. Florencio. 4 Que es aquello primero donde entramos? Beltr&n. Una pocilga, donde he sacado tal eantidad de pulgas que estoy muerto. Florencio. Escapar de aquel perro fue milagro. Beltran. Yo, a lo menos, no fui tan venturoso. Florencio. f, Mordiote ? Beltrdn. Traigo menos libra y media de earne desta izquierda pantorrilla. Florencio. Morderte perro es seda sobre seda. Beltrdn. No quiso respetar al parentesco; que perro soy, aunque parezco hidalgo. Florencio. ; Cruel noche por Dies! Beltrdn. Si yo creyera al buen humor que tengo escarmentara de euamorarme. Florencio. Amor jque culpa tiene? Beltrdn. Amores en Toledo son muy buenos, si son de dia, pero no de noche; que hay cuestas espantosas y ladrillos, hombres del diablo, avispas, perros, pulgas, tejados, gallineros y alguaciles. Voces. (Dentro.) Ladrones son! [Ladrones! Beltrdn. Esto es bueno. Florencio. [Oh, pesia tal! la casa se alborota. Una Voz. (Bentro.) Dame aquese arcabuz, suelta ese perro. DRAMATIC ART OF LOPE DE VEGA 95 Beltrdn. Por mi lo dice; ya me sabe el nombre; conocido nos han. Florencio. Por aqui abajo, en la caballeriza nos entremos, y en saliendo algiin huesped nos iremos. (Fansc) In my opinion, one of the comic masterpieces worthy to rank with the best of any stage may be found in la Dorotea (act II, scene vi). It is a drinking scene in which Gerarda, an old woman of the Celestina type and one of Lope's great creations, is seated at table with Teodora and the latter 's daughter Dorotea. Here her relative indifference to food is more than counter- balanced by her fondness for the cup, and we are told that her favorite philosopher is not Plutarch, but the more famous wine, Alaejos. Since it is futile to analyze all the features of this scene, I have preferred to let the following extract speak for me. The reader will note the spontaneous humor, the richness in popular phrases, the many details of a domestic scene intime, the light which some of the customs depicted throw on contem- porary manners, and, above all, the art of the great dramatist who has laid bare the soul of the old woman Gerarda, by leading her in the most subtle manner out of her first condition of witty sobriety, through all the subsequent stages of garrulous self- confession, of heavy-tongued but amusing nonsense to the inevit- able stupor of intoxication. This scene, as well as others in which Gerarda appears, is not only the best portion of la Dorotea, but shows Lope as a master of psychological analysis worthy of his famous prototype, the comedia de Calisto y Melibea, the fountain of his inspiration. Teodora. No tanta fruta, Dorotea, que estas muy convaleciente. Deja las uvas. Dorotea. J Que me han de haeer? Que ya estoy buena. Teodora. Toma estos higos, Gerarda. Gerarda. Por ti tomare uno, que no lo hiciera por el padre que me engendro; pero es menester que sepas que con un higo se bebe tres veces. Teodora. jQuien lo escribe? Gerarda. El filosofo Alaejos: jpensaste que era Plutarco? Abrole por medio. . . . Dame, Celia, la primera. 96 DBAMATIC AMI OF LOPE BE VEGA Teodora. 4 Sin comerle bebes? Gerarda. Agora le echo un poco de sal. Dame la segunda. Teodora. Ya tienes las dos aparte; 4 que harS,s agora? Gerarda. Cerrar el higo. Dame la tercera. Celia. Bebe y bueu provecho; pero mira que es fuerte. Gerarda. Mas fuerte era Sanson, y le vencio el amor, j Bien haya quien te cri6! Teodora. jEl higo echas por la ventana, despu^s de tantas preveneiones? Gerarda. Pues 4 61 habia de entrar aea? No. se ver4 en ese gozo. Teodora. Gerarda. Celia (Ap.) Gerarda. Teodora. Gerarda. Celia. Gerarda. Teodora. Gerarda. Celia. Gerarda. Teodora. Dorotea. Teodora. Dorotea. Teodora. Celia. Tu me agradas, Gerarda, que hablas y comes. Ese nino me alaba, que come y mama. Otro refrancito. jQue colorada esta la madre! Parece ma- drono y la nariz zanahoria. Cuando yo me acuerdo de mi Nuflo Rodriguez a la mesa. . . . iQue decia el de cosas! jQu^ gracias! jQue cuentos! Del aprendl las oraciones que se. Era un bendito, no hizo en su vida mal a un gato; que cuando le saearon a la ver- giienza fue por ser tan hombre de bien, que nunea quiso decir quien habIa tomado los platos del canonigo. Ahora parece que lo veo por esa ealle Mayor; jqufi cara Uevaba en aquel pollino! No dijeran sino que iba a casarse. Y como 41 tenia tan linda barba, agraci§.bale mucho el desen- fado con que pieaba aquella bestia lerda. Ya le decia yo que no saliera sin acicates. Gerarda, no bebas mas; que dices desatinos, y en otra parte pensaran que era verdad lo que dices. jPara qu6 lloras! Porque fu6 crueldad llevarle a galeras. Ya lo enmienda. Dios manda que se digan las verdades. No en dano del prdjimo. J, Que dano es contar sus alabanzas, Teodora, ni refrescar la memoria del bien que se ha perdido? A lo menos refrescar lo bien que se ha bebido. La primera vez que me hall6 en aquella nifleria del estudinte, fue notable su paciencia. Era invierno, y ech6nos a mi y a el un jarro de agua en la cama, diciendo con aquella bondad de que el se preciaba mucho: "A los bellacos mojallos. ' ' jNo adviertes, Dorotea, la condici6n del vino? Fiale tus secretos; que 6sa es la primera de sus faltas. I Oh infame vicio, tan opuesto a la honra como aborrecido de la templanza! Cuanto vino entra, tantos secretos salen. Desde que le pisaron, por hulr de los pies, se sube a la cabeza. jPara qu6 me haces seiias, tiat DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE VE VEGA 97 Gerarda. Celia. Gerarda. Celia. Gerarda. Celia. Gerarda. Teodora. Gerarda. Celia. Gerarda. J Para que me lo preguntas, necia? jCu4nto va que me levanto, pues no me entiendes? Ha caido un mosquito. No hayais miedo que se descalabre; no le saques, Celia, que son los espiritus deste licor, como los dtomos del aire; el vino los engendra y a nadie le pareeieron sus hijos feos. Y cuando dieres vino a tu senor, no le mires al sol. Que quiera, que no quiera, el asno ha de ir a la feria. Pesa presto, Maria, cuarter6n por media libra. No cabe mas la taza, que no es saca de lana. La leche de los vlejos es el vino: no se si lo dice Cicer6n o el Obispo de Mondonedo. jAy mi buen Nuflo Rodriguez! A la tema vuelve. En su vida repar6 en mosquito, todo cuanto venia oolaba, que era una bendici6n. Llamaba grosera al agua, porque criaba ranas; una de las cosas con que me venci6 para que no la bebiese, cuando me case eon &1, fu6 decirme que habian de can tar en el est6mago; y pusome tanto miedo, que deade entonces, sea Dios bendito, no la he probado. Pues ya, para lo que me queda, con su ayuda bien sabre salir deste peligro. Mira que se duerme, tia. ViSneme el mal que me suele venir; que despues de harto me suelo dormir. Gerarda. Cuando dan por los aladares, canas son, que no lunares. Dame sin que lo vean. Celia. Nueve veces has bebido. Gerarda. Escuderos de Hernan Daza, nueve debajo de una manta. Celia. No la habr^s menester esta noche. Gerarda. No tiene mas frio nadie que la ropa que trae. Teodora. Mira, Gerarda, que te harS, mal, y que Celia y la negra se estan rien,do, y con ser tu amiga Dorotica, no te la perdona. Gerarda. Cuando el guardi^ juega a los naipes, iqu6 haran los frailes? Teodora. Quitale esas aceitunas, negra. Gerarda. Bien puede; que una hora habrA que estoy con el hueso de una, pidiendo una consolaci6n. Teodora. Alza esta mesa, y dale, niiia, un poco desa grajea a Gerarda. Gerarda. Grajea a Guinea: reventado sea mi cuerpo, si en 61 entrare. No se hallara en todo mi linaje persona que haya comido dulee; en mi 'vida fui a bautismo, por no ver el mazapan y los almendrones, cuando voy por las calles, me voy arri- mando a las tabernas y huyendo de las confiterlas, y en viendo un hombre que come cascos de naranja, le miro si tiene los ojos azules. jPues pasas? maldito sea el corazfin que las paso ni al sol ni a la lejia. Celia. Ande acA, tla; que no esta para firmar. 98 DRAMATIC AST OF LOFE DE VEGA Gerarda. Si como tiene orejas, tuviere boca, a muchos Uamara la pioota. Celia. Con buenas oraciones se alza la mesa. Gerarda. No quite los manteles; dare gracias, pues eche la bendicion. Teodora. Di; veamos. Gerarda. Quod habemus comido, de Dominus Domini sea benedito, y a micos y a vobis nunca faltetur, y agora dicamus el santificetur. Dorotea. No se le puede negar que tiene gracia, j yo conozco muchos presumidos de ciencias que saben menos latin. Gerarda. Despues de comer siempre tengo yo mis devociones. — Llevame al oratorio, Celia. Celia. Tia, mejor es la cama. No te cargues tanto, que pesas mueho. Gerarda. La puerta pesada, puesta en el quicio no pesa nada. Celia. Topaste con la silla. Por aca, tia. Teodora. jQue golpe que se ha dado! Llevala con tiento, ignorante. Celia. jQufi tiento, si no le tiene? (Vanse.) I must add a brief word on monologue and narrative. The former is a common device or feature of Lope's formula, and I had occasion to speak of it in the notes appended to la Dama ioia. In so far as the soliloquy was intended solely to reveal the inner self of the person speaking it must he logically character- ized by directness, sincerity and simplicity. These qualities, how- ever, are easily marred by artificial speech, while the success of the play whose keynote is rapidity of action may be jeopardized if anything hampers its forward motion. It must be said to Lope's credit that he recognized the soundness of this principle far more than did any of his successors, and that his monologues, while not always free from the artifice of conceptismo and culto, are generally well timed and in keeping with the plot. The conclusion which imposes itself upon the reader, however, is that the soliloquy is artistically far more satisfactory in serious scenes and in tragedy than in comedy for the reason stated in my notes to la Dama hoha, namely, that the former normally contains more moments of reflection and self-analysis. Pure comedy, accord- ing to Lope's formula, is based, as I tried to show, on impulse rather than deliberation. The chief poetic forms used in the monologue are the sonnet, the glosa, used by Lope with great variety and flexibility, the redondilla and quintilla, the octava and the romance. As far DBAMATIC AMI OF LOPE BE VEGA 99 as I am aware, practically all of his soliloquies are brief. No monologue of the length of those found in Shakespeare, Corneille,. Schiller, Victor Hugo and others has come to my notice in Lope. The purpose of the monologue in his comedia, when it has no serious, introspective character, is one of the following : it creates a pause between the exit of one personage and the entrance of another without leaving the stage empty; it may give a person whose approach is imminent time to arrive ; it may permit one or more persons to leave the stage for a brief time to accomplish an act or deed necessary to the plot (such as the fetching of a desired object, the bringing in of another person, the hindrance of some- thing about to happen, etc.) ; it may serve especially, and in this I include the aparte uttered with others on the stage, to express all the emotions of surprise, anguish, joy, and the like. In the latter case it is thoroughly justifiable as an artistic device. The narrative, varying in length, is a device justified only by its rhetorical qualities and because of the opportunities it gave certain types of actors and actresses to show their declamatory talent. But it can hardly be defended otherwise, as it lacks the dramatic character of action, and is open to many abuses. While it reminds one of the messenger's speech in Greek tragedy, there is no reason for believing that the narrative in the comedia was in any sense influenced by it. As regards its use by Lope, it is one of the elements of his formula in which he made concessions more and more to a growing vogue. Without wishing to gener- alize too much, I venture to state that lengthy narratives are more common in his latest plays, while his early and middle period show- greater artistic restraint, and an effort to keep the narrative within proper bounds. We cannot, however, take our stand upon absolutely solid ground in this conclusion, because the vast majority of texts which have come down to us are based on badly mutilated prompters' copies. Wherever I have been able to make any comparison with an original it was noticeable that the narrative portions had been cut and modified. Those examples which we possess must therefore almost always be considered !?horter than the poet's own version. .100 DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE VEGA The narrative serves various purposes, among them that of making the audience acquainted with the history of the narrator, or of some one of the characters of the play; it is a device to connect past events with the present, and it serves in general to make known what has happened behind the stage. While the narrative was naturally intended for those persons not yet acquainted with its content, there are cases in which it rehearses what the audience already knows. This constitutes an inartistic blunder, in so far as it is a hindrance to the action and makes the public yawn. Lope's successors retained the narrative, but increased the defects which in the great master were still in- offensive. They introduced a greater number of narratives in a single play and not infrequently made a single one several hundred verses in length, thereby contributing effectually to the artificial elements which caused the final decadence of the comedia as a work of art. DBAMATIC AST OF LOPE BE VEGA 101 CHAEACTEE8 AND CUSTOMS The fabric of Lope's formula, so intricately woven with its mixed elements of fancy and reality, cannot be adequately an- alyzed and discussed in all of its details in a short space: of that I am aware. But the serious student may be able, by con- tinual labor carried on in a sympathetic spirit, to master the seemingly overwhelming material of Lope's creation. His work is not characterized by a specific manner or method. The great improvisor was a tool in the grasp of an inventive, a creative impulse over which the conscious reasoning processes had little control. His dramatic technique, such as it is, leaves the im- pression of having been acquired by a hit-or-miss process; it was constantly modified, we may presume, not in the midst of a creative mood, but after the author had seen his work as a whole upon the stage and viewed it objectively for the first time. It must have beeu in those moments of quiescent reflection that Lope reached out beyond the limits of his artistic formula to that of actual human life; to those moments we undoubtedly owe that continual broadening of the scope of his art, the mas- terly delineation of various living types of men and women, and the abiding results embodied in vivid pictures of contemporary customs. This particular phase of his creation reveals the height to which his dramatic genius could attain. One of Lope's most enduring inspirations was the type o f man or woman cast in a heroic mould . His conception of great and virtuous women has been a model for other playwrights, and the history of the stage offers no loftier scenes than those in which are depicted the moral courage, the fearless self-sacrifice, the purity of heart, the unswerving devotion of such women as Estrella {la Estrella de Sevilla), doiia Maria {la Moza de Cdn- taro), dona Sol {la Corona merecida), Dorotea {la Nina de Plata), Elena {la Llave de la honra), Elvira {el mejor Alcalde el Bey), Casilda {Peribdnez y el Comendador de Ocana), Lau- 102 DRAMATIC ART OF LOPE BE VEGA rencia {Fucnte Ovejuna), and others. It is worthy of note also that the list contains women of humble as well as exalted station. A satisfactory presentation of all these characters, who deserve to be better known to the reader, cannot be undertaken here ; their rare delineation has already been pointed out by occasional writers whose sincere admiration had been aroused by Lope's plays of good women. It will suffice to add that they rank among his greatest creations, that the unusual spiritual dignity and nobility of these heroines may be felt throughout the entire plot, ennobling all those who come into contact with them. Among his prominent types of men, the first place is due to those sterling old characters who incarnate the solid qualities of rugged peasant simplicity, honor, and loyalty to inherited standards of living, who, as enemies of sham and innovation, embody the uncorrupted ancient Spanish virtues. There is no more inspiring reading in all Spanish literature than the senti- ments of these high-minded characters, and the fact that they constantly found a response in the public is a high tribute to the people of the Peninsula. An admirable example of this type is Tello el viejo, in los Tellos de Meneses, a rustic of the moun- tains of Leon, whom Lope places in the time of Ordono I with the apparent intention of making the contrast between the man- ners and morals of his own day and those of an idealized old Spain very clear to his audience. The following passage gives in a nutshell the author's conception of Tello, his native dignity and high personal character ; it is also an example of Lope's rare gift of presenting the choicest spirit of Horace modified by the qualities of Luis de Leon. Tello el vieJQ. \ Cuan bienaventurado puede Uamarse el hombre que con eseuro nombre vive en su casa, honrado de su farailia, atenta a lo que mds le agrada y le eontenta! Sua deseos no buscau las cortes de los reyes, adonde tantas leyes la ley primera ofuscan, DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE VEGA 103 y por el nuevo traje la simple antiguedad padece ultraje. No obliga poca renta al costoso vestido, que al uso conocido la novedad inventa, y eon pocos desvelos couserva la igualdad de sus abuelos. No ve la loea dama que por vestirse de oro, se desnuda el decoro de su opinion y fama, y hasta que el areo rompa, la cuerda estira de la vana pompa. Yo salgo con la aurora por estos verdes prados, aun antes de pisados del bianco pie de Flora, quebrando algunos hielos tal vez de los cuajados arroyuelos. Miro eon el cuidado que saleu mis pastores; los ganados mayores ir retozando al prado, y humildes a. sus leyes, a los barbechos condueir los bueyes. Aqui las yeguas blancas entre las rubias reses, las ernes de Meneses impresas en las aneas, relinchan por los potros, viendoloS retozar unos con otros. Vuelvo, y al mediodla la comida abundante no me pone arrogante; que no pienso que es mla, porque mirando al cielo el dueno adoro con humilde celo. Todos los aflos miro la limosna que he dado y lo que me ha quedado, y diciendo suspiro, viendo lo que se aumenta: ' ' Siempre me alcanza Dios en esta cuenta. ' ' Voy a ver por la tarde, ; ya euando el sol se humilla, por esta verde orilla, 104 DBAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE VEGA el esmaltado alarde de tantas arboledas, locos pavones de sus verdes ruedas; y, como en ellos ojos, frutas entre sus hojas, blancas, pS,lidas, rojas, del verano despojos, y en sus ramas siiaves canciones cultas componer las aves. Cuando la noche baja, y al claro sol se atreve, eena me ag^arda breve, de la salud ventaja; que, aunque con menos sueno, m^s alentado se levanta el dueno. De todo.lo que digo le doy gracias al cielo, que fertiliza el suelo, tan liberal eonmigo; porque quien no agradece la deuda al cielo, ni aun vivir merece. In Juan Labrador, el Villano en su rincon, we have another example of the peasant, single-minded, self-sufficient, loyal to church and State, but fixed in his abhorrence of court and cour- tiers. Lope has placed the scene in France, but in spite of this the customs depicted are all those of Spain. Juan Labrador hopes to die without seeing the king, not because of any disdain for the latter but because of his modesty, and the consciousness of the abyss which separates monarch and vassal. The king may be served without gazing upon him. This the latter finds out and, disguising himself, he visits the peasant in his retreat. There he is profoundly impressed by his host's splendid virtues and convinced of his loyalty to the crown. The play offers a striking contrast between the point of view of the two men with the advantage frankly on the side of the man of humble station. Some of the scenes which unfold before the spectator resemble genre paintings, so carefully worked out are they in their details. The best ones depict first the hospitality of the peasant Juan Labrador, the routine of his daily life, his habits being minutely drawn; the author then presents in amusing fashion the old DRAMATIC ART OF LOPE BE VEGA 105 man's enforced visit to the king, who tries to vie with his guest in generosity and courtesy. These are among the finest things in all the Spanish comedia, and furnish many surprising items for a study of the manners and customs of the Spanish people. Only the chief scene can be quoted here, and as it is impossible to give only a part without marring it I shall reprint it entire. Juan Labrador is entertaining the king, whom he takes for a mere courtier from Paris. (Ei Bey y Juan Labrador.) Juan. Tomad esa silla, os ruego. Bey. Sentaos vos; que tiempo hay luego. Juan. iQufi cortesano de fama! Sentaos; que en mi casa estoy, y no me habeis de mandar; yo si que os mando sentar, que en ella esta silla os doy. T advertid que habeis de haeer, mientras en mi casa est^is, lo que OS mandare. Bey. Mostrais un hidalgo proceder. Juan. Hidalgo no; que me precio de villano en mi rinc6n; pero en el sera raz6n que no me tengais por necio. Bey. Si a Paris vais algun dia, buen amigo, os doy palabra que el alma y la puerta os abra en amor y hacienda mia, por veros tan liberal. Juan. jA Paris! Bey. Pues jque decis? J No ireis tal vez a Paris a ver la casa real? Mai mi gusto persuadls. Juan. jYo a Paris! Bey. J No puede ser? Bey. De ningiin 'mode, por Dios. Si alia OS he de ver a vos, en mi vida os pienso ver. Bey. Pues jqu# os enfada de alii? Juan. No haber salido de aqui desde el dia en que naci, y que aquI mi hacienda esta. 106 VBAMATIC AMT OF LOPE DE VEGA Dos eamas tengo, una en casa, y otra en la iglesia: 63tas son en vida y muerte el rineon donde una y otra se pasa. Bey. Segun eso, en vuestra vida debeis de haber visto al Bey. Juan. Nadie ha guardado su ley, ni es de alguno obedecida como del que estiis mirando; pero en ml vida le vi. Bey. Pues yo se que por aqui pasa mil veces cazando. Juan. Todas esas me he eseondido por no ver el mas honrado de los hombres en cuidado, que nunca le cubre olvido. Yo tengo en este rineon no a6 que de rey tambi^n; mas duermo y como m&s Men. Bey. Pienso que teneis razon. Juan. Soy mas rico, lo primero, porque de tiempo lo soy; que solo si quiero estoy, y acompanado si quiero. Soy rey de mi voluntad, no me la ocupan negocios, y ser muy rico de ocios es suma felioidad. Bey. (Ap.) jOh filosofo villano! mucho mas te envidio agora. Juan. Yo me levanto a la aurora, si me da gusto, en verano, y a misa a la iglesia voy, donde me la dice el eura; y aunque no me la proeura, cierta limosna le doy, con que comen aquel dJa los pobres deste lugar. Vufilvome luego a almorzar. Bey. jQu6 almorzdis? Juan. Es nineria. Dos torreznillos asados, y aun en medio alguu pich6n, y tal vez viene un cap6n. Si hay hijos ya levantados, trato de mi grangeria hasta las once; despuSs DBAMATIC ART OF LOPE DE VEGA 107 comemos juntos lo3 tres. Hey. Conozco la envidia mia. Juan. AquI sale algiin pavillo que se cri6 de migajas de la mesa, entre las pajas de ese corral como un grillo. Hey. A la fortuna los pone quien de esa manera vive. Juan, Tras aquesto se apercibe (el Eey, Senor, me perdone) una olla, que no puede comella con m&s saz6n; que en esto nuestro rinc6n a su gran palacio excede. Bey. J Que tiene? Juan. Vaca j earnero y una gallina. Bey. Y jno m^s? Juan. De un pernil (porque jamas dejan de saear primero esto) verdura y chorizo, lo sazonado os alabo. En fin, de comer acabo de alguna caja que hizo mi hija, y conforme al tlempo, fruta, buen queso y olivas. No hay ceremonias altivas, truhanes ni pasatiempo, sino algun nine que alegra con sus gracias naturales; que las que hay en hombres tales son como gracias de suegra. Este eseojo en el lugar, y cuando grande, le doy, conforme informado estoy, para que vaya a estudiar, o siga su inclinaci6n de oficial o cortesano. Bey. (Ap.) No he visto mejor villano para estarse en su rine6n. Juan. Despu^s que cae la siesta, tomo una yegua que al viento vencerS, por su elemento, dos perros y una ballesta; y dando vuelta a mis vinas, trigos, huertas y heredades (porque ^stas son mis ciudades), 108 DBAMATIC AMT OF LOPE DE VEGA corro y mato en sus campinas uu par de liebres, y a veces dos perdices: otras voy a un rio en que diestro estoy, y traigo famosos peces. Ceuo poco, y ansi a vos poco OS dare de cenar, conque me voy a acostar dando mil graeias a Dios. Eey. Envidia os puedo tener con una vida tan alta; mas solo os hallo una falta en el sentido del ver. Los ojos J no han de mirar? J No se hieieron para eso? Juan. Que no les niego, os oonfieso, cosa que les pueda dar. Sey. J Que importa? jOu^l hermosura puede a una corte igualarse? J En que mapa puede hallarse mAs variedad de pintura? Eey tienen los animales, y obedecen al leon; las aves, porque es razon, a las aguilas caudales. Las abejas tienen rey, y el cordero sus vasallos, los ninos rey de los gallos; que no tener rey ni ley es de alarbes inhumanos. Juan. Nadie como yo le adora, ni desde su casa ahora besa sus pies y sus manos con mayor veneracion. Sey. Sin verle, no puede ser que se pueda echar de ver. Juan. Yo soy rey de mi rinc6n; pero si el Rey. me pidiera estos hijos y esta casa, haced cuenta que se pasa adonde el Eey estuviera. Pruebe el Eey mi voluntad, y verS, que tiene en ml; que bien a& yo que naci para servirle. Sey. En verdad, si necesidad tuviese, DEAMATIC ART OF LOPE DE VEGA 109 jprestar^isle algun dinero? Juan. Cuanto tengo, aunque primero tres mil afreutas me hiciese; que del Sefior soberano es todo lo que tenemos, porque a nuestro Eey debemos la defensa de su mano. :61 nos guarda y tiene en paz. Bey. Pues jpor qu6 dais en no ver a quien noble os puede hacer? Jitan. No soy de su bien capaz, ni pienso yo que en mi vida puede haber felicidad como es esta soledad. Scattered through Lope's comedias may be found other ad- mirable examples, taken from among the common people, of this fine sense of honor and loyalty, of respect for high personal traits. In las Flores de don Juan the Countess, secretly in love with don Juan, who, though poor is the soul of honor, amuses herself at his expense by letting him buy for her articles of value far above his means. But she takes the merchant Laurencio aside and, telling him the truth of the situation, offers herself to pay for everything and to give him a diamond as surety. (^Laurencio, con unos papeles atados.) Laurencio. Aqul viene todo, y bueno, si ha venido de Milin. Condensa. Old. Laurencio. Deeid. Condesa. (Ap. a Laurencio.) A don Juan que estd de verguenza Ueno, no pidais nada; que yo soy mejor que habeis pensado. Por probarle me he burlado. jSab^is de piedras? Laurencio. Pues jno? Condensa. Guardad aqueste diamante; que yo os enviar^ el dinero. Laurencio. Ni vuestro diamante quiero ni otra prenda semejante; que mas estimo servir a un hombre eomo don Juan que cuanto vale Mil4n; y si volveis a pedir, 110 DBAMATIC ART OF LOPE DE VEGA la casa le he de fiar, los hijos y la mujer; que la virtud ha de ser riqueza en cualquier lugar. 4 Hay cosa de m^s estima que ver este caballero justar, o con el acero, en el torneo, en la esgrima? Y en los aetos militares, euando en la plaza se ven, J hay cosa que no haga bien? Gracias tiene singulares. Mai he hecho en aJaballe; que es ofico de tercero. In previous chapters other rare types created by Lope have been touched upon. Among them are monarchs and noblemen, both good and base, whose delineation involves Lope 's conception of righteousness among men and justice for society ; soldiers who combine valor and boasting and introduce features of comedy; the nabob who returns to Madrid to become the cynosure of all eyes, and thereafter the victim of money-seeking swindlers or courtesans; the young gallant portrayed with ceaseless variety, endowed with many virtues well summed up in the following lines which refer to one of the characters of el Molino: es un hombre tan bien hecho, que algunas veces sospecho que es persona principal. Buen rostro, gran cortesia, gran musieo de vihuela. . . . jPues danzar! eomo en escuela. Todo para envidia mia. Tira la barra una legua, que no hay senal que no borre, y si alguna yegua corre, parece viento la yegua. Tiene fuerza como un toro, ligereza como cabra, y gracia que no hay palabra que no parezea de oro. DBAMATIC AMT OF LOPE DE VEGA 111 Or he has every kind of vice and defect, as, for example, the typical Undo so well described in la Viiida valenciana. The passage has already been quoted. Then we find Lope's heroine or ingenue no less diversified than the youthful gallant or lover, and showing an astounding insight into woman's soul. An at- tractive portrait gallery could be formed of all the servants and lackeys, among whom are finely individualized types. Many other personages could be added, but I will mention only the caricature or figuron whom Lope presented now and then to ridicule the many foibles and weaknesses of us all. He has given us a resume himself of those characters which had served as models. Fisberto. Es aquel hombre de aquellos que se Uamau en la corte figuras. Paula. De hablar acorte: J en que le parece dellos? Fisberto. Todo hombre euya persona tiene alguna garatusa, o eara que no se usa, o habla que no se entona; todo hombre cuyo vestido es flojo o amuneeado, todo espetado o mirlado, todo efetero o fruncido; todo mal cuello o eintura, todo craainal bigote, toda bestia que auda al trote, es en la corte figura. — El Ausente en el lugar, II, viii. In stating above wherein Lope's artistic formula did not always reflect the actual world about him, I tried to make clear that he constantly modified it by mingling fact with fiction, by copying contemporary manners, and thus approaching more nearly the formula of human life. Therefore, by carefully glean- ing innumerable details here and there from his comedia, the student of Spanish culture may put together an unsurpassed picture of Spanish life during the siglo de oro. Street scenes and glimpses of domestic life furnish ample material, while the 112 DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE VEGA customs which controlled the relations between men and men, or men and women, could be admirably illustrated. Lope was too great, a realist to let the facts of life escape him, and we may thus sunder the more artificial features of his creation from the genuine. The reader will find his own effort to appreciate the real Lope amply repaid ; he will find in him that rarest of rare combinations, the inspired poet and the unconscious chronicler of his times. DRAMATIC ART OF LOPE BE VEOA 113 TWO EXAMPLES OF LOPE'S COMEDIA: A TRAGEDY AND A COMEDY It is evident to any open-minded critic that so large a number of good plays as Lope has written might easily make some readers prefer this play or that which others would set aside for a very different choice ; it is also a vain task in so short a space to give long lists of my preferences with the reasons therefor. But if we keep in view the chief elements of Lope's formula it is pos- sible to pick out a number of plays which contain them in their- most perfect form; that these may betray the defects of his creation as well as his great qualities is to be expected. To illustrate them here, let me select one tragedy and one comedy, Fuente Ovejuna and el Ausente en el Lugar. No better example of Lope 's courage in attackiiig overwhelm- ing themes can be found than Fuente Ovejuna. It is the history of a village subjected to every conceivable base act of injustice on the part of its overlord, a comendador of one of the great military orders. From the ' moment the curtain rises we are under the spell of the sinister authority which dominates the whole play to the very end, a crude, primitive and mighty force, brutal and repelling, but wholly in keeping with the object which Lope had set himself. This was none other than to depict a primitive culture as exemplified by a naive, tolerant, unculti- vated people in conflict with the injustice, animal passion and base impulses of a powerful individuaT Lope's art never ex- pressed itself in broader or bigger strokes. The prevailing theme, that might makes right, reaches so much farther, its meaning is made so much deeper than is evident from the character drawing of the brutish comendador, that the reader may deduce there- from a veritable political philosophy. The whole play is a plea for liberty, for the rights of a community and its individuals, coupled with- a fierce arraignment of inherited, privileges used for selfish and wicked ends. Technically the play moves with 114 DBAMATIC ART OF LOPE DE VEGA extraordinary rapidity from scene to scene, at times too fast to let the spectator grasp the full meaning of word or action. Nevertheless, a certain lack of smoothness which may be imputed to the play is in keeping with the impulses which dominate it. Here we behold a single being who has incessantly wronged a whole community, and it is the community as a whole which takes vengeance on the fiend. Thus the village of Fuente Ove- juna is the chief personage of the play. The qualities which stand out in this tragedy are the contrast between the terror- inspiring scenes when the comendador is on the stage and the simplicity of the pictures which present the people as they live, the variety of poetic speech with which the author has painted all the passions of men and women. As an example of Lope's genius in giving expression to widely differing elements of so- ciety colored by a note of primitive culture this play is unsur- passed. We have the terse utterances of the overbearing comen- dador, the natural and simple speech of the village folk, homely wit, and, above all, a popular element in song and public amuse- ments in the delineation of which Lope has few peers. At no time are we permitted to shake off the power of the monster, we are never free from his pursuit. Repeatedly a pleasing rustic scene is interrupted by his entrance, and the shadow hanging over the community again darkens the whole picture. Few plays of Lope present so many living characters, actual types of the Spanish people who have thus been preserved for us. The alcalde and regidor of the early days with their rugged honesty and frankness, village maid and rustic youth, besides various other peasant types, are depicted on the same canvas with the grim representative of despotic nobility. For there can be no doubt that the comendador, far from being a mere individual, represents the privileged class, which the sane ahd democratic people of Spain have never thoroughly assimilated, the over- bearing lord who, in the words of Lope, does not deign to take his hat off to all, who considers the lower classes merely as tools to his own ends. A play with such a theme of crime and revenge is bound to have some scenes of iinparalleled violence, such as DRAMATIC AST OF LOPE DE VEGA 115 the abduction of the comendador's victims, floggings and cruelties followed by rioting and the summary revenge of the whole village, the torture inflicted by the examining judge on those whom he deems acquainted with the guilty. Yet the whole is brought with such mastery to a logical conclusion that the spectator finds every esthetic and moral demand satisfied. The dialogue is relatively free from artifice and the language on the whole is simple. As regards the construction, any division into acts and scenes could really be dispensed with, as there is no logical pause anywhere in the progress of the plot. There are also passages with a distinct bearing on the culture of the author's day, such as satire on false learning and the academic spirit, or ridicule of certain insincerities of society. One of Lope's best comedies is, in my opinion, el Ausente en el Lugar. If a comedy has the good fortune not to have the traditional guns of heavy criticism trained upon it, it will suffice for it to have two fundamental qualities to insure its success: a rapid forward motion from the first to the last scene, and the ability of getting every reaction desired out of the audience. Above all, it must not have the formality of tragedy which requires moments of repose and only one great reaction on the part of the audience at the supreme moment of tragic climax. Comedy demands a reaction, a stirring of the public's risibility M'ith every comic incident, or it is a failure as comedy. To me it seems that el Ausente en el Lugar fills these prerequisites admirably. This play, too, should be presented with no fall of curtain from start to finish ; it is an unbroken jeu d 'esprit, a bit of royal fooling dominated by the wit and resourcefulness of Esteban, a servant, one of Lope's most delightful and tangible creations. Here is a personage who lives and breathes, and incidentally lends the vigor of real being to his master. No simpler plot could be devised, since it is in reality a naive game of hide-and-seek, in which the young gallant Carlos tries to make others believe that he has left town when he is actually present, thereby getting into a network of contradictions and difficulties. The necessity of amusing stage business, of varied gifts and 116 DBAMATIC AMI OF LOPE VE VEGA resourcefulness on the part of the actors, is apparent everywhere, and the play in the hands of a good company must have de- lighted the audience and justified the current opinion that to attract the public there was no inventor like the inimitable Lope. The play has all his predominant qualities of facile verse, sim- plicity of dialogue, and, to a marked extent, freedom from poetic verbiage. There is no great motive force behind the incidents, and the coming and going of the characters are not based on reason, as may be expected in a play of pure fancy and wit. The element of balance also is present, the young lover and his dama being offset by the servant Esteban, who is attached to the lady's servant; incidents and ideas now and then run in pairs, traditional novelistic features are not lacking, such as con- cealment, deception, and the like. But the author's invention moves with such smoothness, even stereotyped elements are han- dled with such a light touch, the traits of surprise in incident and sparkling dialogue are so lavishly spread over the whole, the verse is so admirable throughout, that fault-finding is dis- armed at every turn. Superficial it all may seem now, but to the public of Lope's day it was for the hundredth time a source of gratitude for two hours delightfully spent. Few comedias retain such vitality after so great a lapse of time. In both of these plays we thus find Lope's great qualities as well as the defects of his artistic formula. But many others could be selected to demonstrate with equal clearness how fre- quently and successfully he approached the formula of human life. The reader may then fairly see how in the vast range of his poetic creation Lope carried his audiences from utterances of the merest amusement and gaiety, which represent the pass- ing phases of life, to the deep and genuine voice of tragedy and pain which must always endure. LA DAMA BOBA 117 II LA DAMA BOBA The fundamental idea of our play, that love ^makes the simple- minded clever, is an old one, having been best voiced, by Ovid, as I have had occasion to state before. The far-reaching influ- ence of the Latin poet carried this conception of the passion of love over all parts of Europe, where it found highly diversified expression in fiction and drama. The earliest narratives of in- terest to us, because they embody this power of love over the rude or untutored mind, may be found among the Italian novelle, whence it spread into amorous literature of other countries. The principal conception is so flexible and so easily used in scores of different plots or stories that the presence of the idea in any literary work by no means always implies indebtedness to other material. This is markedly so in the case of Lope and of the play of la Dama boba which rests on a very meager idea, namely, that the mi nd of a silly girl may be improved by love. This could well have been considered a classic commonplace in the author's day, but he amplified it in his own peculiar way, co nceiving a complete plot to serve as a frame. The comedia of la Dama boba is, therefore, a noteworthy specimen of Lope's facile play nf faTK '.y. It is his own from beginning to end. An- other example of play embodying the main idea is Calderon's De una causa dos efectos. Here we have the contrast of two sons, of whom the one is given to learning and serious living with a touch of pedantry, while the other is light-headed and irre- sponsible. Here love, depicted as containing within itself all the sciences, also works a cure, teaching and ennobling the inferior character. As is the case with Finea of Lope, the regenerate Fadrique confesses his transformation gratefully, paying to love the following tribute : 118 LA DAMA BOBA De gala, ingenio y valor amor es dueno; pues fuera cierto, que ingenio no hubiera, gala J valor sin amor. El hombre que eon mayor perfeccion lucir desea, y en s61o salir se emplea mds galan que el mismo Apolo, amor lo hace, pues es solo porque su dama le vea. El que mas ansia ha tenido de mirarse senalado por su ingenio y celebrado de cortesano entendido, la principal causa ha side amor, para que pretenda en una y otra contienda de ingenio, por varies modos, verse aplaudido entre todos, porque su dama lo entienda. El que mas vanaglorioso, coronado de victorias, en las humanas historias hizo su nombre famoso, amor es el poderoso afecto, que a ellas le llama, no es solo opinion y fama las que le ilustran valiente, pues lo hace solamente, porque lo escuche su dama. Yo asi, como nunca he amado hasta ahora, ni he tenido dama, ni galan he side, ni entendido, ni atentado; pero ya que enamorado sigo la imposible estrella de la hermosura m^s bella, los medios he de buscar; que con nadie quiero estar m^s airoso que con ella. It is more than likely that Calderon had la Dama hoba in mind when he conceived his play De una causa dos efectos, for in spite of the vast difference in the two stories the fundamental contrast between two brothers (in Lope we have two sisters) and INTRODUCTION 119 a few details of the action make a slight connection in the plots probable. The exposition of la Dama boba is excellent. It is spirited and leads the audience at once into the story. Nor does it lack in immediate comic effect, for Li^ep, who is presented at the rising of the curtain as a self-confident, eager lover, filled with high hopes as regards his fiancee, no sooner learns the real state of her mind from the newly arrived Leandro, than his marital project comes tumbling about his ears. He finds that his family has contracted him to a simpleton. Yet the word of a gentleman cannot be broken. So, leaving the audience expectant as to the solution of his difBculty, the exposition closes. We are then introduced into the home^of. Octavio, the father of Nise and Pinea, and the inain_plot,jn exceedingly simple one, begins to unfold. Octavio tells of his perplexity regarding his two daughters, how little fit they are in their extremes of ignorance and learning to enter into the married state. As this introductory scene is omitted in all printed versions the structure of the play has been greatly marred. In the following scenes jw;e_ make Jhe ac- quaintance, first,_of_the blue-stocking Nise, and then of the silly Finea, each being admirably portrayed :n[ith. hex char a_cteri§tic cjualities. In subsequent entrances we meet a number of young gallants, especially one JLaurencio, who all belong to the cw^^o circle of Nise. The latter seems deeply jnterest_ed_only in JJau- rencio, but here, too, the course of true Jove does not run smooth. For"present"Iy~we find Laureneio abandoning the clever Nise for the simple Finea, whose dowry has been greatly increased over that of her sister by an indulgent uncle in order that her defects of mind may prove less repellent to a prospective suitor. The latter has been found in Liseo, who now enters, and, having been introduced to his novia in an amusing domestic scene, he finds his worst fears realized. In despair he decides to break off the engagement and to turn his attentions to the more clever sister. In the second act Nise has learned of Laureneio 's perfidy and a quarrel ensues between the two lovers. Liseo, for his part, now thoroughly interested in Nise, finds Laureneio guilty of 120 LA DAM A BOB A double-dealing in so far as he makes love to Finea, and also leads Nise to believe that he is still courting her. He challenges him to a duel, which, however, is subsequently avoided by their recon- ciliation and the arrival of Octavio. The g radual im provement of Finea 's mind is also shown ;_ she acquires some ind ependence of thought, wit and resourcefulness, and, above all, she becomes ,^/ conscious of the influence of Laurencio 's suit. In the second act, however, she is still a hoia, unacquainted with the wiles of love or the dangers of her ignorant state. As a consequence we have some amusing scenes betwen her and her lover, who finds it necessary to explain to her every step taken in the course of his wooing. The father, for his part, is filled with great anxiety when he learns from her own lips of the new courtship, lest her folly and ignorance mislead her. Liseo and Laurencio have in the meantime agreed to help one another in their respective suits. But Nise is not at all inclined to listen to Liseo 's unexpected advances, while Laurencio is more successful, having received Finea 's promise of marriage in the presence of various witnesses. In the third act Finea^ regeneration is ^ajmost coniplete ;_shf commends the power of love as does Fadrique in Calderon's play. Liseo, haying been rebuffed by Nise. and finding such marked improvement in Finea, determines to return to the latter,, and thus live up to his contract with the father. This places Lau- rencio, whose suit has met with violent opposition on the part of the girl's family, in a difficult situation, and he and Fiaea devise a trick to deceive Liseo into believing that she is stilLas jjmple as ever. In this effort Finea succeeds by playing the fool in her next interview with Liseo, and, the latter completely hoodwinked, again plans to woo Nise, whose intelligence is pref- erable at all costs to the follies of Finea. At this juncture the father decides to refuse Laurencio further admittance into the house, whereupon Finea and her servant Clara conceal the lover and his servant Pedro in the attic. There the four are discov- ered enjoying a fine spread, and Octavio, seeing that further opposition to Finea 's union with Laurencio is useless, gives his consent ; Nise also yields to the suit of Liseo. INTBODUCTWN 121 The close is less abrupt than usual, because Lope brings his main idea, the cure of Finea and her victory over the others as weir as Tierself , to a logical conclusion. The fact that the lovers ~ all change their allegiance at least once is not surprising in a play dependent, as a game of chess, on_ajeries._ of moves and countermoves which are born of rapid decisions and impulses. Many of the elements of Lope's formula are present in la Dama boba. y7e ha ve duplication in the^ crmdOf boba, who is cured^by love, as is her mistress, clearly a theatrical combination. In addition to the cgntrast between the two sisters, a clever touch is added in the diflPerentiation of the characters of Laurencio and Liseo. The former displays. a frankness almost brazen in his preference for money over wits, while the latter prefers intelli- gence to wealth. Therefore each forsakes his original choice, Laurencio abandoning Nise for Finea, and Liseo turning from Finea, who was contracted to him by his relatives, to Nise. There is no reason for shaking the head over this code of ethics which emphasizes the superior attraction of a larger dowry. Apart from the fact that it reflects the cold and calculating attitude on the part of certain young men the world over, the contrast of the two young gallants afforded Lope an oceasioii Jor satirizing the ways^ of humajLSQciety . The play also voices a n amu sing criticism of poetic fads, _oi st ilted speech, and rid icuks wImt_our mod^n sl^^^^ would desig- nate as high^brow affectation. This is delightfully accomplished in such scenes as that in which the servant Celia brings the blue- stocking Nise a copy of Heliodorus, and the latter remarks : . . . Es Heliodoro griego poeta divino. and the prosaic servant asks : J Poeta? Pues pareciome prosa. and Nise characteristically answers: Es que hay poesia en prosa. and Celia replying on behalf of common sense says : No lo sabia. 122 LA DAMA BOBA Inasmuch as the power of love may make the simpleton wise and clever, it i^ not astonishing to find the miracle o£.learnkig without study added. Not only Finea, but her servant Clara refer to the classics, and thereby live up to the tradition of the stage language and demonstrate to the most exacting of critics that the reform of their wits is complete. There are interesting popular elements added to the plot, such as singing and dancing. We are led to infer that the latter reflected a feature in the education of young women_ ol good families, who took lessons in these arts from professional tea,chers. We have other evidence for this, and may consider it an imita- tion of practices at court and in aristocratic families, where singing and dancing were a common diversion. Finally, it would be difficult to find a play, in which there are greater opportunities for talented actors. It is evident throughout that Lope had in mind specific players, presumably those whom he himself affixed to the list of dramatis personae. The title-role above all others demands a nicety of interpretation and refinement of action which would make the actress strike a happy mean between exaggerated imbecility and unwarranted intelligence. My notes to the play are intended especially for the average student of Lope, whose native language is not Spanish. I am aware that so extensive a commentary as I have added is open to criticism, and I am no less certain that as long as I am per- mitted to labor at these choice tasks, my results may contain some grave misjudgments. In this particular case it was not my intention to overwhelm a simple comedy by floods of use- less erudition. It was my desire not only to illustrate various points of the play, but to illuminate Spanish culture of the Golden Age by quoting interesting contemporary evidence. Every detail of the play which tells us something of Spanish life as it once was is worthy of careful consideration. I have tried to take the point of view of the average person who may be inter- ested in Lope de Vega and the Spanish drama as much as that INTRODUCTION 123 of the scholar who is apt to be better informed than the erring commentator. It is also undeniable, that mere references without extensive quotations do not impel the reader to take the trouble of informing himself in the matter referred to. I must repeat, therefore, that many a note may seem gratuitous to a Spaniard, but that I none the less entertain the hope that my effort to stimulate the study of Lope may not fall on barren ground in my own country. 124 LA DAMA BOBA THE AUTOGRAPH- The autograph manuscript of the Dama hoia has been pre- served in an unusually good condition. There are only a few insignificant erasures made by Lope himself, and these concern verses which the author crossed out, and then rewrote in a slightly different form. I have included them in the text in parenthesis because they throw some light on Lope's manner of composition. The excellent state of preservation of this manu- script, as well as the few licenses to act (often appended in large numbers to the last pages of manuscripts), indicate that this original was carefully kept by its owners from the very begin- ning. We know that the play was written for the actress Jeronima de Burgos, but it is by no means clear how long she had the autograph in her possession. All that Lope says (in a letter to the Duke of Sessa, date ? 1617 ) is : " nunca V. Ex. tubo la dama boha, porque esta es de Jeronima de Burgos, y yo la imprimi por una copia, firmandola de mi nombre," which may be interpreted to mean that since the play belonged to the actress. Lope- (whether he still had the autograph or not) could not send it either to the Duke or to the printer. Be all this as it may, suffice it to add that the original finally got into the famous Osuna Library and is now a precious possession of the Biblioteca Nacional at Madrid, vitrina 21, no. 5. The old number has been discarded. In the Catdlogo de las piozas de teatro que se con- servan en el departamento de manuscritos de la Biblioteca Nacional, compiled by A. Paz y Melia (Madrid, 1899), it is no. 810(1). A comparison of the autograph with the first printed edition makes it hard to believe that Lope examined with any great care the copy which was given to the printer. He says, as we have seen, that he signed it, and so makes himself responsible for the form in which the play has hitherto been known. How many omissions and discrepancies there are in the early editions INTBODUCTWN 125 maj- be seen from the appended list of variants (p. 129). I am inclined to believe that a fairly acceptable prompter's copy was handed to Lope to sign, and that he glanced at it very hastily before sending it to the printer. The chief passages omitted are precisely such as might have been cut by the manager before the parts were distributed among the company ; but to this loss must be added not only the changes for the worse in occasional phrases, which surely could not have been countenanced by the author, but also a large number of typographical errors, so com- mon in the printed comedias. A great many stage directions had to be added as Lope does not indicate all exits and entrances, and the modern division of each act into scenes was to him, of course, an unnecessary device although it is a helpful one to us. Generally, but not always, any entrance or exit is indicated by a cross (*) ; saiga and entre are used interchangeably for en- trances, and entrese despidase or v ay as e for exits. I have ventured to add a minimum of stage directions in order to make these exits and entrances clearer than they are in the original; in every case the addition is enclosed in brackets. Any superfluous letter, syllable, or word has been left in paren- thesis or indicated -in the notes, but this occurrence is very rare. I have, of course, left untouched the many discrepancies in spelling, such as ynteres, interes ; hombre, onbre ; casa, eassa ; hablaban, hablauan; dijo (very rare) dixo; and many others. The original, with negligible exceptions, omits all punctuation. This necessitated the capitalization of the first word of every sentence, and brought me face to face with Lope's arbitrary use of capitals in general, a feature which has been modified, since it seemed absurd to retain capital letters in the middle of a word, or proper names with a small letter, and such Avords as Rayo, Planeta, with a capital. These phenomena only annoy the aver- age reader, and tell the scholar nothing that he does not already know of seventeenth century manuscripts. The very few ac- cents of the original, chiefly forms of the third singular pre- terite, have been retained. Wherever the name of the person speaking is indicated by only a letter or two, I have written it ]26 LA DAM A BOB A in full ; abbreviations in the text are exceedingly rare, and bave been written out ; they embrace such forms as qu, or q for que, nro for nUestro; palmat'^ for palmatoria, and the like. In short, I have tried to present a careful edition of Lope's text which will give a faithful idea of his manuscript and manner of com- posing, and yet not frighten off anyone about to begin a study of this great dramatist. Only two other methods of reproduction remained : either a complete modernization of the spelling, which would spoil my main purpose — to present an edition of one of Lope's autographs; or a photographic reprint, which would reach only a few interested ones. In the latter ease the study of Lope's art might not be furthered as I am anxious it should be. There exists also in the Biblioteca Naeional a manuscript copy of the Dama hoba in a hand of the first third of the seven- teenth century; it has many characteristics of the first printed editions, and my judgment, set down several years ago, was that it is an unimportant copy of a stage version, but nearer the autograph than the known versions. This is borne out by the fact that it is apparently a copy made by Luis Ramirez de Are- llano who, according to both Cristobal Suarez de Pigueroa and Vicente Espinel, had the reputation of being able to reproduce a play which he had heard but three times in the theatre ; among the plays he is reported to have thus reproduced was the Bama boba. Compare Rennert: The Spanish Stage, p. 176. Such a copy is scarcely calculated to throw light on an autograph manu- script, even if we needed it, which is fortunately not the case. It, therefore, seemed more profitable to show the relation between the two versions directly connected with Lope's name, that is, the first printed form which he signed for press, and the auto- graph, than the variants of a manuscript of less importance than either of these. Printed copies, in general, scarcely do more than a very poor reproduction of a great painting might do, that is, they may serve, if the original is lost, to give an idea of the author's crea- tion. But since we have the original in this case, the copies seem pale and unsatisfactory withal. Indeed, the only lesson. INTRODUCTION 127 and that a pathetic one, which a careful comparison of the orig- inal with the printed versions teaches, is that our loss in the disappearance of the autographs of Spanish writers, such as Lope, Cervantes, and others, is beyond the power of any words to express. The relation between autograph and printed versions. 6. a. Autograph MS. (Osuna Library, 1613). c. The Eamlrez MS (ef. above). d. Printer's copy (signed by Lope) ; generally destroyed or lost, and presumably so in this case. 6. Acting Tersions or prompter's copies; in the case of a large number of plays these copies were preserved and exist in the Biblioteca Municipal of Madrid. I have seen none of la Dama ioba. fe. Madrid, 1617 (Part IX). /• f. Barcelona, 1618. 9- e^loni [g. Madrid, suelta of 18th century, entitled la Boba discreta} b h. Biblioteca de autores espanoles, vol. 1 of Lope's works (with slight arbitrary changes). i. Teatro Seleeto: I (segunda parte) 128 LA DAMA BOBA The editions known to me may, therefore, be considered in the following order : e. Doze comedias de Lope de Vega sacadas de sus originales por el mismo. Dirigidas al. . . . Duque de Sessa. . . . Novena parte, Afio 1617. Con privilegio. En Madrid. (Cf. La Barrera, Nueva biografia, op. eit., p. 283). f. The same volume reprinted at Barcelona, 1618. It improves some typographical errors, changes the punctuation here and there together with half a dozen single words. g. A Madrid suelta of the eighteenth century with the title la Boba discreta, based on the printed versions. h. Hartzenbusch 's edition of Lope 's Comedias, in Biblioteca de auiores espanoles, I, 297-316. As this version is accessible to all, its imperfections can be studied by the reader without any com- ment. Reprinted from e or /. i. A reprint by Francisco Jose Orellana in his teatro selecto antiguo y moderno nacional y extranjero. . . . (Barcelona, 1866-68), 8 vols. (pt. 1 in 2 vols.) ; cf. I, vol. 2, pp. 759-786. Reprinted from Hartzenbusch with very little change. The play entitled la Boba discreta by Cafiizares has nothing in common with our play. A very unsatisfactory translation of the play into French under the title: La petite Niaise can be found in the following volume: Les Chefs- d'oeuvre du Theatre Espagnol ancien et moderne; traduction de Clement Eochel, vol. I (Paris, 1900), p. 5ff. INTRODUCTION 129 VARIANTS OF THE FIRST EDITION OF MADRID, 1617 The edition of Barcelona, 1618, reprinted this version with very few discrepancies, emending some typographical errors and punctuation. The differences worthy of note are marked (B). The disagreements between the autograph manuscript and the first edition, 1617, as listed below, clearly prove that Lope sent to the press a very defective acting version. The changes and cuts which were made are of an arbitrary character having, no doubt, been hastily adopted either during rehearsal, or while the play was being acted. As it is humanly impossible to note every insignificant variant, I have tried to limit myself to such as may have some importance. All differences in spelling have been noted but are not given to avoid useless repetition ; they can be illustrated by the following examples : inuencion, inuenzion ; nacen, nazen ; piezas, piecas ; licencia, ligencia ; igual, ygual ; ygnorancias, inorancias ; prouisiones, probissiones ; oficios, offizios ; cosa, cossa; fe, fee; enriqueee, enrriqueze; traes, trahes; ereer, creher; nombre, nonbre, nobre; entranbas, entrabas; tejado, texado; jamas, xamas; deben, deuen; habra, aura; Octauio, Otabio. Words which may indicate a popular pronunciation have been added. Examples are: discipulo, dicipulo; objec- cion, objecion ; darle, dalle. I must emphasize again, that where we possess the autograph, these differences in spelling of the first edition have no scientific value. Misprints such as numeto for numerp, fingas for finjas, and the like have been omitted. The numbers indicate the verses of the manuscript version. 130 LA DAMA BOBA Comedia famosa de la Dama boba de Lope de Vega Carpio. Hablan en ella las personas siguientes : Laureneio Pedi ■0 Duardo Vn estudiante Peniso Finea Liseo Nise Miseno Celia Octauio Clara Lope Vn maestro de dangar Turin Otro de escriuir Salen Liseo, j Turin 120. J vn roble criado (s) (B) de camino 124. de diseurso y de razon 1. buenas posadas 125-128. omitted 10. Corte, de Castilla 129. contar 11. de Andaluzia, j Seuilla 130. casaua 13. vnos de los otros cuentan 140. haze (B) 150. boba 15. cargos 154. dotes 17. cosas . . . alimenta (B) 155. era 19. Turin continues: de ima- 158. le genes con la fe 169. puedes dexallo 20. adquiridas (171) Vase el Estudiante 22. aquesta ocasion 172. omits 4 Que haremos? 23. las tiene la deuocion Ponte Turin a cauallo 24. de Espaiia 174. Ten paciencia — hecho 26. esperar 176. propria 27. a que guise (B) 185-272. omitted 30. quanto (273) Vanse, y salen Xise, dama. 31. antes instead of luzir y Celia, eriada 33. ya 278. tiene 40. la (B) 279. las 52. muy hobre 282. Es que ay poesia 54. y desposado 284. canseme 58. transparentes 288. todo se dexa entender 61. essa 294. e historial 64. aQucar . . . galea 296. muestra 66. con tres puntos 297. por 73. tambien 299. oculta 75. Oygo dezir que es hermosa 300. y obscura, aun en ingenios 78. nada se raros (B) 80. mas estima 303. obscuras 81- 84. omitted 305. objecion (89) Sale vn ostudiante do (307) Salen un maestro de leer. camino y Finea 91. Y omitted 308. esta INTBODUCTION 131 316. Assi, ya, ya, ya, ya 460. tirar 319. K 464. todos sus deudos 325. Letras son estas tambien 465. Lamicol, Aramizaldo 328. le dire 466. Miscito 329. Esta? no se 467. TumbahoUin, con piel de 331. Y estotra? Fin. Aquella Qorra redoda letra? 469. bianco 333. Assi, si, si 470. y otros de negro vestidos 336. Esta es r 471. y otros eon ropas de martas 343. omits Ya miro; reads: Di 472. gapatillos aqui, be, e, n, ben 484. correr oaiias 346. dize 485. ves 347. precedes 346 (493) Vanse Finea, y Clara 350. omits saoa vna palmatoria 499. esse (351) Da^ una palmeta y ella (500) Salen Laurencio, Duardo, y echa u correr tras el Feniso, galanes 353. 0, perro, aquesta 503. given to Duardo 355. CeUa. Ella le mata. Ma. 504. given to Feniso and Ya Laurencio 357. omits jAy, que me mata! 505. given to Feniso 357. Nise. {A tu maestro? fCJue 506-! 507. transposed es esto? 518. elecion 358. Ma. Tenganla ay. 522. a Duardo 360. Dilo 535. imbidia 362. K 538. contradicion 368. gentil 544. es pintar al que ya llega 369. Y luego que la tomo 546. la luz 370. toma, y gas la mano 550. e intenciou assienta 551. Feniso instead of 372. abraso Laurencio 373. discipulo ignora 552. muchos se; given to 378. dalle Laurencio (379) Vase el maestro 556. bien os 384. dizen ban 562. con quietud 398. Sale Clara criada de Finea 566. claro 405. omits pues — Que ya pario 568. y luego 407. jQuando Clara? 579. Du. Escriue facil Platon 425- 428. omitted 582. qual estas; esta (B) 441. hablan 586. obscuras 443. girigonga entre ellos (B) 588. es a todos agradable 444. ni es espafiol (589) omits Nise aparte 445. viuda 593. contigo a quien 446- 448. larga, y compuesta de 594. assi ozico, sospecho que era su 605. la que abuela, de negro, y bianco (610) Haze Nise como que cae vestido 610. Du. Que es esto 449- 452. omitted (618) Vanse Nise y Celia 132 LA DAMA BOBA 619. given to Feniso 845. Cla: Tu padre 620. Nise 846. A DJos, acordaos 621. Aueys (B) (847) "Vase Laurenzio 627. Duar., 629 Pen. (850) Vase Pedro (635) Vanse Duardo, y Feniso, 857. Hame querido easar queda Laurenzio 859. Toledano o Seuillano 645. tarda en 860. tres (649) Sale Pedro, su criado de 862. de la caxa Laurencio 863. repolido 655. diuertir mi mouimiento 866. este . . . fuese 657. nunca; omits que 871. pero dime, amiga Clara 658. que en un lugar 872. polido 659. firme suele siempre estar 874. de la ropilla 662. y tal en las doze esta 877. Digo que 665. deste puesto en 878. veamos, tienesle ay? 670. Porque la (879) Saca Finea un retrato en 674. senala a un naype de la manga 681. a 886. pierna y 684. preciosa (B) 888. que el Pedro 693-' 700. omitted (889) Salen Octauio viejo, y 706. la empresa Nise su hija 707. prouar tu osadia 901. que estaua alii 709. jY es? (903) Sale Celia 710. necia 904. una posta 711. ha 905. Mira hija que has de estar 722. necio (908) Salen Liseo, y Turin de 725. que eon oro no se eamino 729. Yo tengo de enamorar 908. licion (?) (B) the copy (741) Omits [Salgan] Finea y before me is blurred Clara 912. qual de las dos es mi es- 742. Harelo si esta posa? (745) Salen Finea y Clara 913. ya no me ve 745. Buena 915. ia 753. Y si agora que salis 918. Esta 759. famosas 921. abraga a vuestra 763. tengan 923. hablo de 768. limpio y sano 928. discreta soys 784. que en mi vida no he que- 929. grande rido 930. B omits a 788. Esperad 932. bobo 794. a redro vaya 939. pudieras auer 797-804. omitted 942. Oct. Aunque honesta . . . 806. cuerpo 944. truxiste 807. passa el que 951. calor teneys 816. dexar 956. y como venis 817-820. omitted 958. esta 829. querer assi 959. Ni. Calla hermana. INTEOBUCTION 133 960. especie, es linda cosa 1001. Quando (961) Sale Celia con una caxa, y 1012. y con tal censo se cobra agua 1017. esse. . . . pues vemos 961. Cel. Aqui esta el agua 1018. experiencia notoria eomed. 1021. Es verdad 962. El agua sola prouCca 1030. las palabras se rompan 964. omits direction Beba 1031. rompanse letras 969. Aguardad 1032. cobra 970. tu te 1035. dizen que vn hombre eno- 971. Ueuado jado 973. Ay padre mas desdichado 1037. si le ponen 978. Kntrad adentro vosotras 1038- 1039. transposed 979. a prevenirle la cama 1038. en el su imagen 980. La mia pienso 1039. que represents su sombra 981. Octab: Tu no ves 1040. Templa 982. que aun no estan hechas 1043. cristal del 983. entra adentro. Fin. Que 1044. libertad pregona me plaze 1045. tu yra, 984. Ni. Vamos hermana. Fin. 1046. Es verdad A Dios, ola. 1051. trocar (985) Vanse Nise, y Finea- 1053- 1056. omitted (991) Vase Octauio, y quedan 1060. horas Liseo, y Turin 1061. distintas 991. el cielo . . . Lis: no se (1063) omits: Fin del primero 993. mis desdiehas: ay Turin acto de la Dama boba. 996. mas espantosa AcTO Segundo de La Dama Boba Omits: Personas del Segundo Acto (1063) Salen Laureneio, Duardo, 1161. y Feniso. 1167. 1063. se ha 1168. 1065. venee 1169. 1092. del admirarse 1170. 1094. pueda 1171. 1095. Todo es 1172. 1099-1122. omitted 1173. 1123. ya que a Finea 1175. 1125. le 1176. 1128. tendra 1178. 1133. saben amar 1179. 1135-6. Order: Lau. Fen. Du. 1181. 1143. para hazer tales agrauios 1184. 1144. y desprecios. 1187. 1147. Fen. and Du. speak 1188. (1149) Salen Nise, y Celia. 1189. 1160. Fue Sol que las alumbro 1190. mientras ella se eclips6 verde velo subtil la alegre ribera placentera cantando los Euysenores y van creeiendo las Acres mostrando vuestra salud y sembrando rian (B) dieron vuestros cristales ' aguas para poder celebraros con que procura alegraros almas las que efetos hareys omitted 134 LA DAMA BOBA 1191. inserted: visto con tanta (1365) Vase Laureneio, y sale un alegria maestro de dangar, dan- 1193. luz destos ojos do licion a Finea: em- 1195. enf ermo llegue pieea el a dangar, y ella 1201. mouimientos se queda 1207. viuimos 1367. omits no 1208. eon la que mostrays aqui 1379. ya saiga 1210. ya que 1382. Traed 1223. Desse 1386. a caseabeles confiesso (1231) Vanse Duardo y Feniso 1394. omits me 1236. falso 1405. mas yo no 1243. mi muerte creiste 1406. no entreys mas aqui 1245. con gentil atreuimiento 1407. no 1249. pobre y ella rica 1408. baylar 1250. tu discreto, ella 1415. Tened, senora 1261- 1265. omitted 1417. aspereza 1272. es su creciente, y men- 1420. mansedumbre guante (1427) Vase el Maestro, y sale After 1276. inserted: ay Clara Laurenoia, que buen page 1428. persigueme. de ib, y amor tan con- 1444. Por esso vengo stante? Yo enferme de 1445. por essa mis tristezas, que son bien 1448. diferencia terribles males, por re- 1449. Costilla gales tuyos tune engaiios, 1453. assi para mentiras, fraudes. Pero 1454. y aun mas, muy bien pues tan duros fueron di, 1465. Puse en la estopa que me diste diamantes. 1475. me ves 1277. lo has visto 1478. ringlones 1281. dicho requiebros 1479. donde 1282. a Finea. omits me 1481. Clara continues: mas bien 1290. mas que te se podra leer 1293. yo a la boba 1483. Libre Dios 1294. la (1485) Sale Octauio 1295. De que te quexas 1486. omitted 1296. neeio 1487. ni el leer, ni el danjar 1301- 1304. omitted 1491. Aquel 1309-: L325. omitted; cf. above: 1495. buelue luego after 1276 1499. todos hombres 1321. Aora dexame, Laurencio. 1500. no digays (1326) Sale Liseo solo. 1501. diga (s) 1335. ruegala 1503. Pues tome por su vida (1339) Vanse Nise, y Celia. (1505) Carta. Estoy muy agra- 1340. Espantome deeido a la merced que 1341. essos rigores me hazes aunque he pas- 1352. con las lenguas sado toda esta uoehe (1355) Vase Liseo eontemplando tu hermo- 1357. simple sin duda sura. Rasguele INTBODUCTION 135 1505. No dize masf Oct. No dize, y justamente 1506. lo que falta rompi 1509. por estremo 1511. ser hermosa 1512. el galan, el Undo, el Olo- roso 1513. omitted 1514. el afeytado, el limpio, y el curioso 1522. vendra a entender 1523. hija, mirad 1525. No lo hare mas 1526. porque . . . bien el hom- bre (1528) Sale Turin. 1529. Oct. Que ay Turin? Tur. Que a matarse van al campo 1530. en este punto mi 1531. vn hidalgo 1536. de esse Laurencio 1538. adonde yran? Tur. Yran (1541) Vanse Octauio, y Turin. 1548. sentir. 1549. Yo no se lo que esto ha sido 1550. despues que el hombre me vio 1552. el se ha lleuado 1553. Si como, imagino en el, 1554. si duermo, le estoy so- nando, 1556. su imagen 1558. buelve un espejo 1561. en ella miro 1565. trasformas 1572. romper 1579. presumo (1581) Vanse, y salen Laurencio, y Liseo. 1582. me dezid la oeasion que a esto 03 obliga? 1588. andays del 1590. lo diga 1592. su dote 1598. dezir 1600-1639. omitted 1640. Pues yo os prometo de 1642. por bien 1644. y no como fingidos (1648) Abra^anse, y salen Octauio, y Turin 1648. Oct. Turin aquesta dizes que es pendencia? 1649. y auran disimulado. Oct. O caualleros 1650. omitted 1651. solos aqui 1653. Ilegu6 1654. salimonos entrambos mano a mano 1655. a tratar nuestras eosas 1658. holgarS de que os boluays 1659. omitted 1662. Porque en viendote auran disimulado (1678) Vanse, y salen Nise, y Pinea 1680. La misma que 1693. el me dixo aqui 1696. Desde oy 1699. a enojarte 1704. No creo (1707) Vase Nise 1708. tan desdichada (1710) Sale Laurencio 1725. me ha dicho aqui 1730. ya 1732. Tambien ha dicho (1743) Ponele el liengo en los ojos. 1743. omits no 1744. Pues quita luego los tuyos 1748. Pinea continues: Lleuas- telos en el liengo? 1749. Lau. : Si, seiiora, no — 1751. omits a 1757. No me ha de reflir por esto 1759. sabras 1761. entonces, muy bien me acuerdo 1762. omits y 1765. Pues no (1765) Sale Nise, y velos abra- gados. 136 LA DAMA BOBA 1765. O que bien (1779) Vanae Laurencio, y Nise de las manos 1784. propria voluntad 1786. mi padre viene (1788) Sale Octauio 1793. yo agora 1796. Ay ignorancia tal, pues dime bestia 1798. al principio fue hecho aquel abrago 1799. alto el brago dereeho de Laurencio 1802. luego desabragada quedo agora 1803. piensa 1806. se llama 1809. Si, tu no ves 1812. del que 1813. tomando ya, por cierto creo 1818-1819. omitted 1820. donde tu hermana esta? (1825) Vase Octauio 1828. omits me (1831) Sale Laurencio 1834. escusase 1838. Porque te fuyste 1841-1844. omitted 1846. (B) omits lo 1847. dino nombre 1851. y assi podre 1856. Otro mejor puede aner. (1859) Salen Duardo, Feniso, y Pedro. 1860. Dua. y el. . . . 1873. Yo voy aqui con mi ingenio 1878. casarte 1883-1888. . omitted 1895. Duardo, Feniso, Pedro 1896. Finea continues: yo doy aqui la palabra 1898. Fen: cosa, etc. 1899. Todos. Si 1900. Haz cuenta que ya estas Sana 1906. Dua: Pues . . . casas 1907. Si, Duardo. Dua: Y Nise bella? (1909) Vanse Laurencio, y Duardo, queda Finea, salen Octa- uio, y Nise. 1911. essas 1919. Y con ser negro 1920. era 1921. Sessa 1922. honra 1923. Vino a easarse 1927. llama al 1932. rinirme. (B) Nise: Quien . . . 1934. sabed 1942. y ya estoy 1944. que tanta pena me dauan 1948. tu no ves que estas casada 1949. omits me 1950. Oct. Locura estrana 1951. No entre aqui Laurencio. Ni: Es yerro 1952. que el, y Liseo la enganan 1953. y aquesta traga ban tornado 1955. O, pues con esso yo callo 1956. con essa nos tapas 1957. A''en alia dentro 1958-1959. omitted (1961) Vanse Octauio, y Finea. 1963. el, y Liseo, por ver 1964. aquesta (1966) Sale Liseo solo 1974. rudeza 1975. ingenio 1977. darte 1979. mi amor, Nise, no mentiras 1980-1983. omitted 1984. Liseo continues: escu- chame. Ni. Que incon- stancia 1988. Desta (1991) Sale Laurenzio 1991. esta con Liseo 1993. de entender sin duda 1995. sospecho que ya me ha visto (1997) omits stage direction INTRODUCTION 137 1998. Hanme dicho que 1999. . . . yo no lo creo 2008. que de manera me trata 2011. destos fauores 2013. No puedo menos (2013) Vase Nise 2019-2022. omitted 2023. Liseo aquesta es discreta 2032. Es la mayor alabanga Omits: Fin del segundo acto de la Dama boba. AoTO Tercero de la. Dama Boba Omits: Los que hablan en el tercero acto Sale Finea sola con otro vestido. (Directions like this indicate that we are dealing with stage copy.) 2036. acidente, o elecion 2051. omits en 2058. En el lugar en que estoy 2062. estoy 2063-2072. omitted (2073) Sale Clara 2077-2080. omitted 2081. Atribuyen (2091) Salen Octauio, y Miseno 2109. la 2121. Zamoes; Zamores (B) (2125-2128) and (2129-2132) transposed 2130. Y de Herrera 2131. eanciones, el Peregrino 2132. el picaro de Guzman (2149) Salen Nise, Liseo, y Turin 2154. que ya Finea 2157-2168. omitted 2175-2184. replaced by: Nis. Poner freno a la muger es poner limite al mar. Estranas quimeras son; que amor como es aci- dente tienese donde se siente, no donde fuera razon 2187. falta 2188. en la 2189. hizo 2192. curso natural (2201) Sale un eriado 2206. Liseo (2213) Sale un eriado, y los musicos 2213. ya los musicos venian (2221) Cantan los musicos, y bay- Ian Nise, y Finea lo que quisieren; this direc- tion indicates that the printed copy was inde- pendent of the auto- graph. 2221-2318. omitted 2320. a Dios 2321. este -agrauio 2322. Tratemos nuestro eoncierto 2324. Yo OS tengo 2325. omits os 2326. mis dichas (2327) Vanse todos, quedan Liseo, y Turin 2327. Turin? Tur. Senor, que 2338. essa diserecion 2339-2342. omitted 2343. y no ha 2347. discreta (2356) Vase Liseo (2365) Salen Laureneio, y Pedro 2366. el fin 2382. El no os pretende agra- uiar 2384. cumplirse? 2387. omits el (2394) Vase Turin 2395. Lo mismo que presumi 2398. se viene a mostrar aqui 2400. discreta, la voluntad 2401. habilidad 138 LA DAMA BOBA (2405) Sale Finea 2590. 2406. nueua 2610- 2413. en mi memoria (2613) 2416. eubierto 2420. y si a otra parte 2425. tu 2613. 2426. y tu imagen bella mira 2434. consejos 2614. 2442. traerle al cuello 2617. 2443-: 2446. omitted 2622. 2455. Mira lo que ha resultado 2629. 2459. Liseo te quiere bien, (2630) 2461. plegue 2633. 2465. partes 2638. 2469- 2470. omitted 2651-1 2489. la tierra donde nacen 2655. 2490. andarla 2657. 2494. ya — ya con zelos 2498. Ya estoy atento 2658. 2505. a su regalo 2660. 2510. a sus desseos 2663. 2511. esso si pensaron 2664-: 2512. hijo varon, y 2668. 2516. seiiora 2669. 2519. Aqui me quiero 2670. 2520. Ya llega 2672. 2521. En grandes (2672) 2522. aun no lo siento (2676) (2523) Bseondense Laurencio, y 2677. Pedro, salen Liseo, y 2683. Turin. 2691-: 2523. Yo lo dexo concertado 2700. 2524. Al fin 2528. ha querido 2707. 2533. me ha dicho 2708. 2541. luna nueua (2719) 2542. Ay tal locura? Tur. 2543. given to Liseo 2723. 2544^2547. omitted 2725. 2548. Creo 2730. 2560. given to Turin 2731- 2561- 2568. omitted 2739. 2582. le vemos 2744. 2583. con alas pero el en fin 2747. 2584. es espiritu. Fin. Yo os 2748. creo (2749) 2585. An dan 2749. Porque •12. given to Liseo Vanse Liseo, y Turin, salen Laurencio; y Pe- dro. Fin. Que te parece? Lau. Muy bien que has dado omits a a un espejo despiearme Salen Nise y Celia enganas el alma 2654. omitted Fin. Ay cielos voyme. Nis. Los pasos reporta Lau. Que quieres? las que trato son Querraste casar an si 2667. omitted leuantando y de aqueste hecharme la culpa a mi omits a mi. Que bien Vase Laurencio Vase Pedro aquello buena 2694. omitted Cel. Que es esto? Ni. A tonta se buelue quieres con quien el alma viuia Salen Octauio, Miseno, Duardo, y Feniso No me direys la ocasion del saber pienso que tu la ■2734. omitted expresamente Como? ... ha tracjado mas facil En paz tu casa tendras Salen Laurencio, y Pedro en estremo INIEODVCTION 139 2757. discreta 2758. inclinaua 2760. a la muger 2766. ya son pocos 2767. podeys 2772. tales 2775. de estar 2776. esse 2777. y es 2778. deys mi muger 2779-2782. omitted 2784. Lau. Tinea. Oct. Finea? Lau. Aqui 2789. given to Duardo 2790. darsela 2791. Oct. Ay tal cosa? 2792. dixera? 2793. la diera (2801) Vase Octauio 2801. tras mi (2803) Vanse Nise, y Celia 2803. Yd los dos tras el por Dios (2809) Vanse Duardo, y Feniso, y quedan Laurencio, y Finea. 2811. Dime, que auemos de hazer 2815. Yo tengo un (2817) Sale Clara 2819. por secreto 2821. Y Pedro? 2826. consuelo me de 2827. Otra eenara 2828. vamos (2829) Vanse Clara, Pedro, y Lau- rencio, queda Finea. 2830. aqueste mi loco amor (2837) Sale Octauio 2839. estas 2845. Boluera? 2848. milagro 2849. perdiste 2850. como a ser boba boluiste? 2855. Pues yo lo he de 2859. Adonde? (2867) Salen Liseo, y Turin 2871. Oct. Tente loea, donde \-as? 2874-2875. omitted 2877. que no me ha de ver jamas (2879) Vanse Finea, y Clara 2879-2884. Reads: Li. Que es esto? Oct. No se por Dios; ella ha dado en esconderse de los hom- bres, porque dize que la engaiian facilmente. Li. En gentil locura ha dado: donde esta Lau- rencio? 2885. A Toledo. Lis. Muy bien hizo. 2886. Y tu por ventura crees 2889. Ay de que tu entres aqui 2890-2891. omitted 2902. escudos 2904. es tuerta? 2914. quiero que 2915. desta easa (2918) Vase Octauio 2918. Que me dizes? 2923. Sino te casas, seiior 2928. case 2929. dinero (2931) Vanse, y salen Finea, y Clara 2937. cosa 2939-2962. omitted 2967-2974. omitted 2983-2986. omitted (2989) Salen Octauio, Miseno, Duardo, y Feniso. 2989. Que esso le dixistes? 2990. furia 2991-2994. omitted 2995. resueltamente 2997. tratasse 2998. de 3006. tienesme 3013. oyd 3016. sino (3019) Vanse Finea y Clara 3019-3026. Beads: Duar. Vuestra desdicha he sabido y siento como es razon. 140 LA BAMA SOBA (3027) 3027- Fen. Y yo que en esta oca- sion aya perdido el sen- tido. Oct. Que ya era cuerda en- tendi y estaua loco de vella. Mis. Que lastima. Dua. Nise bella con Liseo viene aqui. Salen Liseo, Turin, y Nise. 3072. cut to the following: Nise: Es doblar la volun- tad de mi aficion. Lis. Templa agora, bella Nise, 3112. 3113. 3115. (3118) 3123. 3127. 3136. 3143-3146. 3155. Ya given to Feniso Lis. Siempre Duar. De esso os podroys Salen Laurencio , con la espada desnuda, y Finea a pus espaldas, Pedro y Clara, y Octauio detras de todos. Dua. Teneos, Ocauio: es Laurencio? Traydora soga omitted tus desdenes, que se va 3156. omits y; Nise tambieu amor por la posta a la 3158. le quiere . . . le adora easa del agrauio. 3159. given to Du. (3072) Sale Celia 3160. gozen los que el 3072- 3075. omitted 3166-3169. omitted; inserted: 3076. Cel. Senora? Nis. que ay? Tur. Y la Clara socarrona Cel. una cosa. que Ueuaua los gazapos? 3077. causar espanto Cla. Mandomelo mi seiiora. 3078. Di lo que es Tur. O qual los engu- 3081. dos oonejos llirian. 3084. eaminauan 3173. Ni. y tuya Celia 3086. given to Turin 3174-3177. omitted 3087-: 3090. omitted 3178. mi bota sera 3093. corri 3179. solos quedamos 3104. given to Nise 3180. dadme 3107. Senor tu furia los do3 318L given to Fen. 3108. lo veremos 3182. perdonan 3109. injuriado (3U0) Vase Octauio Fin de la Comedia de la Dama 3110. given to Duardo Boba « INTBODVCTION 141 LA VEESIFICACI6N ACTO I. Redoudillas verses 1 to 184 Octavas verses 185 to 272 Eedondillas verses 273 to 412 Komanee (en i-o) verses 413 to 492 Eedondillas verses 493 to 524 Soneto verses 525 to 538 Eedondillas verses 539 to 634 Soneto verses 635 to 648 Eedondillas verses 649 to 888 Eomance (en o-a) verses 889 to 1062 ACTO II. Eedondillas verses 1063 to 1154 Quintillas verses 1155 to 1214 Eedondillas ." verses 1215 to 1230 Eomance (en a-e) verses 1231 to 1364 Eedondillas verses 1365 to 1484 Endecasilabos sueltos y algunos pareados aconsonantados verses 1485 to 1540 Eedondillas ; , verses 1541 to 1580 Pareados, aconsonantados y versos sueltos, todos endecasilabos verses 1581 to 1667 Eedondillas verses 1668 to 1787 Pareados, aconsonantados y versos sueltos, todos endecasilabos verses 1788 to 1824 Eedondillas verses 1825 to 1860 Eomance (en a-a) verses 1861 to 2032 ACTO III. Quintillas verses 2033 to 2072 Eedondillas verses 2073 to 2220 Baile y cantar con estribillo* verses 2221 to 2318 Eedondillas verses 2319 to 2426 Eomance (en e-o) verses 2427 to 2634 Eedondillas verses 2635 to 2870 Eomance (en e-e) verses 2871 to 2930 Eedondillas verses 2931 to 3026 Eomance (en o-a) verses 3027 to 3184 142 LA DAMA BOBA * It is a great loss to the history of Spanish music and of the dance that in the great majority of cases these cantares are omitted in the printed versions of the comedias. Even where they are preserved, they are so much curtailed that we get no clear idea of their complete form. Lope has written a large number of these compositions, and yet how pitifully small is our record of them! The following scheme may be of assistance in studying their structure. This one manifestly has five main divisions separated by a single verse with refrain. I. (a) 20 verses without refrain, the even ones being assonant in a-a; they are of unequal length, from five to eight syllables. This division forms a kind of prelude or preface without refrain, and may well have been sung by both girls, or by the musi- cians, and perhaps without dance accompaniment. (6) verso suelto con estribillo (2241-2). II. (a) 14 verses, the odd ones of eight syllables being assonant in e-o; the even one is the refrain (estribillo). If this dance had the character of a mudanza, we may imagina the girls dancing or singing in turn, and this division may have been sung by one of them, all the musicians and even the spectators joining in the refrain. (&) verso suelto con estribillo (2257-8). III. (o) 20 verses, the' odd ones of eight syllables being assonant in a-o; the even verse is the refrain; danced and sung presumably by one of the daughters, the rest joining in the refrain. (6) verso suelto con estribillo (2279-80). IV. (o) 12 verses without refrain, the even ones being assonant in a-a, and thus corresponding to division I; presumably again sung by both girls. (6) verso suelto con estribillo (2293-4). V. (o) 22 verses, the odd ones of eight syllables being assonant in o-o; the even verse is the refrain; danced and sung by both girls, the rest joining in the refrain. (6) verso suelto con estribillo (2417-8). A special study in these cantares with their dances would be of the greatest interest. A similar composition can be found in Velez de Guevara 's la Serrana de la Vera (cf. the edition of Professor Menfindez Pidal and Senora de Men^ndez Pidal (Madrid, 1916), p. 151) and in the same poet's Bosa de Alexandria, II, fol. 189 v. Los Labradores cantan: Esta nouia se lleua la flor, — que las otras no — Copla. Lupino y Tierrena, para en vno son — su gala y belleza, para en vno son — el sol y la estrella, para en vno son — etc., etc. The popular character of these songs and dances is so pronounced that they have a special charm, even after this great lapse of time. As in the ease of Lope's songs, traditional coplas, or verses, were absorbed by them (cf. for example, vs. 2313-2315). LA DAMA BOBA 143 LA DAMA BOBA COMEDIA DESTE ANO DE 1613 PERSONAS DESTE ACTO Lisseo, cauallero Ortiz Turin, lacayo Caruajal (?)* Leandro, cauallero Almonte (?)* Otabio, vie jo Quinones Misseno, su amigo Villanueba Duardo f "1 Guebaea Laurenzio < cauatleros }■ Benito Feniso [_ J Simon Rufino, maestro Aguado Nise, dama ...-. Jeeonima Finea, su hermana Maeia Qclia, criada Ysabel Clara, criada{s) Ana Maeia Pedro, lacayo . . . * The name Almonte has been scratched so as to be scarcely legible and Caruajal written directly over it, as though the latter were intended to take the part of Leandro. Lope's intention, however, may have been to assign the part of Turin to Caruajal (cf. also the note on the actors and actresses). ACTO p[rIMER0]^ [Salgan] Lisseo, cauallero, y Turin, lacayo. Los dos de camino. Liseo. I Que lindas possadas ! * Turin. Freseas. Liseo. No ay calor. Turin. Chinches y ropa tienen fama en toda Europa. Liseo. Famoso lugar Yllescas ; no ay en todos los que miras 5 quien le yguale. 1 An asterisk in the margin indicates that the corresponding verse has a note. 144 ACTO PBIMEBO Turin. Aun si supieses la causa. . . . Liseo. ^Qual es? Turin. Dos messes de guindas y de mentiras. Liseo. Como aqui, Turin, se juntan de la Corte y de Sebilla, ^^ Andaluzia y Castilla, vnos a otros preguntan, vnos de las Yndias cuentan, y otros con discursos largos de probissiones y cargos, ^^ cossas que el vulgo alimentan. I No tomaste las medidas 1 Turin. Vna dozena tome. Liseo. jY ymagenes? * Turin. Con la fee que son de Bspana admitidas, 20 por milagrosas en todo quanto en qualquiera oeasion les pide la debocion y el nonbre. Liseo. Pues, dese modo lleg[u]en las postas y vamos. 25* Turin. jNo has de comer? Liseo. Aguardar a que se guise, es pensar que a media noche llegamos ; y vn despossado, Turin, ha de llegar quando pueda 30 luzir. Turin. Mui atras se queda con el repuesto Marin; pero yo traygo'que comas. Liseo. I Que trahes ? Turin. Ya lo veras. LA BAMA BOBA 145 Liseo. Dilo. Turin. Guarda. Liseo. Necio estas. Turin. jDesto pesadumbre tomas? Liseo. Pues para dezir lo que es . . . Turin. Ay a quien pesa de oyr su nonbre ; basta decir que tu lo sabras despues. Liseo. Entretienese la hanbre eon saber que ha de comer. Turin. Pues sabete que ha de ser. . . . Liseo. i Presto ! Turin. tozino fianbre. Liseo. Pues ja quien puede pessar de oyr nonbre tan hidalgo, Turin? Si me has de dar algo, jque cossa me puedes dar, que tenga ygual a esse nombre ? Turin. Esto y vna hermosa eaxa. Liseo. Dame de queso vna raxa ; que nunca el dulce es mui onbre, Turin. Esas liziones no son de galan ni despossado. Liseo. Aun agora no he Uegado. Turin. Las damas de Corte son todas vn fino eristal : trasparentes y diuinas. Liseo. Turin, las mas cristalinas eomeran. Turin. Es natural ; pero esta hermosa Finea, con quien a cassarte vas. comera. . . . Liseo. Dilo. Turin. no mas de azucar, mana y xalea. 35 40 45 *50 55 60 146 ACTO PBIMEBO Liseo. Turin. Liseo. Turin. Liseo. Turin. Liseo. Turin. Liseo. Turin. Liseo. Pasarase vna semana con dos puntos en el ayre de azucar. G-entil donayre. jQue piensas dar a su hermana? A Nise, su hermana bella, vna rosa de diamantes; que asi tengan los amantes tales firmezas con ella. Y vna cadena tanbien que conpite con la rossa. Dizen que es tanbien hermossa. Mi esposa pareze bien, si doy credito a la fama. De su hermana poco se ; pero basta que me de lo que mas se estima y ama. i Bello golpe de dinero ! Son quarenta mil ducados. jBrabo dote! Si contados los Uego a ver como espero. De vn maeho con guarniziones verdes y estribos de palo se apea vn hidalgo. Malo, si la merienda me pones. 65 70 80 85 * [Saiga] Ijeandro, de camino Leandro. Huesped, jhabra que comer? Liseo. Seays, senor, bien Uegado. Leandro. Y vos en la misma hallado. Liseo. j,A Madrid? . . . Leandro. Dexele ayer, cansado de no salir 90 LA DAMA BOBA 147 con pretensiones eansadas. Liseo. Essas van adjetiuadas eon esperar y sufrir. Holgara por yr con vos: Uebaramos vn camino. Leandro. Si vays a lo que ymagino, nunca lo permita Dios. Liseo. No llebo que pretender; a negocios echos voy. j Soys de esse lugar ? Leandro. Si soy. Liseo. Luego podreys conozer la persona que os nonbrare. Leandro. Es Madrid vna talega de piezas donde se anega quanto su maquina pare : los reyes, roques y arfiles eonozidas cassas tienen, los demas que van y vienen son como peones viles ; todo es alii confussion. Liseo. No es Otabio pieza vil. Leandro. Si es quien yo pienso, es arfil, y pieza de estimacion. Liseo. Quien yo digo es padre noble de dos hijas. Leandro. Ya se quien ; pero dixerades bien que de vna palma y de un roble. Liseo. I Como ? Leandro. Que entranbas lo son ; pues Nise bella es la palma, Finea vn roble, sin alma y discurso de razon. Nise es muger tan disereta, sabia, gallarda, entendida. 95 100 105 110 115 120 125 148 ACTO PBIMEBO Liseo. Turin. Liseo. Leandro. Liseo. Leandro. Liseo. quanto Finea eneogida, boba, indigna y ynperf eta ; y aun pienso que ohi tratar que la casauan. Liseo. [a Turin] jNo escuehas? i^*' Leandro. Verdad es que no habra muchas que la puedan ygualar en el riquissimo dote. Mas .; ay de aquel desdichado que espera vna bestia al lado ! l^^ Pues mas de algun marquesote a codigia del dinero pretende la boberia desta dama, y a porfia haeen su calle terrero. 140 [a Turin] Yo Uebo Undo coneierto ; a gentiles vistas voy. * [a Liseo] Disimula. Tal estoy, que apenas a hablar aeierto. [a Turin] En fin, senor, jNise es bella 145 y discreta? . . . Es gelebrada por vnica, y desseada por las partes que ay en ella de gente mui pringipal. j Tan neeia es esa Finea ? 150 Mucho sentis que lo sea. Contenplo de sangre ygual dos eosas tan desiguales ; mas I come en dote lo son? Que hermanas fuera razon 155 que los tubieran yguales. Leandro. Oygo degir que vn hermano de su padre la dexo esta hazienda, porque vio LA DAMA BOBA 149 que sin ella fuera en vano 160 cassarla con honbre ygual a su noble nacimiento, supliendo el entendimiento con el oro. Liseo. El hizo mal. Leandro. Antes bien ; porque con esto tan discreta vendra a ser como Nise. 165 Turin jHas de comer? Liseo. Ponme lo que dizes presto, aunque ya puedo eseusallo. Leandro. jMandays, seiior, otra cossa? 170 Liseo. Seruiros. [Entrese Leandro]. i Que liuda esposa ! Turin. j Que haremos ? Liseo. Ponte a caballo; que ya no quiero comer. Turin. No te aflixas, pues no es echo. Liseo. Que me ha de matar, sospecho, si es necia, y propia muger. 175 Turin. Como tu no digas si, j quien te puede cautibar ? Liseo. Verla, j no me ha de matar. aunque es basiliseo en mi ? *180 Turin. No, senor. Liseo. Tanbien aduierte que, siendo tan entendida Nise, me dara la vida, si ella me diere la muerte. * Entrense, y salgan Otabio, viejo, y Miseno Otabio. Esta fue la intension que tuuo Pabio. Miseno. Pareze que os quexais. Otaiio. Bien mal enplea mi hermano tanta hazienda, no fue sabio ; 185* 150 ACTO PBIMEEO bien es que Pabio, y que no sabio sea. Miseno. Si en dexaros hazienda os hizo agrabio, vos propio lo juzgad. Otabio. Dexo a Finea, 190 a titulo de sinple, tan gran renta, que a todos hasta agora nos sustenta. Miseno. Dexola a la que mas le parezia de sus sobrinas. Otabio. Vos andais discrete; pues a quien heredo su boberia, l^'S dexo su hazienda para el mismo effeto. Miseno. De Nise la diuina gallardia, las altas esperanzas, y el conceto OS deben de tener apasionado. i Quien duda que le soys mas inclinado ? 200 Otabio. Mis hijas son entranbas ; mas yo os juro, que me enf adan y eansan eada vna por su camino, quando mas procure mostrar amor y ynclinacion a alguna. Si ser Finea sinple es caso duro, 205 ya lo suplen los bienes de Fortuna y algunos que le dio naturaleza, sienpre mas liberal de la belleza. Pero ver tan disereta y arrogante a Nisse mas me pudre y martiriza, 210* y que de bien hablada y elegante el vulgazo la aprueba y soleniza. Si me cassara agora — y no te espante esta opinion, que alguno la autoriza — , de dos estremos, boba o baehillera, 215 de la boba elecgion sin duda hiziera. * Miseno. No digays tal, por Dios ; que estan sujetas a no aeertar en nada. Otabio. Eso es engano ; que yo no trato aqui de las diseretas ; solo a las baehilleras desengano. 220 LA DAMA BOBA If)! De vna cassada son partes perfetas virtud y onestidad. Miseno. Parir eadano, no dixerades mal, si es argumento de que vos no quereys entendimiento. Otabio. Esta la discreeion de vna cassada en amar y servir a su marido, en vivir recogida y recatada, honesta en el hablar y en el vestido ; en ser de la familia respetada, en retirar la vista y el oydo, en ensenar los hijos euidadosa, pregiada mas de linpia que de hermosa. j Para que quiero yo que bachillera la que es propia muger eoncetos diga ? Esto de Nise por cassar me altera; lo mas como lo menos me f atiga. Resuelbome en dos eosas que quisiera, pues la virtud es bien que el medio siga : que Finea supiera mas que sabe, y Nise menos. Miseno. Hablais euerdo y grabe. Otabio. Si, todos los estremos tienen vizio; yo estoy con justa causa discontento. Miseno. Y j que ay de vuestro yerno ? Otabio. Aqui el oficio de padre y dueiio alarga el pensamiento. Casso a Finea, que es notable yndicio de las leyes del mundo al oro atento. Nise, tan sabi'a, docta y entendida, apenas halla vn onbre que la pida ; y por Finea simple, por instantes me solicitan tantos pretendientes, —del oro mas que del yngenio amantes — que me cansan amigos y parientes. Miseno. Razones ay al parezer bastantes. 225 230 235 240 245 250 152 ACTO PBIMEBO [OtaMo.] Vna hallo yo, sin muchos aparentes, y es el busear vn onbre en todo estado lo que le falta mas, con mas cuidado. Miseno. Eso no entiendo bien. Otabio. Estadme atento. Ningun honbre nacido a pensar viene que le falta Miseno entendimiento, y eon esto no busea lo que tiene. Ve que el oro le falta y el sustento, y piensa que busealle le conuiene ; pues como ser la falta el oro entienda, dexa el entendimiento, y busea hazienda. 255 260 Miseno. ] Piedad del cielo que ningun nazido se' quexe de faltarle entendimiento ! 265 Otabio. Pues a muchos, que nunca lo han crehido, les falta, y son sus obras argumento. Miseno. Nise es aquesta. Otabio. Quitame el sentido su desbanecimiento; Miseno. Vn casamiento OS traygo yo. 270 Otabio. Casemosla ; que temo alguna negedad de tanto estremo. « [Entrense Otabio y Miseno, y salgaii] Nise y criada Celia, Nise. I, Diote el libro ? Celia. Y tal, que obliga a no abrille ni toealle. Nise. Pues, jporque? Celia. Por no ensucialle, si quieres que te lo diga ; en candido pergamino vienen muchas flores de oro. 275 Nise. Bien lo mereze Eliodoro, m griego poeta diuino. 280 LA DAM A BOB A 15?, Celia. jPoeta? Pues pareziome prosa. Nise. Tanbien ay poessia en prosa. Celia. No lo sabia ; mire el pringipio, y cansome. Nise. Es que no se da a entender 285* con el artificio griego hasta el quinto libro, y luego todo se viene a saber quanto precede a los quatro. Celia. En fin, j es poeta en prosa 1 290 Nise. Y de vna historia amorosa digna de aplauso y teatro. * Ay dos prosas diferentes, poetica y historial : la historial, lisa y leal, 295 cuenta verdades patentes con f rasi y terminos elaros ; la poetica es hermosa, * varia, eulta, ligenciosa y eseura, aun a ingenios raros; 300 tiene mil exornaciones y retoricas figuras. Celia. I Pues de cosas tan escuras juzgan tantos? Nise. No le pones, Celia, pequeiia objeccion ; 305 pero asi corre el engaiio del mundo. *[Salgan] Finea, dama, con vnas cartillas, y Bufino, maestro. Finea. Ni en todo el ario * saldre con essa lizion. Celia. Tu hermana con su maestro, [a Nise] 154 ACTO FKIMEBO Nise. Celia. Rufino. Finea. Bufino. Finea. Bufino. Finea. Bufino. Finea. Bufino. Finea. Bufino. Finea. Bufino. Finea. Bufino. Finea. Bufino. Finea. Bufino. Finea. Rufino. Finea. I Conoze las letras ya ? En los pringipios esta. Pagiengia, o no letras muestro. jQue es esta? Letra sera. jLetra? jPues es otra eosa? i No sino el alba ! \ Que hermosa bestia! [apart e] Bien, bien ; si, ya, ya : el alba debe de ser, quando andaua entre las coles. Esta es ea : los espanoles no la solemos poner en nuestra lengua xamas. Usanla mucho alemanes y flamencos. i Que galanes van todos estos detras! Estas son letras tanbien. ^Tantas ay? Beyntitres son. A [o] ra baya de lieion, que yo lo dire mui bien. ^Que es esta? jAquesta? No se. Y jesta? No se que responda. Y jesta? j Qual ? j Esta redonda letra ? Bien. Luego I acerte ? i Linda bestia ! jAssi, assi! Bestia, por Dios, se llamaua ; 310 315 320 325 330 LA DAMA BOBA 155 pero no se me aeordaua. 335« Rufino. Esta es erre, y esta es y. Finea. j Pues si tu lo trahes errado ? * Nise. i Con que pesadunbre estan ! Rufino. Di aqui : b, a, n, ban. Finea. jDonde van? Rufi,no. i Gentil cuidado ! 340 Finea. Que se van j no me dezias ? Rufino. Letras son: miralas bien. Finea. Ya miro. Rufino. B, e, n, ven. Finea. j Adonde ? Rufino. Adonde en mis dias no te buelba mas a ver. 345 Finea. j Ven, no dizes ? Pues ya voy. Rufino. jPerdiendo el juicio estoy! Es ynposible aprender. i Vine Dios ! que te he de dar vna palmeta. Finea. jTu a mi? * [El maestro] saca vna palmatoria. 350 Rufino. Muestra la mano. Finea. Ela aqui. Rufino. Aprende a deletrear. Finea. i Ay, perro ! j aquesto es palmeta ? Rufino. Pues jque pensauas? Finea. i Aguarda ! Nise. Ella le mata. Celia. Ya tarda tu fabor, Nise disereta. 355 Rufino. i Ay, que me mata ! Nise. j Que es esto ? jA tu maestro? Finea. Hame dado causa. 156 ACTO PBIMEEO Nise. I Como ? Finea. Hame enganado, Rufino. jYo enganado? Nise. Dila presto. Finea. Bstaua aprendiendo aqui la letra bestia y la ca. Nise. La primera sabes ya. Finea. Es verdad : ya la aprendi. Saco vn goquete de palo, y al eabo vna media bola, pidiome la mano sola, — i mira que Undo regalo ! — y apenas me la tome, quando ; cas ! la bola asienta, que pica como pimienta, y la mano me quebro. Nise. Quando el dieipulo ygnora, tiene el maestro licencia de castigar. Finea. i Linda gieneia! Rufino. Aunque me diese, senora, vuestro padre quanto tiene, no he de darle otra lizion. Celia. Puesse. [Entrese Rufino] Nise. No tienes razon ; sufrir y aprender eonuiene. Finea. Pues las letras que alii estan, I, yo no las aprendo bien ? Vengo quando dize ven. y voy quando dize van. I, Que quiere, Nise, el maestro. quebrandome la cabeza con ban, bin, bon 1 Celia. Ella es pieza de rey. [apart e] Nise. Quiere el padre nuestro *360 365 370* 375 380 385 LA DAMA BOBA 157 que aprendamos. Finea. Ya yo se el Padre Nuestro. Nise. No digo, sino el nuestro, y el eastigo por darte memoria fue. Finea. Pongame vn ylo en el dedo, y no aquel palo en la palma. Celia. Mas que se te sale el alma, si lo sabe . . . Finea. Muerta quedo. i Celia ! no se lo digas. y veras que te dare. * [Saiga] Clara, criada Clara. Tope eontigo, a la fee. [a Finea] Nise. Ya, Celia, las dos amigas se ban juntado. Celia. A nadie quiere mas en todas las eriadas. Clara. i Dame albrigias, tan bien dadas. como el suceso requiere ! Finea. Pues jde que son? Clara. Ya pario nuestra gata la romana. Finea. j Qierto, cierto ? Clara. Esta maiiana. Finea. j Pario en el tejado ? Clara. No. Finea. Pues jdonde? Clara. En el aposento ; que gierto se echo de ber su entendimiento. Finea. Es muger notable. Clara. Escueha vn momento. Salia por donde suele 390 395* 400 405* 410 * 158 ACTO PEIMEMO el sol, mui galan y rieo, con la librea del rey, ^^^* Colorado y amarillo; andauan los carretones * quitandole el romadizo * que da la noche a Madrid. Aunque no se quien me dixo ^^0 que era la calle Mayor * el soldado mas antiguo, pues nunca el mayor de Flandes presento tantos seruizios. Pregonauan agua ardiente, 4^5* — agua viznieta del vino — , los honbres earne'stolendas, * todos naranjas y gritos. Dormian las rentas grandes, despertauan los offizios, ^3"* tocauan los botiearios sus almirezes a pino, quando la gata de cassa comenzo con mil suspiros a dezir : \ Ay, ay, ay, ay, 435 que quiero parir, marido ! Lebantose Oziquimocho, * y fue corriendo a dezirlo a sus parientes y deudos, que deben de ser moriscos, 440 porque el lenguage que hablaban * en tiple de monazillos, * si no es gerigonza entrellos, * no es espanol, ni latino. Vino vna gata biuda, 445 con bianco y negro vestido, — sospecho que era su aguela — , gorda, y conpuesta de ogico ; y si lo que arrastra onrra, * * LA DAMA BOBA 159 como dizen los antiguos, 450 tan onrrada es por la eola como otros por sus oficios. Truxole cierta manteea, desayunose, y prebino en que receuir el parto ; 455 hubo temerarios gritos ; no es burla, pario seys gatos tan remendados y lindos, que pudieran, a ser pias, * Uebar el coehe mas rieo. 460 Regozijados baxaron de los texados vezinos, eaballetes y terrados, todos los deudos y amigos : Lamicola, Araniealdo, 465 Marfuz, Marramao, Mizilo, Tumbaollin, Mieo, Miturrio, Rabieorto, Zapaquildo; vnos vestidos de pardo, otros de bianco vestidos, 470 y otros con forros de martas, en cueras y capotillos. De negro vino a la fiesta el gallardo Golosino, luto que mostraua entonzes 475 de su padre, el gaticidio. Qual la morzilla presenta, qual el pez, qual el cabrito, qual el gorrion astuto, qual el sinple palomino. 480 Trazando quedan agora, para mayor regozijo, en el gatesco senado, correr gansos einco a cineo. * Ven presto ; que si los oyes, ^^^ 3 60 ACTO PRIME BO Finea. Clara. Finea. diras que parezen ninos, y daras a la parida el parabien de los hijos. No me pudieras contar cossa para el gusto iiiio de mayor contentamiento. Camina. Tras ti camino. 4!I0 [Entrense Finea y Clara] Nise. jAy locura semejante? Celia. j Y Clara es boba tanbien ? Nise. Por esso la quiere bien. Celia. La semejanza es bastante ; aunque yo pienso que Clara es mas bellaea que boba. Nise. Con esto la engaiia y roba. * [Salgan] Duardo, Feniso, Laurenzio, cahalleros 4'.)5 Duardo. Feniso. Laurencio. Duardo. Feniso. Nise. Laurencio. Nise. Laurencio. Aqui como estrella elara a su hermosura nos guia. Y aun es del sol su luz pura. i reyna de la hermosura ! i Nise ! i seiiora mia ! Caballeros . . . Esta vez, por vuestro yngenio gallardo, de vn soneto de Duardo OS hemos de hazer juez. jA mi, que soy de Finea hermana y sangre? A vos sola, que soys Sibila espanola, no cumana, ni eritrea, a vos, por quien ya las Gracias 500 505 510 LA BAMA BOBA 161 son quatro y las Musas diez, es justo hazeros juez. Nise. Si ygnoranzias, si desgracias truxerades a juzgar, era justa la eleeeion. Feniso. Vuestra rara diserezion, ynposible de alabar, f ue justamente elegida ; oyd, senora, a Eduardo. Nise. Baya el soneto ; ya aguardo, aunque de yndigna corrida. Duardo. La ealidad elementar resiste mi amor que a la virtud geleste aspira, y en las mentes angelicas se mira, donde la ydea del calor consiste. No ya como elemento el fuego viste el alma cuyo buelo al sol admira ; que de ynferiores mundos se retira, adonde el serafin ardiendo asiste. No puede elementar fuego abrasarme. La virtud §elestial que viuifica, enuidia el verme a la suprema algarme ; que donde el fuego angelico me apliea, ieomo podra mortal poder toearme, que eterno y sin contradiction inplica? Nise. Ni vna palabra entendi. Duardo. Pues en parte se leyera, que mas de alguno dixera por arroganzia : — Yo si. La yntengion, o el argumento, es pintar a quien ya Uega libre del amor, que ciega con luz del entendimiento, a la alta contenplacion de aquel puro amor sin fin, donde es fuego al serafin. 515 520 525* 530 535 540 545 162 ACTO FBIMEBO Nise. Argumento y yntenzion queda entendido. Laurencio. i Prof undos conceptos ! Feniso. Mueho la esconden. Duardo. Tres fuegos que corresponden, hermosa Nise, a tres mundos, dan fundamento a los otros. Nise. Bien los podeys declarar. Duardo. Calidad elementar es el ealor en nosotros ; la celestial es virtud que calienta y que reerea, y la angelica es la ydea del calor. Nise. Con ynquietud escucho lo que no entiendo. Duardo. El elemento en nosotros es fuego. Nise. jEntendeys vosotros' Duardo. El puro sol que estays viendo en el gielo fuego es, y fuego el entendimiento serafico ; pero siento que asi difieren los tres ; que el que elementar se llama, abrasa quando se aplica ; el celeste viuifiea, y el sobreceleste ama. Nise. No discurras, per tu vida ; vete a eseuelas. Duardo. Donde estas, lo son. Nise. Yo no escucho mas, de no entenderte corrida. Escriue facil . . . 550 555 560 565 570 575 LA DAMA BOBA 163 a lo que en cosas diuinas 580 Duardo. Platon, escriuio, puso cortinas ; que tales, como estas, son matemathicas figuras y enigmas. # Nise. Oye, Laurenzio. Peniso. Ella OS ha puesto silenzio. [a Duardo\ 585 Duardo. Temio las cosas escuras. Feniso. Es muger. Duardo. La elaridad a todos es agradable, que se escriua, o que se hable. * Nise aparte * Nise. i, Como va de voluntad ? 590 Laurencio. Como quien la tiene en ti. Nise. Yo te la pago mui bien. No traygas contigo quien * me eclipse el hablarte ansi. Laurencio. Yo, senora, no me atrebo 595 por mi humildad a tus ojos ; que dando en viles despojos se af renta el rayo de Febo ; pero, si quieres passar al alma, hallarasla riea de la fee que amor publica. Nise. Vn papel te quiero dar ; pero j como podra ser, que destos visto no sea 1 Laurencio. Si en lo que el alma dessea me quieres f aborezer, mano y papel podre aqui asir juntos atreuido, como fin j as que has eahido. Nise. i Jesus ! [cae] 600 605 164 ACTO PBIMEBO Laurencio. I, Que es eso ? Nise. Cahi. Laurencio. Con las obras respondiste. Nise. Essas responden mexor ; que no ay sin obras amor. Laurencio. Amor en obras eonsiste. Nise. Laurencio mio, a Dios queda. Duardo y Feniso, adios. Duardo. y tanta ventura a vos, como hermosura os coneeda. [er. j Que OS ha dieho del soneto Nisse? Laurencio. Que es mui estremado. Duardo. Habreys los dos murmurado ; que hazeys versos en efeto. Laurencio. Ya no es menester hazeUos para saber murmurallos; que se atrebe a censurallos, quien no se atrebe a entendellos. Feniso. Los dos tenemos que hazer; lieeneia nos podeys dar. Duardo. Las leyes de no estorbar queremos obedezer. Laurencio. Malicia es esa. Feniso. No es tal. La diuina Nise es vuestra, 0, por lo menos, lo muestra. Laurencio. Pudiera, a tener ygual. 610» 615 [entrense Nise y Celia] 620 625 630 * Despidanse, y quede solo Laurencio. Laurencio. Hermoso soys, sin duda, pensamiento, 635* y aunque honesto tan bien, con ser hermoso, si es calidad del bien ser probechoso, vna parte de tres que os falta siento. Nise, con vn diuino entendimiento, OS enrriqueze de vn amor dichoso ; 640 LA DAMA BOBA 165 Pedro. Laurencio. Pedro. Laurencio. Pedro. Laurencio. Pedro. mas soys de dueiio pobre, y es forzoso, que en la negessid-ad falte el eontento. Si el oro es bianco y §entro del descanso, y el descanso del gusto, yo os prometo, que tarda el nauegar con viento manso. Pensamiento, mudemos de sujeto; si voy neeio tras vos, y en yr me canso, quando vengays tras mi, sereys discreto. Entre Pedro, lacayo de Laurenzio i Que neeio andaua en buscarte fuera de aqueste lugar ! Bien me pudieras hallar con el alma en otra parte. Luego jestas sin ella aqui? Ha podido vn pensamiento redueir su mobimiento desde mi, fuera de mi. jNo has visto que la saeta del relox en ati lugar firme siempre suele estar, aunque nunca esta quieta, y tal vez esta en la vna, y luego en las dos esta ? Pues assi mi alma ya, sin hazer mudanza alguna de la eassa en que me ves, desde Nisse que ha querido a las doze se ha subido, que es numero de ynteres. iPues como es essa mudanza? Como la saeta soy, que desde la vna voy por lo que el circulo alcanza. Senalaua a Nise. Si. 645 650 655 660 665 670 166 ACTO PBIMEBO Laurencio. Pedro. Laurencio. Pedro. Laurencio. Pedro. Pues ya sefialo en Pinea. I, Esso quieres que te crea ? jPor que no, si ay causa? 675 Di. Nise es vna sola hermosa, Finea las doze son : ora de mas bendizion, mas descansada y eopiosa. En las doze el ofizial deseansa, y bastale ser ora entonzes de comer tan precissa y natural. Quiero de§ir que Finea ora de sustento es, cuyo descanso ya ves quanto el honbre le dessea. Denme pues las doze a mi, que soy pobre, con muger, que dandome de comer, es la mexor para mi. Nise es ora ynf ortunada, donde mi planeta ayrado de sestil y de quadrado me mira con frente armada. Finea es ora dichosa, donde Jupiter benigno me esta mirando de trino, con aspecto y faz hermosa. Doyme a entender, que poniendo en Finea mis cuidados, a quarenta mil ducados las manos voy preuiniendo. Esta, Pedro, desde oy ha de ser enpressa mia. Para aprobar tu ossadia, en vna sospecha estoy. 680 685 690 695 700 705 LA DAMA BOBA 167 Laurencio. Pedro. Laurencio. Pedro. Laurencio. Pedro. Laurencio. Pedro. Laurencio. Pedro. Laurencio. Pedro. jQual? Que te has de arrepentir por ser sinple esta muger. jQuien has visto de comer, de descansar y vestir arrepentido xamas ? Pues esto viene eon ella. j A Nise disereta y bella, Laurenzio, dexar podras por vna boba ynorante ? i Que ynorante maxadero ! j No ves que el sol del dinero va del yngenio adelante? El que es pobre, ese es tenido por sinple, el rico por sabio. No ay en el nazer agrabio, por notable que aya sido, que el dinero no le encubra ; ni ay f alta en naturaleza, que con la mucha pobreza no se aumente y se descubra. Desde oy quiero enamorar a Finea. He sospechado que a vn yngenio tan gerrado, no ay puerta por donde entrar. Yo se qual. Yo no, por Dios. Clara, su boba criada. Sospecho que es mas taymada que boba. Demos los dos en enamorarlas. Creo que Clara sera terzera mas facil. 710 715 720 725 730 735 168 ACTO PSIMESO Laurencio. Pedro. Laurencio. Pedro. Laurencio. Pedro. Laurencio. Finea. Laurencio. Finea. Laurencio. Finea. Laurencio. Finea. Desa manera, seguro va mi desseo. * [Salgan] Finea y Clara Ellas vienen ; disimula. Si puede ser en mi mano. i Que ha de poder vn cristiano enamorar vna mula! Linda eara y talle tiene. jAsi fuera el alma! Agora eonozeo, hermosa seiiora, que no solamente viene el sol de las orientales partes, pues de vuestros ojos sale con rayos mas rojos, y luzes piramidales. Pero si, quando salis, tan grande fuerza traheys, al mediodia j que hareys 1 Comer, eomo vos dezis, no piramides ni peros, sino cosas probechosas. Bsas estrellas hermosas, esos nocturnes luzeros me tienen fuera de mi. • Si vos andays con estrellas, jque mucho que os traygan ellas arromadizado ansi ? Aeostaos sienpre tenprano, y dormid con tocador. jNo entendeys que os tengo amor puro, onesto, linpio y llano? J Que es amor? I Amor ? Desseo. jDe que? 740 745 750 755 760 765 LA DAMA BOBA Laurencio. De vna cossa ermosa. Finea. jEs oro? jes diamante? ^es cosa destas que mui lindas veo? Laurencio. No, sino de la hermosura de vna muger eomo vos, que, eomo lo ordena Dios, para buen fin se procura; y esta, que vos la teneys, engendra desseo en mi. Finea. Y yo jque he de hazer aqui, si se que vos me quereys? Laurencio. Quererme. jNo habeys oydo que amor eon amor se paga ? Finea. No se yo eomo se haga, porque nunea yo he querido, ni en la cartilla lo vi, ni me lo enseno mi madre. Preguntarelo a mi padre . . . Laurencio. Esperaos, que no es ansi. Finea. jPues eomo? Laurencio. Destos mis ojos saldran vnos rayos vivos, eomo espiritus visiuos, de sangre y de fuego rojos, que se entraran por los vuestros. Finea. No, serior ; arriedro baya cossa en que espiritus aya. Laurencio. Son los espiritus nuestros, que juntos se han de engender, y eausan vn dulge fuego, con que se pierde el sosiego, hasta que se viene a ver el alma en la posicion, que es el fin del cassamiento; que eon este santo yntento justos los amores son. 169 770 775 780 785 790 795 800 170 ACTO PRIME BO Finea. Pedro. Clara. Pedro. Clara. Pedro. Clara. Pedro. Clara. Finea. Laurencio. Finea. Laurencio. Finea. Laurencio. Finea. Laurencio. porque el alma que yo tengo a vuestro pecho se passa. jTanto pasa quien se eassa? Con el, como os digo, vengo tan muerto por vuestro amor, que aquesta oeasion busque. [a Clara] j Que es amor ? que no lo se. ^Amor? locura, furor. jPues loea tengo de estar? Es vna dulce locura, por quien la mayor cordura suelen los hombres trocar. Yo lo que mi ama hiziere, eso hare. Qiencia es amor, que el mas rudo labrador a pocos cursos la adquiere. En comenzando a querer, enferma la voluntad de vna dulce enfermedad. No me la mandes tener, que no he tenido en mi vida sino solos sabanones. Agradanme las liciones. Tu veras, de mi querida, como has de quererme aqui, que es luz del entendimiento amor. Lo del cassamiento me quadra. Y me inporta a mi. jPues Uebarame a su cassa, y tendrame alia tanbien? Si, senora. Y J eso es bien ? Y mui justo en quien se cassa. 805 810 815 820 825 830* 835 LA DAMA BOBA 171 Finea. Laurencio. Finea. Laurencio. Finea. Laurencio. Finea. Clara. Pedro. Clara. Finea. Clara. Finea. 840 845 Vuestro padre y vuestra madre cassados f ueron ansi : deso nacistes. sYo? Si. Quando se casso mi padre, j no estaua yo alii tan poco 1 i Ay semejante ygnoranzia ! Sospecho que esta gananzia camina a bolberme loco, [apart e] Mi padre pienso que viene. Pues voyme : aeordaos de mi. Que me plaze. [entrese Laurenzio] Fuesse. Si. Y seguirle me conviene. Tenedme en vuestra memoria. [entrese Pedro] Si OS vays j eomo ? jHas visto, Clara, 850 lo que es amor ? j Quien pensara tal cosa? No ay pepitoria que tenga mas menudenzias de manos, tripas y pies. Mi padre, eomo lo ves, anda en mil inpertinenzias. Tratado me ha de cassar con vn caballero yndiano. seuillano o toledano. Dos vezes me vino a hablar,-. y esta postrera saco de vna carta vn naypecito mui repulido y bonito, y luego que le miro, me dixo: "Toma, Finea; ese es tu marido." Y fuesse. 855 860 865 172 ACTO PRIMEBO * Clara. Finea. Clara. Finea. Clara. Finea. Clara. Finea. Clara. Yo eomo en fin no supiesse esto de eassar que sea, tome el negro del marido, que no tiene mas de eara, cuera y ropilla ; mas, Clara, i, que ynporta que sea pulido este marido, o quien es, si todo el cuerpo no passa de la pretina? Que en casa ninguno sin piernas ves. Pardiez, que tienes razon. jTienesle ay? Vesle aqui. Saca vn retrato jBuena eara y cuerpo! Si. Mas no passa del jubon. Luego este no podra andar. jAy, los ojitos que tiene! Senor con Nise . . . j Si viene a casarte? No ay eassar ; que este que se va de aqui tiene piernas, tiene traza. Y mas, que eon perro caza ; que el mozo me muerde a mi. 870 880 885 * Enire Otabio con Nise Otabio. Por la calle de Toledo dizen que entro por la posta. Nise. j Pues como no llega ya ? Otabio. Algo por dieha acomoda. Tenblando estoy de Finea. Nise. Aqui esta, seiior, la nobia. Otabio. Hi ja, j no sabes ? Nise. No sabe; que esa es su desdicha toda. 890 895 LA DAMA BOBA 173 Otahio. Ya esta en Madrid tu marido. Finea. Sienpre tu memoria es poca: j no me le diste en vn naype ? Otaiio. Esa es la figura sola, que estaua en el retratado ; que lo viuo viene agora. * Celia entre Celia. Aqui esta el senor Lisseo, apeado de vnas postas. Otahio. Mira, Finea, que estes mui prudente, y mui senora. Llegad sillas y almohadas. 900 905 * [Salgan] Lisseo, Turin y criados Liseo. Esta licenQia se toma quien viene a ser hijo vuestro. Otahio. Y quien viene a darnos onrra. Liseo. Agora senor, degidme; j quien es de las dos mi esposa? Finea. Yo : j no lo ve ? Liseo. Bien merezco los brazos. Finea. jLuego no inporta? Otahio. Bien le puedes abrazar. Finea. Clara . . . Clara. j Senora 1 Finea. Aun agora biene eon piernas y pies. Clara. Esto jes burla o xerigonza? Finea. El verle de medio arriba me daba mayor congoxa. Otahio. Abrazad vuestra cunada. Liseo. No fue la fama engaiiosa, que hablaua en vuestra hermosura. Nise. Soy mui vuestra servidora. 910 915 920 174 ACTO PBIMEBO Liseo. Lo que es el entendimiento, a toda Espana alborota. La diuina Nise os llaman; soys discreta eomo hermosa, y hermosa con mucho estremo. Finea. jPues como requiebra a esotra, si viene a ser mi marido? jNo es mas neeio? . . . Otabio. Calla, loea. Sentaos, hijos, por mi vida. Liseo. Turin . . . Turin. i Seiior ? Liseo. Linda tonta. Otabio. jComo venis del camino? Liseo. Con los desseos enoja ; que sienpre le hazen mas largo. Finea. Ese macho de la noria pudierays haber pedido, que anda como vna persona. Nise. Calla, hermana. Finea. Callad vos. Nise. Aunque hermosa y virtuosa, es Finea deste humor. Liseo. Turin, jtraxiste las joyas? Turin. No ha llegado nuestra gente. lAseo. i Que de olvidos se perdonan en vn camino a criados ! Finea. I Joyas traheys ? Turin. Y le sobra de las joyas el pringipio, tanto el jo se le acomoda. [aparte] Otahio. Calor traheys. jQuereys algo? I Que OS aflixe ? j Que os congoxa ? Liseo. Agua quisiera pedir. Otabio. Haraos mal el agua sola. Traygan vna caxa. 925 930 935 940 945 950* LA DAMA BOBA Finea. A fee, que si como viene angora fuera el sabado passado, que hizimos, yo y esa moza, vn menudo . . . 175 955 Otabio. Calla, nezia. Finea. Mueha especia, linda cossa. * Entren con agua, toalla, saiba y vna caxa. Celia. El agua esta aqui. Otabio. Corned. Liseo. El verla, seiior, proboea, porque con su risa dize * que la beba, y que no coma. Beba. Finea. El bebe como vna mula. Turin. Buen requiebro. [apart e] Otabio. i Que enfadosa que estas oy ! Calla, si quieres. Finea. Aun no habeys dexado gota. Esperad : os linpiare. Otabio. Pues 4tu le linpias? Finea. j Que ynporta ? Liseo. Media barba me ha quitado; lindamente me enamora. [aparte] Otabio. Que descanseys es razon. Quiero, pues no se reporta. Uebarle de aqui a Finea. Liseo. Tarde el descanso se cobra. que en tal desdicha se pierde. [aparte] Otabio. Aora bien : entrad vosotras, y aderezad su apossento. Finea. Mi cama pienso que sobra para los dos. Nise. jTu no ves que no estan eehas las bodas? Finea. Pues jque ynporta? 960 965 970 975 •980 176 ACTO PBIMEBO Nise. Finea. Nise. Finea. Liseo. Otabio. Ven conmigo. Liseo. Turin. Liseo. Turin. Liseo. Turin. Liseo. jAUa dentro? Si. Adios. j Ola ! Las del mar de mi desdicha me anegan entre sus ondas. [aparte] Yo tanbien, hijo, me voy, para prebenir las cosas, que para que os desposeys con mas aplauso me tocan. Dios OS guarde. No se yo de que manera disponga mi desbentura. j Ay de mi ! [aparte] Todos se van; queden Liseo y Turin. jQuieres quitarte las botas? No, Turin, sino la vida. j Ay boba tan espantosa ? Lastima me ha dado a mi, considerando que ponga en vn cuerpo tan hermoso el gielo vn alma tan loea. Aunque estubiera eassado por poder en causa propia, me pudiera deseassar. La ley es liana y notoria, pues congertando muger con sentido, me desposan con vna bestia del canpo, con vna villana tosca. Luego j no te cassaras ? i Mai ay a la hazienda toda que con tal pension se adquiere, que eon tal genso se toma ! Demas que aquesta muger, 985 990 995 1000 1005 1010 « LA DAMA BOBA 177 si bien es hermosa y moza, I, que puede parir de mi, 1015 sino tigres, leones y onzas? Turin. Eso es engano; que vemos por esperiengias y historias mil hijos de padres sabios, que de negios los desonrran. 1020 Liseo. Verdad es que Cieeron tubo a Marco Tulio en Roma, que era vn caballo, vn eamello. Turin. De la misma suerte consta que de neeios padres suele 1025 salir vna fenis sola.' Liseo. Turin, por lo general, y es eonsequenzia forzosa, lo seme j ante se engendra. Oy la palabra se ronpa, 1030 rasganse cartas y firmas; que ningun tesoro eonpra la libertad. Aun, si fuera Nise . . . Turin. j que bien te reportas ! Dizen que si a vn honbre ayrado, 1035 que eolerico se arroja, le pusiessen vn espejo, en mirando en el la sonbra que representa su cara, se tienpla y desapasiona. lO^O Assi tu, eomo tu gusto miraste en su hermana hermosa, — que el gusto es cara del alma, pues su libertad se nonbra— luego tenplaste la tuya. 1045 Liseo. Bien dizes, porque ella sola el enojo de su padre, que, eomo ves, me alborota, me puede quitar, Turin. 178 ACTO PMIMEBO Turin. j Que no ay que tratar de esotra ? 1050 Liseo. i, Pues he de dexar la vida por la muerte temerosa, y por la noehe enlutada el sol que los gielos dora, por los aspides las aves, 1055 por las espinas las rosas, y por vn demonio vn angel ? Turin. Digo que razon te sobra : que no esta el gusto en el oro ; que son el oro y las oras 1060 mui dibersas. Liseo. Desde aqui renunzio la dama boba. Fin del primero acta de la Dama boba LA DAMA BOBA 379 SEGUNDO ACTO DE LA DAMA BOBA PEESONAS DEL SEGUNDO ACTO Duardo Laurenzio Peniso Lisseo Nisse Qelia Clara Finea Pedro Turin Otauio Vn maestro de danzar Rubrica de Lope de Vega AcTO Segundo Duardo, Laurencio, Feniso Feniso. En fin ha passado vn mes, y no se cassa Lisseo. Duardo. No sienpre muebe el desseo el codizioso ynteres. Laurencio. De Nise la enf ermedad ha sido causa bastante. Feniso. Ver a Finea ignorante tenplara su voluntad. Laurencio. Menos lo esta que solia. Temo que amor ha de ser artifieioso a enzender piedra tan elada y f ria. Duardo. Tales milagros ha hecho en gente rustica amor. 1065 1070 1075 180 ACTO SEGUNDO Feniso. No se tendra por menor dar alma a su rudo peeho. Laurencio. Amor, senores, ha sido aquel ingenio profundo, que llaman alma del mundo, y es el dotor que ha tenido la eatreda de las eieneias, porque solo con amor aprende el honbre mexor sus diuinas diferenzias. Assi lo sintio Platon; esto Aristotel'es dijo, que eomo del gielo es hi jo, es todo contenplazion. (El desseo de saber, que es al honbre natural, ensena eon fuerza ygual) Delia nazio el admirarse, y de admirarse nazio el filosophar que dio luz con que pudo fundarse toda giengia artificial. Y a amor se ha de agradezer que el desseo de saber es al hombre natural. Amor con fuerza suaue dio al honbre el saber sentir, dio leyes para viuir, politico, honesto y graue. Amor republicas hizo ; que la concordia nazio de amor, con que a ser boluio lo que la guerra desizo. Amor dio lengua a las aves, vistio la tierra de frutos, y como prados enxutos. 1080 1085 1090* 1095 1100 1105 Feniso. Duardo. Feniso. Laurencio. Feniso. Laurencio. Feniso. Duardo. Feniso. LA DAMA BOBA ronpio el mar con fuertes naues. Amor enseno a eseriuir altos y dulges congetos, como de su causa effetos ; amor enseno a vestir al mas rudo, al mas grosero ; de la eleganzia fue amor el maestro, el ynbentor fue de los versos primero ; la musica se le debe, y la pintura; pues, jquien dexara de saber bien, como sus effetos pruebe? No dudo de que a Finea, como ella comienze a amar, la dexe amor de ensenar, por ymposible que sea. Bsta bien pensado ansi, y su padre Ueba yntento por dieha en el eassamiento que ame y sepa. Y yo de aqui, ynfamando amores locos, en linpio vengo a sacar, que pocos deben de amar en lugar que saben pocos. j Linda malicia ! Bstremada. Difigil cosa es saber. Si ; pero facil creher que sabe el que poco o nada. i Que diuino entendimiento tiene Nise ! Qelestial. jComo, siendo negio el mal, ha tenido atreuimiento 181 1110 1115 1120 1125 1130 1135 1140 182 ACTO SE6UND0 para hazerle estos agrabios, de tal yngenio despregios ? Laurencio. Porque de sufrir a neeios suelen enfermar los sabios. Duardo. Ella viene. Feniso. . Y con razon se alegra quanto la mira. Nise. Celia. Nise. Duardo. 1145 Feniso. [Salgan] Nise y Qclia Mucho la historia me admira. [a Celia] Amores pienso que son, fundados en el dinero. Nunea fundo su balor sobre dineros amor, que busca el alma primero. Seiiora, a vuestra salud oy quantas cosas os ven dan alegre parabien, y tienen vida y quietud ; que como vuestra virtud era el sol que se la dio, mientras el mal le eelipso, tanbien lo estuuieron ellas; que hasta ver vuestras estrellas f ortuna el tiempo corrio. Mas como la primavera sale con pies de marfil, y el vario velo sutil tiende en la verde ribera ; cor re el agua lisongera, y estan rinendo las flores sobre tomar las colores. Assi vos sails, trocando el triste tiempo, y senbrando en eanpos de almas, amores. Ya se rien estas fuentes. 1150 1155 1160 1165 1170 1175* LA DAMA BOBA 183 y son perlas las que fueron lagrimas, eon que sintieron esas estrellas ausentes ; y a las aues sus corrientes hazen instrumentos claros 1^80 con que quieren gelebraros. Todo se antigipa a veros, y todo yntenta ofrezeros con lo que puede alegraros. Pues si con veros hazeys '1*5 tales eifetos agora, donde no ay alma, senora, mas de la que vos poneys, en mi jque muestras hareys, que senales de alegria H'^O este venturoso dia, despues de tantos enojos, siendo vos sol de mis ojos, siendo vos alma en la mia ? Laurencio. A estar sin vida lleg[u]e 1195 el tiempo que no os serui ; que fue lo mas que senti, aunque sin mi culpa fue. Yo vuestros males pase, como cuerpo que animais; 1200 vos mouimiento me days ; yo soy instrumento vuestro, que en mi vida y salud muestro todo lo que vos passays. Parabien me den a mi 1205 de la salud que ay en vos, pues que pasamos los dos el mismo mal en que os vi ; solamente os offendi, aunque la diseulpa os muestro, 1210 en que este mal que fue nuestro, 184 ACTO SEGUNDO solo tenerle debia, no vos, que soys alma mia ; yo si, que soy cuerpo vuestro. Nise. Pienso que de oposigion me days los tres parabien. Laurencio. Y es bien, pues lo soys por quien viuen los que vuestros son. Nise. Diuertios, por mi vida, cortandome algunas flores los dos, pues eon sus colores la diferenzia os eonuida deste jardin, porque quiero hablar a Laurenzio vn poco. Duardo. Quien ama y sufre, o es loco, negio. Feniso. Tal premio espero. Buardo. No son vanos mis recelos. Feniso. Ella le quiere. Duardo. Yo hare vn ramillete de fee, pero sembrado de celos. 1215 1220 1225 1230 [Enirense Feniso y Duardo] Laurencio. Ya se han ydo. jPodre yo, Nise, eon mis brazos darte parabien de tu salud? Nise. Desbia, fingido, facil, lisongero, engaiiador, loco, inconstante, mudable honbre, que en vn mes de ausengia, — que bien mereze Uamarse ausenzia la enfermedad — el pensamiento mudaste. Pero mal dixe en vn mes, porque puedes disculparte con que crehiste mi muerte. 1235 1240 LA DAMA BOBA 185 y si mi muerte pensaste, eon gragioso sentimiento pagaste el amor que sabes, mudando el tuyo en Finea. Laurencio. jQue dizes? Nise. Pero bien hazes: tu eres pobre, tu discreto, ella riea y ygnorante ; buseaste lo que no tienes, y lo que tienes dexaste. Diserezion tienes, y en mi la que celebrauas antes dexas eon mueha razon ; que dos yngenios yguales no eonozen superior. Y 6Por dicha, ymaginaste que quisiera yo el ynperio que a los honbres debe darse? El oro que no tenias, tenerle soligitaste enamorando a Pinea. Laurencio. Escueha. Nise. &Que he de escucharte^ Laurencio. j Quien te ha dieho que yo he sido en vn mes tan ineonstante? Nise. I Parezete poco vn mes ? Yo te disculpo, no hables ; que la luna esta en el cielo sin intereses mortales, y en vn mes, y aun algo menos, esta ereziente y menguante. Tu en la tierra, y de Madrid, donde ay tantos vendabales de ynteresses en los honbres, no fue milagro mudarte. Dile, Qelia, lo que has visto. 1245 1250 1255 1260 1265 1270 1275 186 ACTO SEGUNDO CeMa. Ya, Laurenzio, no te espantes, de que Nise, mi senora, desta manera te trate. Yo se que has dicho a Finea requiebros. Laurencio. ] Que me lebantes, Qelia, tales testimonios ! Celia. Tu sabes que son verdades ; y no solo tu a mi dueno yngratamente pagaste, pero tu Pedro, el que tiene de tus secretos las llabes, ama a Clara tiernamente. j Quieres que mas te declare ? Laurencio. Tus gelos ban sido, Qelia, y quieres que yo los pag[u]e. i Pedro a Clara, aquella boba? Nise. Laurenzio, si le enseriaste, j por que te af rentas de aquello en que de giego no eaes ? Astrologo me parezes ; que sienpre de agenos males, sin reparar en los suyos, largos pronostieos hazen. j Que bien enpleas tu ingenio ! "De Nise confieso el talle, mas no es solo el esterior el que obliga a los que saben. ' ' i quien os oyera juntos ! Debeys de hablar en romanzes, porque vn discreto y vn negio (hablando son-sonantes al fin? tendreys correspondenzia) no pueden ser consonantes. j Ay, Laurencio, que buen pago de fee y amor tan notable ! 1280 1285 1290 1295 1300 1305 1310 LA BAMA BOBA 187 Bien dizen, que a los amigos prueba la cama y la carzel. Yo enferme de mis tristezas, y de no verte ni hablarte, sangraronme muehas vezes. i Bien me alegraste la sangre ! Por regalos tuyos tube mudanzas, traygiones, fraudes, pero, pues tan duros fueron, di qiie me diste diamantes. Aora bien : esto cesso. Laurencio. Oye, aguarda. Nise. i, Que te aguarde ? Pretende tu rica boba, aunque yo hare que se casse mas presto que tu lo piensas. Laurencio. Senora . . . 1315 1320 1325 « Entre Liseo, y asga Laurenzio a Nisse Liseo. Esperaua tarde los dessenganos ; mas ya no quiere amor que me engaiie. [aparte] Nise. i Suelta ! Laurencio. No quiero. Liseo. jQue es esto? Nise. Dize Laurenzio que rasg[u]e vnos versos que me dio de cierta dama ynorante, y yo digo que no quiero. Laurencio. Tu podra ser que lo alcanzes de Nisse. Ruegalo tu. Liseo. Si algo tengo que rogarte, haz algo por mis memorias, y rasga lo que tu sabes. Nise. Dexadme los dos. [Vayanse Nise y Celia] Laurencio. i Que ayrada ! 1330 1335 188 ACTO SEGUNDO Liseo. Yo me espanto que te trate eon estos rigores Nisse'. Laurencio. Pues, Lisseo, no te espantes : que es defeto en los diseretos tal vez el no ser afables. Liseo. j Tienes que hazer ? Laurencio. Poco nada. Liseo. Pues bamonos esta tarde por el Prado arriba. Laurencio. Vamos dondequiera que tu mandes. Liseo. Detras de los Eeeoletos quiero hablarte. Laurencio. Si el hablarme no es con las lenguas que dizen, sino con lenguas que hazen, aunque me espanto que sea, dexare cauallo y pajes. Liseo. Bien puedes. [Entrese] Ijaurencio. Yo voy tras ti. i Que celoso y que arrogante ! Finea es boba, y, sin duda, de haberle contado, naze, mis amores y papeles. Ya para consejo es tarde ; que deudas y desafios a que los honrrados salen, para tranpas se dilatan, y no es bien que se dilaten. [Vayo i ' R{i.brica de Lope de Vega 1340 1345 1350 1355 1360 [Salgan] vn Maestro de danzar, y Finea. Maestro. j Tan presto se cansa ? Finea. Si. Y no quiero danzar mas. Maestro. Como no danza a conpas, base enfadado de si. 1365 LA DAUA BOBA 189 Finea. Por poco diera de ogieos saltando ; enf adada vengo. 4 Soy yo urraca que andar tengo por eassa dando salticos? Vn paso, otro contrapaso, floretas, otra floreta . . . i Que locura ! Maestro. \ Que ynperf eta eossa, en vn hermoso vasso poner la naturaleza licor de vn alma tan ruda ! Con que yo salgo de duda que no es alma la belleza. [apart e] Finea. Maestro . . . Maestro. j Senora mia ? Finea. Trae manana vn tanboril. Maestro. Esse es instrumento vil, aunque de mueha alegria. Finea. Que soy mas afizionada al eascabel, os eonfiesso. Maestro. Bs mui de caballos esso. Finea. Hazed vos lo que me agrada, que no es mueha rustiqueza el trahellos en los pies. Harto peor pienso que es trahellos en la cabeza. Maestro. Quiero seguirle el humor, [aparte] Yo hare lo que me mandays. Finea. Yd danzando quando os bays. Maestro. Yo os agradezco el fabor, pero Uebare tras mi mueha gente. Finea. Vn pastelero, vn sastre, y vn eapatero j lleban la gente tras si ? 1370 1375 1380 1385* 1390 1395 1400 190 ACTO SEGVNDO Maestro. No : pero tan poco ellos por la ealle haziendo van sus officios. Finea. jNo podran, si quieren 1 Maestro. Podran hazellos; (y yo no quiero danzar. [Finea.] Pues no entreys aqui. Maestro. No hare, ni en mi vida bolvere.) y yo no quiero danzar. Finea. Pues no entreys aqui. Maestro. No hare. Finea. Ni quiero andar en vn pie, ni dar bueltas ni saltar. Maestro. Ni yo ensenar las que sueiian disparates atrevidos. Finea. No ynporta ; que los maridos son los que mexor ensenan. Maestro. j Han visto la menteeata ? Finea. j Que es menteeata, villano ? Maestro. Seiiora, tened la mano. Es vna dama que trata eon grauedad y rigor a quien la sirbe. Finea. jEso es? Maestro. Puesto que buelbe despues eon mas blandura y amor. Finea. I, Es eso eierto ? Maestro. jPues no? Finea. Yo OS juro, aunque nunea ingrata, que no ay mayor menteeata en todo el mundo que yo. Maestro. El creher es cortesia: adios, que soy mui cortes. 1405 1410 1415 1420 1425 LA DAMA BOBA 191 Clara. Finea. Clara. Finea. Clara. Finea. Clara. Finea. Clara. Finea. Clara. * Vayase, y entre Clara j Danzaste 1 jYa no lo ves? Persig [u] enme todo el dia con leer, con escriuir, con danzar, y todo es nada ; solo Laurenzio me agrada. jComo te podre degir vna desgraeia notable? Hablando ; porque no ay cosa de degir dificultosa a muger que viua y hable. Dormir en dia de fiesta j es malo ? Pienso que no ; aunque si Adan se durmio, buena costilla le cuesta. Pues si nacio la muger de vna dormida costilla, que duerma no es marauilla. Agora vengo a entender, solo con esa aduertenzia, porque se andan tras nosotras los hombres, y en vnas y otras hazen tanta diligenzia ; que si aquesto no es asilla, deben de andar a buscar su costilla, y no ay parar hasta topar su costilla. Luego si para el que amo vn ano y dos, harto bien le diran los que le ven, que su costilla topo. A lo menos los cassados. Sabia estas. 1430 1435 1440 1445 1450 1455* 192 Finea. Clara. Finea. Clara. Finea. Clara. Finea. Clara. Otabio. ACTO SEGVNBO Aprendo ya; que me ensefia amor quiza con ligiones de cuidados. Boluiendo al cuento, Laurenzio me dio vn papel para ti. Pusseme a ylar. \ Ay de mi, quanto proboea el silenzio ! Meti en el eopo el papel, y como ylaua al candil, y es la estopa tan sutil, aprendiose el eopo en el. Cabezas ay disculpadas quando duermen sin cogines, y suenos como rozines, que vienen con cabezadas. Apenas el eopo ardio, quando, puesta en el de pies, me chamusque, ya lo ves. jY el papel? Libre quedo, como el santo de Paxares. Sobraron estos renglones en que hallaras mas razones que en mi cabeza aladares. j Y no se podran leer ? Toma y le6. Yo se poeo. Dios libre de vn fuego loco la estopa de la muger. Entre Otahio Yo pienso que me canso en ensefiarla, porque es querer labrar con bidro vn porfido ; ni el danzar ni el leer aprender puede, aunque esta menos ruda que solia. 1460 1465 1470 1475 1480* 1485 LA DAMA BOBA 193 Finea. ] padre mentecato y generoso, bien seas venido ! Otabio. jComo mentecato? 1490 Finea. Aqui el maestro de danzar me dixo que era yo mentecata, y enojeme ; mas el me respondio que este voeablo significaua vna muger que rine, y luego buelbe eon amor notable, 1*95 y como vienes tu riiiendo agora, y has de mostrarme amor en brebe rato, quise tanbien llamarte mentecato. Otabio. Pues hija, no erehays a toda,s gentes, ni digais esse nonbre; que no es justo. 1500 Finea. No lo hare mas. Mas diga, senor padre, jsabe leer? Otabio. jPues esso me preguntas? Finea. Tome por vida suya, y este lea. Otabio. j Este papel ? Finea. Si, padre. Otabio. Oye, Finea. Lea ansi Agradezco mueho la merzed que me has echo, aunque toda esta noche la he passado con poco sosiego, pensando en tu her- mosura. j No ay mas ? No ay mas ; que esta mui justamente 1505 quemado lo demas. jQuien te le ha dado? Laurenzio, aquel discrete caballero de la academia de mi hermana Nise, * que dize que me quiere con estremo. De su ignoranzia mi desdicha temo. Esto truxo a mi easa el ser disereta Nise, el galan, el musieo, el poeta, el Undo, el que se pregia de oloroso, el afeytado, el loco, y el ocioso. [aparte] Finea. Otabio. Finea. Otabio. 1.510 194 ACTO SEGUNDO jHate passado mas con este, acaso? Finea. Ayer, en la escalera, al primer paso me dio vn abrazo. Otabio. i En buenos pasos anda mi pobre honor por vna y otra vanda ! La discreta con negios en congetos, y la boba en amores con diseretos. A esta no ay Uebarla por castigo, y mas, que lo podra entender su esposo. [aparte Hija, sabed que estoy mui enojado. No OS dexeys abrazar. jEntendeys, hija? Finea. Si, seBior padre ; y cierto que me pesa, aunque me parezio mui bien entonzes. Otabio. Solo vuestro marido ha de ser digno desos abrazos. 1515 1520 1525 * Entre Turin Turin. En tu busea vengo. Otabio. jDe que es la prisa tanta? Turin. De que al canpo van a matarse mi seiior Lisseo 1530 y Laurenzio, ese hidalgo marquesote, que desbaneze a Nise con sonetos. Otabio. jQue ynporta que los padres sean diseretos, si les falta a los hijos la obedienzia? Liseo habra entendido la inprudencia 1535 deste Laurenzio atreuidillo y loco, y que sirbe a su esposa. — ; Caso estrano ! J Por donde fueron? Turin. Van, si no me engano, haeia los Recoletos Agustinos. Otabio. Pues ven tras mi. j Que estraiios desatinos ! 1540 * Vayanse Otabio y Turin Clara. Pareze que se ha enojado tu padre. LA BAMA BOBA 195 Finea. Clara. Finea. Clara. Finea. Clara. Finea. Clara. Finea. Clara. Finea. ^Que puedo hazer? jPor que le diste a leer el papel ? Ya me ha pesado. Ya no puedes proseguir la voluntad de Laurenzio. Clara, no la dif erenzio eon el dexar de viuir. Yo no entiendo eomo ha sido desde que el honbre me hablo, porque si es que siento yo, el me ha llebado el sentido. Si duermo, suefio con el, si eomo, le estoy pensando, y si bebo, estoy mirando en agua la ymagen del. jNo has visto de que manera muestra el espejo a quien mira su rostro, que vna mentira le haze forma verdadera? Pues lo mismo en vidro miro que el cristal me representa. A tus palabras atenta, de tus mudanzas me admiro. Pareze que te transformas en otra. En otro diras. Es maestro eon quien mas para aprender te conformas. Con todo esso sere obediente al padre mio; fuera de que es desbario quebrar la palabra y fee. Yo hare lo mismo. No ynpidas el camino que Uebauas. iS'in 1550 3555 1560 1565 1570 396 ACTO SEGUNDO Laurencio. Liseo. Laurencio. Liseo. Laurencio. Clara. jNo ves que ame porque amauas, y oluidare porque oluidas? Finea. Harto me pessa de amalle, pero a ver mi daiio vengo, aunque sospeeho que tengo de oluidarme de oluidalle. * Vayanse, y entren Lisseo y Laurenzio. Antes, Lisseo, de sacar la espada, quiero saber la causa que os obliga. Pues bien sera que la razon os diga. Lisseo, si son gelos de Finea, mientras no se que vuestra esposa sea, bien puedo pretender, pues fui primero. Disimulays, a fee de eaballero; pues tan lexos llebays el pensamiento de amar vna muger tan inorante. Antes de que la quiera no os espante ; que soy tan pobre como bien nazido, y quiero sustentarme con el dote. Y que lo diga ansi, no os alborote, pues que vos, dilatando el casamiento, haueys dado mas f uerzas a mi yntento ; y porque, quando llegan obligadas a desnudarse en canpo las espadas, se ban de tratar verdades Uanamente ; que es honbre vil quien en el canpo miente. Liseo. (Y) jluego no quereys bien a Nise? Laurencio. . A Nise yo no puedo negar que no la quise, mas su dote seran diez mil ducados, y de quarenta a diez, ya beys, van treynta. Y pase de los diez a los quarenta. Liseo. Siendo esso ansi, como de bos lo creo, estad seguro que xamas Lisseo OS quite la esperanza de Finea ; 1575 1580 1585 1590 1595 1600* 1605 LA DAMA BOBA 197 que aunque no es la ventura de la fea, * sera de la ygnorante la ventura, que asi Dios me la de, que no la quiero, 1610 pues desde que la vi por Nise muero. Laurencio. j Por Nise? Liseo. Si, por Dios. Laurencio. Pues vuestra es Nise, y eon la antiguedad que yo la quise, yo OS doy sus esperanzas y fabores. Mis desseos os doy, y mis amores, 1615 mis ansias, mis serenos, mis desbelos, mis versos, mis sospechas, y mis celos. Entrad con esta rumfla, y dalde pique ; * que no hara mucho en que de vos se pique. * Liseo. Aunque con cartas tripuladas jueg[u]e, 1620* aceto la merzed, seiior Laurenzio, que yo soy rico, y conprare mi gusto. Nise es discreta, yo no quiero el oro ; hazienda tengo, su belleza adoro. Laurencio. Hazeys mui bien, que yo, que soy tan pobre, 1625 el oro solicito que me sobre ; que aunque de entendimiento lo es Finea, yo quiero que en mi easa alhaja sea. ' -i I No estan las escrituras de vna renta en vn caxon de vn escritorio, y rinden 1630 aquello que se come todo el ano; no esta vna casa principal tan firme eomo de piedra, al fin, yeso y ladrillo, y renta mil ducados a su dueiio? Pues yo hare euenta que es Pinea vna cassa, 1635 vna escritura, vn genso, y vna vina, y serame vna renta con vasquina. Demas, que si me quiere, a mi me basta ; que no ay mayor yngenio que ser casta. Liseo. Yo os doy palabra de ayudaros tanto, 1640 que venga a ser tan vuestra eomo ereo. 198 ACTO SEGUNDO Laurencio. Y yo con Nise hare, por Dios, Lisseo, lo que vereys. Liseo. Pues demonos las manos de amigos, no fingidos cortesanos, sino como si fueramos de Grecia, adonde tanto el amistad se precia. Laurencio. Yo sere vuestro Pilades. Liseo. Yo Orestes. 1645* * Entre Otabio y Turin Otabio. jSon estos? Turin. BUos son. Otabio. jY esto es pendenzia? Turin. Conozieron de lexos tu pressenzia. Otabio. Caballeros . . . Liseo. Senor, seays bienvenido. 1^50 Otabio. j Que hazeys aqui ? Liseo. Como Laurenzio ha sido tan grande amigo mio desde el dia que vine a vuestra cassa, o. a la mia, venimonos a ver el canpo solos, tratando nuestras eossas ygualmente. 1655 Otabio. Desa amistad me huelgo estranamente. Aqui vine a vn jardin de vn grande amigo, y me holgare de que holbays conmigo. Liseo. Sera para los dos merzed notable. Laurencio. Vamos aconpanaros y seruiros. 1660* Otabio. Turin, j por que razon me has enganado ? Turin. Porque deben de haber disimulado, y porque, en fin, las mas de las pendenzias mueren por madurar ; que a no ser esto, no hubiera mundo ya. Otabio. Pues di, jtan presto 1665 se pudo remediar? Turin. jQue mas remedio de no reilir, que estar la vida en medio ? LA BAMA BOBA 199 Nise. Finea. Nise. Finea. Nise. Finea. Nise. Finea. Nise. Finea. Nise. Finea. Nise. Finea. [Vayanse, y salgan] Nise y Finea. De suerte te has engreydo, que te voy desconoziendo. De que eso digas me ofendo. Yo soy la que sienpre he sido. Yo te vi menos discreta. Y yo mas segura a ti. j Quien te va trocando ansi ? j Quien te da licion seereta ? Otra memoria es la tuya. jTomaste la anacardina? Ni de Ana ni Catalina he tomado licion suya. Aquella que ser solia soy, porque solo e mudado vn poeo de mas cuidado. j No sabes que es prenda mia Laurenzio ? I Quien te enperio a Laurenzio? Amor. jA fee? Pues yo le desenpene, y el mismo amor me le dio. Quitarete dos mil vidas, boba dichosa. No ereas que si a Laurenzio desseas, de Laurenzio te diuidas. En mi vida supe mas de lo que el me ha dicho a mi. Bsso se, y eso aprendi. Mui aprobechada estas. Mas de oy mas no ha de pasarte por el pensamiento. I Quien ? 1670 1675 1680 1685 1690 1695 200 ACTO 8EGUND0 Nise. Laurenzio. Finea. Dizes mui bien no bolberas a quexarte. Nise. Si los ojos pusso en ti, quitelos luego. Finea. Que sea como tu quieres. Nise. Finea, dexame a Laurenzio a mi ; marido tienes. Finea. Yo creo que no riiiamos las dos. Nise. Quedate eon Dies. Finea. Adios. 1700 1705 Lauroncio. Finea. La^ircncio. Finea. Laurencio. Finea. Laurencio. Vayase Nise, y entre Laurenzio. i En que confussion me veo ! jAy muger mas desdiehada? Todos dan en perseguirme. Detente en vn punto firme, Fortune veloz y ayrada, que ya pareze que quieres ayudar mi pretension, i que gallarda ocasion ! [aparte] j Eres tu, mi bien 1 No esperes, Laurenzio, verme xamas. Todos me riiien por ti. Pues i, que te han dicho de mi ? Esso agora lo sabras. jDonde esta mi pensamiento? jTu pensamiento? Si. En ti: porque si estuuiera en mi, yo estuuiera mas contento. 1710 1715 1720 LA DAMA BOBA 201 Finea. j Vesle tu ? Laurencio. Yo no, xamas. Finea. Mi hermana me dixo aqui, que no has de passarme a mi por el pensamiento mas. Por esso alia te desbia, y no me passes por el. Laurencio. Piensa que yo estoy en el, y hecharme fuera querria. [apart e] Finea. Tras esto dize, que en mi pusiste los ojos. Laurencio. Dize verdad; no lo eontradize el alma que viue en ti. Finea. Pues tu me has de quitar luego los ojos que me pusiste. Laurencio. j Como, si en amor consiste 1 Finea. Que me los quites, te ruego, con ese lienzo de aqui, si yo los tengo en mis ojos. Laurencio. No mas : gessen los enojos. Finea. j No estan en mis ojos ? Laurencio. Si. Finea. Pues linpia y quita los tuyos ; que no han de estar en los mios. Laurencio. \ Que graeiosos desbarios ! Finea. Ponlos a Nise en los suyos. Laurencio. Ya te linpio con el lienzo. Finea. i Quitastelos ? Laurencio. j No lo ves ? Finea. Laurenzio, no se los des ; que a sentir penas comienzo. Pues mas ay ; que el padre mio brabamente se ha enojado del abrazo que me has dado. Laurencio. Mas jque ay otro desbario? [aparte] 1725 1730 1735 1740 1745 1750 1755 202 ACTO SEGUNDO Finea. Tanbien me le has de quitar. No ha de renirme por esto. Laurencio. j Como ha de ser ? Finea. Siendo presto. jNo sabes desabrazar? Laurencio. El brazo derecho alge, — tienes razon, ya me aeuerdo — y agora alcare el izquierdo, y el abrazo desare. 17G0 Finea: jEstoy ya desabrazada? Laurencio. j No lo ves ? « Nise entre Nise. Y yo tanbien, Finea. Huelgome, Nise, tan bien, que ya no me diras nada ; ya Laurencio no me passa por el pensamiento a mi ; ya los ojos le bolui, pues que contigo se cassa. En el lienzo los llebo, y ya me ha desabrazado. Laurencio. Tu sabras lo que ha passado con harta risa. Nise. Aqui no : bamos los dos al jardin; que tengo bien que riiiamos. Laurencio. Donde tu quisieres bamos. 176,') 1770 1775 * Vayanse Laurenzio y Nise Finea. Ella se le lleba en fin. i, Que es esto que me da pena de que se baya con el? Estoy por yrme tras el. J Que es esto que me enagena de mi propia libertad ? 1780 LA DAMA BOBA 203 Oiabio. Finea. Otahio. Finea. Oiabio. Finea. Otahio. Finea. Otahio. Finea. Otahio. Finea. Otahio. No me hallo sin Laurenzio. Mi padre es este ; silenzio, callad, lengua; ojos, hablad. Otahio entre jAdonde esta tu esposo? Yo pensaua que lo primero en viendome que hizieras, fuera saber de mi si te obedezeo. Pues j eso a que proposito 1 i Enojado no me dixiste aqui que era mal echo abrazar a Laurenzio? Pues agora que me desabrazasse le he rogado, y el abrazo passado me ha quitado. jAy cosa seme j ante? Pues di, bestia, jotra vez le abrazauas? Que no es eso: fue la primera vez aleado el brazo dereeho de Laurenzio aquel abrazo, y agora lebanto, que bien me aeuerdo, porque fuesse al rebes, el brazo yzquierdo. Luego desabrazada estoy agora. Quando pienso que sabe, mas ygnora. EUo es querer hazer lo que no quiso naturaleza. [apart e] Diga, serior padre, jcomo llaman aquello que se siente, quando se va con otro lo que se ama? Esse agrauio de amor celos se llama. jQelos? Pues jno lo ves que son sus hijos? El padre puede dar mil regozijos, y es mui onbre de bien ; mas desdichado en que tan malos hijos ha criado. Luz va tiniendo ya pienso ; que bien pienso, 1785 1790 1795 1800 1805 1810 204 ACTO SEGUNDO que si amor la enseiiase, aprenderia. [aparte] Finea. jCon que se quita el mal de gelosia? 1815* Otabio. Con desenamorarse, si ay agrabio, * que es el remedio mas prudente y sabio; que mientras ay amor ha de haber celos, pension que dieron a este bien los cielos. jAdonde Nise esta? Finea. Junto a la fuente. 1820 Con Laurenzio se fue. Otabio. i Cansada eosa ! Aprenda normala a hablar su prosa ; dexesse de sonetos y canziones. Alia voy a rronperles las razones. * Vayase Finea. j Por quien en el mundo passa esto que passa por mi ? j Que vi denantes 1 j Que vi que assi me enciende y me abrasa 1 Qelos dize el padre mio que son. j Braba enfermedad ! 1825 1830 * Entre Laurenzio Laurencio. Huyendo su autoridad, de enojarle me desbio, aunque en parte le agradezeo que estorbasse los enojos de Nisse. Aqui estan los ojos a cuyos rayos me ofrezeo. [aparte] Senora . . . Finea. Estoy por no hablarte. j Como te fuiste eon Nise ? Laurencio. No me fui porque yo quise. Finea. Pues jpor que? Laurencio. Por no enojarte. 1835 1840 LA DAMA BOBA 20.1 Finea. Pesame si no te veo, y en viendote ya querria que te fuesses, y a porfia anda el temor y el desseo. Yo estoy gelosa de ti ; que ya se lo que son eelos, que su duro nonbre j ay gielos ! me dixo mi padre aqui. Mas tanbien me dio el remedio. IMF) Laurencio. j Qual es ? Finea. Desenamorarme ; porque podre sosegarme, quitando el amor de en medio. Laurencio. Pues j esso como ha de ser ? Finea. El que me puso el amor me le quitara mexor. Laurencio. Vn remedio suele haber. Finea. jQual? Laurencio. Los que vienen aqui al remedio ayudaran. « Entren Pedro, Duardo y Feniso Pedro. Finea y Laurenzio estan juntos. Feniso. Y el fuera de si. Laurencio. Seays los tres vien benidos a la ocasion mas gallarda que se me pudo ofrezer. Y pues de los dos el alma a sola Nise discreta ynelina las esperanzas, oyd lo que con Finea para mi remedio passa. Duardo. En esta cassa pareze, segun por los ayres andas, que te ha dado echizos Qiree. i8r)0 1855 1860 1865 1870* 206 ACTO SEGUNDO Nunca sales desta cassa. Laurencio. Yo voy con mi pensamiento, haziendo vna rica traza para hazer oro de alquimia. Pedro. La salud y el tiempo gastas. Ygual seria, seiior, eansarte, pues todo cansa de pretender ynposibles. Laurencio. Calla, necio. Pedro. El nonbre basta, para no callar xamas ; que nunea los necios eallan. Laurencio. Aguardadme mientras hablo a Finea. Duardo. Parte. Laurencio. Hablaua, Finea hermosa, a los tres, para el remedio que aguardas. Finea. Quitame presto el amor que con sus gelos me mata. Laurencio. Si dizes delante destos como me das la palabra de ser mi esposa y muger, todos los celos se acaban. Finea. j Eso no mas ? Yo lo hare. Laurencio. Pues tu misma a los tres llama. *Finea. Feniso, Duardo, Pedro . . . Los Tres. Senora . . . Finea. Yo doy palabra de ser esposa y muger de Laurenzio. Duardo. \ Cosa estrana ! Laurencio. j Soys testigos desto ? Los Tres. Si. Laurencio. Pues haz cuenta que estas sana del amor y de los gelos que tanta pena te daban. 1875 1880 18S5 1890 1895 1900 LA BAMA BOBA 207 Finea. Dios te lo pag[u]e, Laurenzio. Laurencio. Venid los tres a mi casa ; que tengo vn notario alii. Feniso. Pues I con Finea te cassas ? Laurencio. Si, Feniso. Feniso. jYNisebella? Laurencio. Troque discrezion por plata. « [y, ayanse Laurenzio, Feniso, Duardo y Pedro, y] quede Finea sola, y entren Nise y Otabio Nise. Hablando estaua con el cossas de poca inportanzia. Otabio. Mira, hija, que estas cosas mas desonor que onor causan. Nise. Es vn onesto mancebo que de buenas letras trata, y tengole por maestro. Otabio. No era tan bianco en G-ranada Juan Latino, que la hija de vn Beyntiquatro enseiiaua ; y siendo negro y esclauo, porque fue su madre eselaua del claro duque de Seso, honor de Espana y de Ytalia, se vino a cassar con ella : que gramatica estudiaua, y la enseno a eonjugar en liegando al amo, amas; que asi llama el matrimonio el latin. Nise. Deso me guarda ser tu hija. Finea. j Murmurays de mis cosas ? Otabio. jAqui estaua esta loca ? 1905 1910 .1915 1920 19J5 1930 208 ACTO SEGUNDO Finea. Ya no es tiempo de i-enirme. Otahio. i, Quien te habla ? j Quien te rine ? Finea. Nise y tu. Pues sepan que agora aeaba de quitarme el amor todo Laurenzio, como la palma. Otahio. Ay alguna boberia. [aparte] Finea. Dixome que se quitaua el amor con que le diese de su muger la palabra, y delante de testigos se la he dado, y estoy sana del amor y de los eelos. Otahio. Esto es cosa temeraria. Esta, Nise, ha de quitarme la vida. Nise. j Palabra dabas de muger a ningun onbre? jNo sabes que estas cassada? Finea. Para quitarme el amor I, que ynporta ? Otahio. No entre en mi casa Laurenzio mas. Nise. Es error, porque Laurenzio la engaiia; que el y Liseo lo dizen no mas de para enseiiarla. Otahio. Desa manera yo eallo. Finea. i ! pues eon esso nos tapa la boca . . . Otahio. Vente eonmigo. Finea. j Adonde ? Otahio. Donde te aguarda vn notario. 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 LA DAMA BOBA 209 Finea. Otabio. Bamos. Nise. Liseo. Nise. Liseo. Nise. Liseo. Nise. Liseo. Nise. Ven. Que deseanso de mis canas ! [aparte] 1960 * [Vayanse Otabio y Finea] Nise sola Hame eontado Laurenzio que han tornado aquesta traza Lisseo y el, para ver si aquella rudeza labran, y no me pareze mal. * Lisseo entre jHate eontado mis ansias Laurenzio, discreta Nise ? i, Que me dizes ? j Suenas o hablas ? Palabra me dio Laurenzio de ayudar mis esperanzas, viendo que las pongo en ti. Pienso que de hablar te cansas con tu espossa, o que se enbota en la dureza que labras el cuehillo de tu gusto, y para bolber a hablarla, quieres darle vn filo en mi. Verdades son las que trata eontigo mi amor, no burlas. j Estas loco ? Quien pensaua cassarse con quien lo era, de pensarlo ha dado causa ; yo he mudado pensamiento. i Que necedad, que ynconstanzia, que locura, error, trayzion a mi padre, y a mi hermana ! Yd en buen ora, Lisseo. 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 210 ACTO SEGUNDO Liseo. ^Desa manera me pagas tan desatinado amor? Nise. Pues si es desatino, basta. * Entre Laurenzio Laurencio. Hablando estan los dos solos. Si Liseo se deelara, Nise ha de saber tanbien que mis lisonjas la engaiian. Creo que me ha visto ya. [apartc] Nise. I gloria de mi esperanza ! 1990 1995 Liseo. Nise. Liseo. Nise dize como que habla con Lisseo jYo vuestra gloria, senora? Aunque dizen que me tratas con trayzion, yo no lo creo; que no lo eonsiente el alma. I Trayzion, Nise ? Si en mi vida mostrare amor a tu hermana, me mate vn rayo del cielo. Laurencio. Es eonmigo con quien habla Nise, y presume Liseo que le requiebra y regala. [aparte] Quierome quitar de aqui, que eon tal fuerza me engaiia amor, que dire loeuras. No OS bays, jO Nise.gallarda! que despues de los fabores quedara sin vida el alma. Dexadme passar . . . [Enircsc Nise] jAqui estauas a mis espaldas ? Agora entre. Luego a ti te hablaua, y te requebraua, aunque me miraua a mi aquella discreta yngrata. 2000 2005 Nise. Liseo. Nise. Liseo. Laurencio. Liseo. 2010 2015 LA BAMA BOBA 211 Laurencio. No tengas pena : las piedras ablanda el curso del agua. Yo sabre hazer que esta noehe puedas en mi nonbre hablarla. Esta es discreta, Lisseo; no podras, si no la engaiias, quitalla del pensamiento el ynposible que aguarda ; porque yo soy de Finea. Liseo. Si mi remedio no trazas, cuentame loco de amor. Laurencio. Dexame el remedio, y calla ; porque burlar vn disereto, es la vitoria mas alta. Fin del segundo ado de la Dama hoha Bubrica de Lope de Vega 2020 2025 2030 212 AGIO lEBCESO TERCERO ACTO DB LA DAMA BOBA Ruirica de Lope de Vega LOS QUE HABLAN EN EL TERCERO ACTO Finea Clara Nise Liseo Pedro Laurenzio Turin Misseno Duardo Penisso Qelia Otabio Los Musicos Buhrica de Lope de Vega ACTO TERCERO Finea sola [Finea] jAmor, diuina inuenzion de conseruar la belleza de nuestra naturaleza, 2035 aecidente, o eleccion ! Estranos effetos son los que de tu giengia nazen, pues las tinieblas desazen, pues hazen hablar los mudos, 2040 pues los ingenios mas rudos sabios y discretes hazen. No lia dos messes que viuia * LA DAMA BOBA 213 a las bestias tan ygual, que aun el alma razional pareze que no tenia. Con el animal sentia, y crezia eon la planta; la razon diuina y santa estaua eelipsada en mi, hasta que en tus rayos vi, a cuyo sol se lebanta. Tu desataste y ronpiste la escuridad de mi ingenio, tu fuiste el diuino genio que me enseiiaste, y me diste la luz con que me piisiste el nuebo ser en que estoy. Mil graeias, amor, te doy, pues me ensenaste tan bien, que dizen quantos me ven que tan diferente soy. A pura ymaginazion de la fuerza de vn desseo, en los pala§ios me veo de la diuina razon. i Tanto la contenplazion de vn bien pudo lebantarme ! Ya puedes del grado onrrarme, dandome a Laurenzio, amor, eon quien pudiste mexor enamorada ensenarme. 2045 2050 2055 2060 2065 2070 * [Saiga] Clara Clara. En grande eo[n]uersaeion estan de tu entendimiento. Ftnea. Huelgome que este contento mi padre en esta ocasion. Clara. Hablando esta con Miseno 2075 214 ACTO TESCEBO Finea. Clara. Finea. de como lees, escriues y danzas ; dize que viues con otra alma en euerpo ageno. Atribuyele al amor de Lisseo este milagro. En otras aras consagro mis botos, Clara, mexor. Laurenzio ha sido el maestro. Como Pedro lo fue mio. De verlos hablar me rio en este milagro nuestro. Gran fuerza tiene el amor, catredatico diuino. 2080 2085 2090* * [Salgan]Miseno y Otauio Miseno. Yo pienso que es el camino de su remedio mexor. Y ya, pues habeys llegado a ver con entendimiento a Finea, que es eontento nunea de vos esperado, a Nise podeys cassar con este mozo gallardo. Otahio. Vos solamente a Duardo pudierades abonar. Mozuelo me parezia destos que se desbanezen, a quien agora enloquezen la arroganzia y la poesia. No son gracias de marido sonetos ; Nise es tentada de academica endiosada que a casa los ha trahido. j Quien le mete a vna muger con Petrarca y Gargilaso, siendo su Virgilio y Taso 2095 2100 2105 2110* LA DAMA BOBA 215 Miseno. Otabio. Miseno. Otabio. ylar, labrar y eoser ? Ayer sus librillos vi, papeles y eseritos varies ; pense que debozionarios, 2115 y desta suerte lehi : Historia de dos amantes, # saeada de lengua griega ; Kimas de Lope de Vega, * Galatea de Qerbantes, 2120* el Camoes de Lisboa, # los Pastores de Belen, » Comedias de don Guillen * de Castro, Liras de Oehoa, * Canzion que Luis Velez dijo 2125* en la Aeademia del duque * de Pastrana, Obras de Luque, * Cartas de don Juan de Arguijo, # cien Sonetos de Lilian, # Obras de Herrera el diuino. 2130* el Libro del Peregrino, * y el Picaro de Aleman. * Mas que os eanso, por mi vida ; que se los quise quemar. Cassalda, y vereysla estar 2135 ocupada y diuertida en el parir y el eriar. j Que gentiles debociones ! Si Duardo haze canziones. bien los podemos eassar. 2140 Es poeta caballero ; no temays : hara por gusto versos. Con mucho disgusto los de Nise considero. Temo, y en razon lo fundo, 2145 si en esto da, que ha de haber 216 ACTO TESCEBO ,vn don Quixote muger que de que reyr al mundo. * Entren Lisseo y Nise [y Turin] Liseo. Tratasme con tal desden, que pienso que he de apelar 2150 adonde sepan tratar mis obligaziones bien. Pues aduierte, Nise bella, que Pinea ya es sagrado ; que vn amor tan desdenado 2155 puede hallar remedio en ella. Tu desden que ymagine que pudiera ser menor, creze al passo de mi amor, medra al lado de mi fee. 2160 y su corto entendimiento ha llegado a tal mudanza, que puede dar esperanza a mi loco pensamiento. Pues, Nise, tratame bien, 2165 o de Finea el fabor sera sala, en que mi amor * apele de tu desden. Nise. Lisseo, el hazerme fieros fuera bien considerado, 2170 quando yo te hubiera amado. Liseo. Los nobles y caballeros como yo se han de estimar, no lo yndigno de querer. Nise. El amor se ha de tener 2175 adonde se puede hallar ; que como no es eleccion, * sino solo vn accidente, tienese donde se siente, no donde fuera razon. 2180 El amor no es calidad, LA DAMA BOBA 217 sino estrellas que eongiertan las voluntades que agiertan a ser vna voluntad. Liseo. Esso, senora, no esjusto, y no lo digo con zelos ; que pongays culpa a los §ielos de la baxeza del gusto. A lo que se haze mal, no es bien dezir : ' ' f ue mi estrella. ' ' Nise. Yo no pongo culpa en ella, ni en el curso gelestial, porque Laurenzio es vn hombre tan hidalgo y caballero que puede honrrar . . . Liseo. Paso. Nise. Quiero que reberencieys su nombre. Liseo. A no estar tan cerca Otabio . . . Otabio. i Liseo ! Liseo. i mi serior ! Nise. i Que se ha de tener amor por fuerza, notable agrabio ! [apart e^ * Entre QeUa Celia. EI maestro de danzar a las dos llama a lizion. Otabio. El viene a buena oeasion. 2185 2190 2195 2200 Baya vn eriado a Uamar los musieos, porque vea Misseno a lo que ha Uegado Pinea. Liseo. Amor, engaiiado, oy bolbereys a Pinea ; que muchas vezes amor, disfrazado en la benganza, haze vna justa mudanza 2205 2210 218 ACTO TEECEBO Cclia. desde vn desden a vn fabor. [aparte] , Los musieos y el venian. * Entren los musieos Otahio. Mui bien venidos seays. Liseo. Oy, pensamientos, vengays los agrauios que os hazian. [apartt Otabio. Nise y Finea . . . Nise. Senor . . . [Otahio.] Baya aqui, por vida mia, el bayle del otro dia. Liseo, Todo es mudanzas amor, [aparte] 2215* 2220* Otahio, Miseno, y Liseo se sienten; los musieos canten, y las dos iaylen ansi: [I] Amor, eansado de ver tanto ynteres en las damas, y que por desnudo y pohre, ninguna fahor le daua, passose a las Yndias, vendio el alxaua, que mas quiere dohlones, que vidas y almas. Trato en las Yndias Amor no en joyas, sedas, y olandas, 81710 en ser sutil terzero de villetes y de cartas. Bolhio de las Yndias con oro y plat a; que el Amor bien vestido riiidc las damas. Passeo la Corte Amor con mil cadcnas y vandas. 2225 2230 2235 LA DAMA BOBA 219 Las damas, como le vian, desta mancra le hailan: 2240 ^De do vicnr, dc do vienc? Vicne de Panama — [II] ^,De do uiene el caballero? Viene de Panama — Tranzclin en el sombrero, 2245* Viene' de Panama — cadenita de oro al cuello, Viene de Panama — en los hrazos el grig[ii]iesco, Viene de Panama — 2250 las ligas con rapazejos, Viene de Panama — gapatos al uso nueio, * Viene de Panama — sotanilla a lo turquesco. 2255* Viene de Panama — * * iDe do viene, de do viene? Viene de Panama — [III] ^De do viene el hi jo de algo? Viene de Panama — 2260 Corto cuello, y punos largos, * Viene de Panama — la daga en vanda colgando, Viene de Panama — guante de anhar addbado, 2265* Viene de Panama — gran jugador del vocablo, * Viene de Panama — : 220 ACTO TEBCEBO no da dinero, y da manos, Viene de Panama — 2270 enfadoso y mal criado; Viene de Panama — es Amor, llamase Yndiano, Viene de Panama — es chapeton castellano, 2275* Viene de Panama — en criollo disfrazado. Viene de Panama — i,De do viene, de do viene? Viene de Panama — 2280 [IV] jO que hien pareze Amor con las cadenas y galas! que solo el dar enamora, porque es gifra de las gragias. Ninas, donzellas, y viejas 2285 van a buscarle a su casa, mas ynportunas que moscas, en viendo que ay miel de plata. Soire qual le ha de querer, de viuos gelos se dbrasan, 2290 y al rededor de su puerta vnas tras otras le cantan: jDexa las auellanicas, mora! Que yo me las vareare — * [V] El Amor se ha buelto godo: 2295* Que yo me las vareare — punas largos, cuello corto, Que yo me las vareare — LA DAMA BOBA 221 sotanilla, y liga de oro, Que yo me las vareare — sonbrero, y gapato romo, Que yo me las vareare — manga ancha, calzon angosto. Que yo me las vareare — El habla mucho, y da poco, Que yo me las vareare — es viejo, y dize que es mozo, Que yo me las vareare — es coiarde y matamoros. Que yo me las vareare — Ya se descuirio los ojos. Que yo me las vareare — [Amor loco, y amor loco! Que yo me las vareare — I'Yo por vos, y vos por oiro! Que yo me las vareare — 2300 2305 2310 2315 Miseno. Otabio. Finea. Otabio. ;Dexa las audlanicas, moro! Que yo me las vareare. — i Gallardamente, por gierto ! Dad graeias al gielo, Otauio, que OS satisfizo el agrauio. Hagamos este congierto de Duardo eon Finea. Hijas, yo tengo que hablaros. Yo naci para agradaros. j Quien ay que mi dieha erea ? 2320 2325 * Entrense iodos, y queden alii Lisseo y Turin Liseo. Oye, Turin . . . Turin. j Que me quieres ? Liseo. Quierote comunicar vn nuebo gusto. 222 ACTO TEBCESO Turin. Si es dar sobre tu amor parezeres, busea vn letrado de amor. Liseo. Yo he mudado parezer. Turin. A ser dexar de querer a Nise, fuera el mexor. Liseo. El mismo ; porque Pinea me ha de vengar de su agrabio. Turin. No te tengo por tan sabio, que tal discrezion te crea. Liseo. De nuebo quiero tratar mi cassamiento ; alia voy. Turin. De tu parezer estoy. Liseo. Oy me tengo de vengar. Turin. Nunca ha de ser el (de) easarse por vengarse de vn desden ; que nunca se caso bien quien se casso por vengarse. Porque es gallarda Finea, y porque el seso cobro, — pues de Nise no se yo que tan entendida sea — sera bien eassarte luego. Liseo. Misseno ha venido aqui ; algo tratan contra mi. Turin. Que lo mires bien, te ruego. Liseo. No ay mas ; a pedirla voy. * [Vayase Lisseo] Turin. El eielo tus passos guie, y del error te desbie en que yo por Qelia estoy. i Que enamore amor vn onbre como yo ! Amor desatina. i Que vna ninf a de cozina, para blasson de su nonbre 2330 2335 2340 2345* 2350 2355 2360 LA DAMA BOBA 223 ponga: "Aqui murio Turin, entre sartenes y eazos!" « [Salgan'] Laurenzio y Pedro. Laurcncio. Todo es poner enbarazos, para que no lleg [u] e al fin. Pedro. Habla baxo, que ay eseuehas. Laurencio. i Turin ! Turin. Seilor Laurenzio , Lmcrencio. jTanta quietud y silenzio? Turin. Ay obligaziones muchas para callar vn discreto, y yo mui discreto soy. Laurencio. jQue ay de Liseo? Turin. A eso voy: fuese a easar. Pedro. Buen seereto. Turin. Esta tan enamorado de la senora Finea, si no es que venganza sea de Nise, que me ha jurado, que luego se ha de eassar ; y es ydo a pedirla a Otabio. Laurencio. Podre yo Uamarme a agrabio. Turin. Pues jel OS puede agrabiar? Laurencio. jLas palabras suelen darse para no cumplirlas? Turin. No. Laurencio. De no casarse la dio. Turin. Bl no la quiebra en casarse. Laurencio. j Como ? Turin. Porque el no se eassa eon la que solia ser, sino con otra muger. Laurencio. j Como es otra ? Turin. Porque pasa 2365 2370 2375 2380 2385 2390 224 ACTO TEBCEBO del no saber al saber, y con saber le oblige. jMandays otra eosa? Laurencio. No. [Turin.] Pues adios. [vayase Turin] Laurencio. jQue puedo hazer? i Ay Pedro ! Lo que temi, y tenia sospeehado del yngenio que ha mostrado Pinea se eunple aqui. Como la ha visto Lisseo tan discreta, la aficion ha puesto en la diserezion. Pedro. Y en el oro algun desseo. Cahsole la boberia; la diserezion le animo. 2395 2400 * Entre Finea Finea. j Clara, Laurenzio, me dio nuebas de tanta alegria ! Luego a mi padre dexe, y aunque ella me lo eallara, yo tengo quien me auisara, que es el alma que te vee por mil vidros y cristales, por donde quiera que vas, porque en mis ojos estas con memorias inmortales. Todo este grande lugar tiene colgado de espejos mi amor, juntos y parejos, para poderte mirar. Si buelbo el rostro alii, veo tu ymagen ; si a estotra parte, tanbien ; y ansi viene a darte norabre de sol mi desseo : 2405 2410 2415 2420 LA DAMA BOBA 225 que en quantos espejos mira y fuentes de pura plata, su bello rostro retrata, 2425 y su luz diuina espira. Laurencio. ; Ay Finea ! i A Dios pluguiera que nunca tu entendimiento Uegara, como ha Uegado, a la mudanza que veo ! 2430 Neeio me tubo seguro, y sospeehoso discrete, porque yo no te queria para pedirte consejo. j Que libro esperaua yo 2435 de tus manos ? j En que pleyto hauias xamas de hazerme ynformagion en derecho? Yno§ente te queria, porque vna muger eordero 2440* es tusson de su marido, que puede traherla al pecho. Todas habeys lo que basta; para eassada, a lo menos, no ay muger nezia en el mundo, 2445 porque el no hablar no es deffeto. Hable la dama en la rexa, escriua, diga eoneetos en el eoche, en el estrado, de amor, de enganos, de celos; 2450 pero la casada sepa de su familia el gobierno, porque el mas disereto hablar no es saneto como el silenzio. * Mira el dano que me vino 2455 de transformarse tu ingenio, pues va a pedirte, j ay de mi ! para su muger Lisseo. * 226 ACTO TEMCEBO Ya dexa a Nise, tu hermana ; el se eassa, yo soy muerto. j Nunea plega a Dios hablaras ! Finea. jDe que me culpas, Laurenzio? A pura ymaginaeion del alto mereeimiento de tus prendas aprendi el que tu dizes que tengo. Por hablarte supe hablar, venzida de tus requiebros; por leer en tus papeles, libros difficiles leo ; para responderte escriuo. No he tenido otro maestro que amor, amor me ha ensenado. Tu eres la gieneia que aprendo. jDe que te quexas de mi? De mi desdieha me quexo. Pero, pues ya sabes tanto, dame, seriora, vn remedio. El remedio es facil. i, Como ? Si, porque mi rudo ingenio, que todos aborrezian, se ha transformado en disereto, Liseo me quiere bien, con bolber a ser tan neeio como primero le tube, me aborrezera Lisseo. Laurencio. j Pues sabras fingirte boba ? Finea. Si; que lo fui mucho tiempo, y el lugar donde se naze saben andarle los ciegos. Demas desto, las mugeres naturaleza tenemos tan pronta para fingir, Laurencio. Finea. Laurencio. Finea. 2460 2465 2470 2475 2480 2485 2490 LA BAMA SOBA 227 Laurencio. Fiiiea. Laurencio. Finea. Laurencio. Finea. Laurencio. Finea. Laurencio. Pedro. Laurencio. con amor, o eon miedo, que antes de nazer fingimos. j Antes de nazer? Yo pienso que en tu vida lo has oydo. Escucha. Ya eseucho atento. Quando estamos en el bientre de nuestras madres, hazemos entender a nuestros padres, para enganar sus desseos, que somos hijos varones, y assi veras que eontentos acuden a sus antojos con amores, con requiebros. Y esperando el mayorazgo tras tantos regalos hechos, sale vna hembra que corta la esperanza del suceso. Segun esto, si. pensaron que era varon, y henbra vieron, antes de nazer fingimos. Es euidente argumento. Pero yo vera si sabes hazer, Finea, tan presto mudanza de estremos tales. Passo; que viene Lisseo. AUi me voy a esconder. Ve presto. Sig[u]eme, Pedro. En muchos peligros andas. Tal estoy, que no los siento. 24:1.-) 25(10 2,W5 2510 2515 2520 * [Escondense Laurencio y Pedro] Enire Lisseo con Turin Liseo. En fin queda conzertado. Turin. En fin estaua del cielo que fuesse tu esposa. 228 ACTO TEBCESO Liseo. Aqui esta mi primero dueno. [aparte] 4 No sabeys, senora mia, como ha tratado Misseno cassar a Duardo y Nisse, y como yo tanbien quiero que se hagan nuestras bodas con las suyas 1 Finea. No lo ereo ; que Nise ha dicho a mi, que esta eassada en secreto con vos. 2525 2530 Liseo. j Conmigo ? Finea. No se, si erades vos, o Oliberos. jQuien sois vos? Liseo. jAy tal mudanza Finea. j Quien dezis 1 que no me acuerdo. Y si mudanza os pareze. j como no veys que en el eielo cada mes ay nuebas lunas ? Liseo. i Valgame el gielo ! i, Que es esto ? Turin. j Si le buelbe el mal passado ? Finea. Pues decidme : si tenemos luna nueba cada mes, ^adonde estan? jque se han echo las vie j as de tantos anos? jDaysos por venzido? Liseo. Temo que era locura su mal. [aparte] Finea. Guardanlas para remiendos de las que salen menguadas. Veys ay que soys vn nezio. Liseo. Seriora, mueho me admiro de que ayer tan alto yngenio mostrassedes. 2535 2540 2545 2550 LA DAMA BOBA 229 Finea. Pues, seiior, agora ha Uegado al vuestro ; 2555 que la mayor discrezion # es acomodarse al tiempo. Liseo. Eso dixo el mayor sabio. Pedro. Y esto escucha el mayor necio. [escondido] 2560 Liseo. Quitado me habeys el gusto. Finea. No he toeado a vos, por eierto ; mirad que se habra eaydo. Liseo. i Linda ventura tenemos ! Pidole a Otabio a Finea, 2565 y quando a dezirle vengo el cassamiento tratado, . hallo que a su ser se ha buelto. [apart e] Bolbed, mi senora, en vos, eonsiderando que os quiero 2570 por mi duefio para sienpre. Ftnea. jPor mi dueiia, maxadero? # Liseo. I, Assi tratays vn esclauo que OS da el alma ? Finea. i, Como es esso ? Liseo. Que OS doy el alma. Finea. j Que es alma ? 2575* Liseo. j Alma 1 El gouierno del cuerpo. Finea. j Como es vn alma ? Liseo. Seiiora, como filosopho puedo difinirla, no pintarla. Finea. i, No es alma la que en el pesso le pintan a san Mig[u]el? 2580* Liseo. Tanbien a vn angel ponemos alas y cuerpo, y, en fin, es vn espiritu bello. Finea. jHablan las almas? Liseo. Las almas 2585 obran por los instrumentos, 230 ACTO TMBCEBO Finea. Turin. Liseo. Turin. Liseo. Turin. Liseo. Finea. Turin. Liseo. por los sentidos y partes de que se organiza el euerpo. i, Longaniza come el alma ? jEn que te cansas? No puedo pensar, sino que es locura. Pocas vezes de los necios se hazen los loeos, senor. t, Pues de quien ? De los discretes; porque de diuersas causas nazen effetos diuersos. • i Ay Turin ! Buelbome a Nise. Mas quiero el entendimiento, que toda la voluntad. Seiiora, pues mi desseo, que era de daros el alma, no pudo tener (en) effeto, quedad eon Dios. ' Soy medrosa de las almas, porque temo que de tres que andan pintadas puede ser la del ynfierno. La noche de los diffuntos no saco de puro miedo la cabeza de la ropa. Ella es loca sobre negio, que es la peor guarnizion. Decirlo a su padre quiero. 2590 2595 2600 2605 2610 * Vayanse [Liseo y Turin, y salgan] Laurenzio y Pedro Laurencio. j Puedo salir? Finea. jQue te dize? * Laurencio. Que ha sido el mexor remedio que pudiera ymaginarse. 2615 Finea. Si; pero siento en estremo LA DAMA BOBA 231 bolberme a boba, aun fingida. Y pues fingida lo siento, los que son bobos de veras jComo viuen? Laurencio. No sintiendo. Pedro. Pues si vn tonto ver pudiera su entendimiento en vn espejo, jno fuera huyendo de si? La razon de estar eontentos es aquella confianza de tenerse por discretos. Finea. Hablame, Laurenzio mio, sutilmente, porque quiero desquitarme de ser boba. 2620 2625 Nise. Celia. Nise. Laurencio. Nise. Celia. Entre Nise, y Qelia Sienpre Pinea y Laurenzio juntos: sin duda se tienen amor; no es posible menos. Yo sospeeho que te enganan. Desde aqui los escuehemos. jQue puede, hermosa Pinea, decirte el alma, aunque sale de si misma, que se yguale a lo que mi amor dessea? Alia mis sentidos tienes : eseoge de lo sutil, presumiendo que en abril por amenos prados vienes. Corta las diuersas flores, porque en mi ymaginazion tales los desseos son. jBstos, Qelia, son amores, o regalos de cufiado? Eegalos deben de ser, pero no quisiera ver 2630 2635 2640 2645 232 ACTO TBBCEBO cuilado tan regalado. Finea. jAy Dios! jSi llegase dia en que viesse mi esperanza su posesion! Laurencio. jQue no alcanza vna amorosa porfia? Pedro. Tu hermana escuchando. Laurencio. jAy cielos! Finea. Buelbome a boba. Laurencio. Eso ynporta. Finea. Vete. Nise. Esperate, reporta los passes. Laurencio. jVendras eon zelos? Nise. Qelos son para sospeehas; trayeiones son las verdades. Laurencio. i Que presto te persuades, y de engaiios te aprobechas ! jQuerras busear ocasion para querer a Liseo, a quien ya tan cerea veo de tu boda y posesion ? Bien hazes, Nise, hazes bien. Lebantame vn testimonio. porque deste matrimonio a mi la culpa me den. Y si te quieres eassar, dexame a mi. [Vayase] Nise. Bien me dexas. Vengo a quexarme, y te quexas. jAun no me dexas hablar? Pedro. Tiene razon mi senor: easate, y acaba ya. [vayase] Nise. iQue es aquesto? Celia. Que se va Pedro con el mismo humor. 2650 2655 2660 2665 2670 2675 LA DAMA BOBA 233 y aqui viene bien que Pedro es tan ruin eomo su amo. Nise. Ya le aborrezeo y desamo. i Que bien eon las quexas medro ! Pero fue linda ynbenzion antigiparse a reiiir. Celia. Y el Pedro, jquien le vio yr tan vellaco y soearron ? Nise. Y tu, que disimulando estas la trayeion que has heeho, Ueno de enganos el peeho, con que me estas abrassando, pues como sirena fuiste medio pez, medio muger, pues de animal a saber para mi dano veniste, jpiensas que le has de gozar? j Tu me has dado pez a mi, ni sirena, ni yo fui xamas eontigo a la mar? Anda, Nise; que estas loca. jQue es esto? A tonta se buelbe. A vna eosa te resuelbe : tanto el furor me proboea, que el alma te he de sacar. jTienes euenta de perdon? Tengola de tu traygion, pero no de perdonar. j El alma piensas quitarme en quien el alma tenia? Dame el alma que solia, traydora hermana, animarme. Mucho debes de saber, pues del alma: me desalmas. Finea. Todos me piden sus ahnas; 2680 Finea. Nise. Celia. Nise. Finea. Nise. 2685 2690 2695 2700 2705 2710 234 ACTO TEBCESO Nise. almario debo de ser. Toda soy hurtos y robos. Montes ay donde no ay gente : yo me yre a meter serpiente. Que ya no es tiempo de bobos. Dame el alma. 2715 * [Entren] Otabio con Feniso y Duardo Otabio. J Que es aquesto? Finea. Almas me piden a mi. j Soy yo purgatorio ? Nise. Si. Finea. Pues proeura salir presto. Otabio. jNo sabremos la ocasion de vuestro enojo? Finea. Querer Nise, a fuerza de saber, pedir lo que no es razon: almas, sirenas, y pezes dize que me ha dado a mi. Otabio. jHase buelto a boba? Nise. Si. Otabio. Tu pienso que la enbobezes. Finea. Ella me ha dado ocasion ; que me quita lo que es mio. Otabio. Se 'ha buelto a su desbario. Muerto soy. Feniso. Desdichas son. Duardo. jNo deeian que ya estaua eon mucho seso? Otabio. i Ay de mi ! Nise. Yo quiero hablar claro. Otabio. Di. Nise. Todo tu dafio se aeaua con mandar resueltamente, — pues como padre podras, 2720 2725 2730 2735 2740 LA DAMA BOBA 235 y aunque en todo, en esto mas, pues tu onor no lo consiente, — que Laurenzio no entre aqui. Otabio. I Por que ? Nise. Porque el ha eausado que esta no se aya eassado, y que yo te enoje a ti. Otabio. Pues eso es mui faeil cosa. Nise. Pues tu cassa en paz tendras. * [Entren] Pedro y Laurenzio Pedro. Contento, en efeto, estas. Laurencio. Ynbenzion marauillosa. Celia. Ya Laurenzio viene aqui. Otabio. Laurenzio, quando labre esta eassa, no pense que acadeinia institui ; ni quando a Nise criaua, pense que para poeta, sino que a muger perfeta con las letras la enseiiaua. Sienpre alabe la opinion de que la muger prudente, eon saber medianamente, le sobra la discrezion. No quiero mas poessias, los sonetos se acabaron, y las musicas gesaron; que son ya brebes mis dias. Por alia los podreys dar, si OS faltan telas y rasos; que no ay tales Garzilasos como dinero y callar. Este venden por dos reales, y tiene tantos sonetos eligantes y discretos, 2745 2750 2755 2760 2765 2770 238 ACTO TEBCEBO que vos no los hareys tales. Ya no habeys de entrar aqui. Con este aehaque, yd con Dies. Laurencio. Es mui justo, como vos me deys a mi esposa a mi. Que vos hazeys vuestro gusto en vuestra cassa, y es bien que en la mia yo tanbien haga lo que fuere justo. Otabio. jQue muger os tengo yo? Laurencio. Finea. Otabio. i, Estays loco ? Laurencio. Aqui ay tres testigos del si, que ha mas de vn mes que me die. Otabio. jQuien son? Laurencio. Duardo, Feniso, y Pedro. Otabio. jEs esto verdad? Feniso. Ella de su voluntad, Otabio, darsele quiso. Duardo. Assi es verdad. Pedro. No bastaua que mi seiior lo dixesse. Otabio. Que .como sinple le diese a vn hombre que la engaiiaua no ha de baler. Di, Finea, jno eres simple? Finea. Quando quiero. Otabio. jY quando no? Finea. No. Otabio. J Que espero? Mas quando sinple no sea, con Lisseo esta cassada. A la justicia me voy. 2775 2780 2785 2790 2795 2800 LA BAMA BOBA 237 * Vayase Otabio Nise. Ven, Qelia, tras el; que estoy gelosa y desesperada. * y Nise y Celia Laurencio. Yd, por Dios, tras el los dos; no me su§eda vn disgusto. Feniso. Por vuestra amistad es justo. Duardo. Mai echo ha sido, por Dios. Feniso. jYa hablays como despossado de Nise? Duardo. Piensolo ser. 2805 « y Duardo y Fetviso Laurencio. Todo se ha hechado a perder. Nise mi amor le ha eontado. j Que remedio puede haber, si a verte no puedo entrar? Fenia. No salir. Laurencio. jDonde he de estar? Finea. I Yo no te sabre esconder ? Laurencio. I Donde ? Finea. En easa ay vn desban famoso para esconderte. « Clara entre Clara . . . Clara. Mi senora . . . Finea. Aduierte que mis desdiehas estan en tu mano. Con seereto Ueba a Laurenzio al desban. Clara. jY a Pedro? Finea. Tanbien. Clara. Galan. camine. 2810 2815 2820 238 ACTO TESCEBO Laurencio. Yo te prometo que voy tenblando. Finea. jDe que? Pedro. Clara, en Uegando la or a de muquir, di a tu seiiora que algun sustento nos de. Clara. Otro comera peor que tu. Pedro. j Yo al desban ? j soy gato ? « Vayanse Laurenzio, Pedro, y Clara 2825* Finea. jPor que de ynposible trato este mi publico amor? En llegandose a saber vna voluntad, no ay cosa mas triste y eseandalosa para vna onrrdda muger. Lo que tiene de seereto, eso tiene amor de gusto. 2830 2835 Otabio entre Otaiio. Harelo, aunque fuera justo poner mi enojo en effeto. [aparte] Finea. jVienes ya desenojado? Otabio. Per los que me lo ban pedido. Finea. Perdon mil vezes te pido. Otabio. j Y Laurenzio ? Finea. Aqui ha jurado no entrar en la eorte mas. Otabio. j Adonde se f ue ? Finea. A Toledo. Otabio. Bien hizo. Finea. No tengas miedo que buelba a Madrid xaraas. Otabio. Hija, pues sinple nagiste, 2840 2845 LA DAMA BOBA 239 Finea. Otabio. Finea. Otabio. Finea. Otabio. Finea. Otabio. Finea. Otabio. y por milagros de amor dexaste el passado error, jcomo el yngenio perdiste? j Que quiere, padre ? A la fee, de bobos no ay que fiar. Yo lo pienso remediar. j Como, si el otro se fue ? Pues te engaiian fagilmente los honbres, en viendo alguno, te has de eseonder; que ninguno te ha de ver eternamente. Pues jdonde? En parte secreta. jSera bien en vn desban, donde los gatos estan? j Quieres tu que alii me meta ? Adonde te diere gusto, eomo ninguno te vea. Pues alto, en el desban sea: tu lo mandas, sera justo. Y aduierte que lo has mandado. Vna y mil vezes. Entren Liseo y Turin 2850 2855 2860 2865 Liseo. Finea. Otabio. Finea. Otabio. Finea. Si quise con tantas veras a Nise, mal puedo haberla oluidado. Hombres vienen. Al desban, padre, yo voy a esconderme. Hija, Liseo no ynporta. Al desban, padre; ombres vienen. Pues I no ves que son de cassa ? No yerra quien obedeze. No me ha de ver hombre mas sino quien mi esposo fuere. Vayase Finea 2870 2875 240 ACTO TEBCEBO Liseo. Tus disgustos he sabido. Otabio. Soy padre. Liseo. Remedio puedes poner en aquestas cosas. Otabio. Ya le he puesto, con que dexen mi cassa los que la ynquietan. Liseo. Pues j de que manera ? Otabio. Fuesse Laurenzio a Toledo ya. Liseo. i Que bien has heeho ! Otabio. jY tu crehes viuir aqui sin casarte? Porque el mismo inconuiniente se sig[u]e de que aqui estes. Oy haze, Lisseo, dos messes que me trahes en palabras. Liseo. [Bien mi termino agradezes! Vengo a eassar con Finea, forzado de mis parientes, y hallo vna sinple muger. I Que la quiera, Otabio, quieres ? Otabio. Tienes razon ; acabose. Pero es linpia, hermosa, y tiene tanto doblon que podria doblar el marmol mas fuerte. jQuerias quarenta mil dueados eon vna fenis? ^Es coxa manca Finea? I Bs ciega ? Y quando lo fuesse, jay falta en naturaleza que eon oro no se afeyte? Liseo. Dame a Nise. Otabio. No ha dos oras que Miseno la promete a Duardo en nombre mio. Y pues hablo claramente. 28S0 2885 2890 2895 2900 2905 2910 LA DAMA BOBA hasta manana a estas oras te doy para que lo pienses, porque de no te eassar, para que en tu vida entres por las puertas de mi eassa que tan enfadada tienes, haz cuenta que eres poeta. 241 2915 * Tayase Otahio Liseo. j Que te dize ? . . . Turin. Que te aprestes, y con Finea te casses ; porque si beynte merezes 2020 porque sufras vna boba, te anaden los otros beynte. Si te dexas de eassar, te ban de decir mas de siete : "jMiren labobada!" Liseo. Vamos ; 2925 que mi temor se resuelbe de no se eassar a bobas. Turin. Que se eassa me pareze a bobas quien sin dineros en tanta eosta se mete. 2930 Ruhrica de Lope de Vega * Vayanse, y entren Finea y Clara Finea. Hasta agora bien nos va. Clara. No ayas miedo que se entienda. Finea. \ quanto a mi amada prenda deben mis sentidos ya! Clara. \ Con la humildad que se pone en el desban! Finea. No te espantes; que es propia eassa de amantes, 2935 242 ACTO TEECEBO aunque Laurenzio perdone. Clara. jY quien no viue en desban de quantos oy han nacido ! 2940 Finea. Algun humilde que ha sido de los que en lo baxo estan. Clara. En el desban viue el hombre que se tiene por mas sabio que Platon. Finea. Hazele agrabio; 2945 que fue diuino su nombre. Clara. En el desban el que anima a grandezas su desprecio; en el desban mas de vn negio que por discrete se estima. 2950 Finea. jQuieres que te diga yo como es falta natural de necios no pensar mal de si mismos ? Clara. jComo no? Finea. La confianza secreta 2955 tanto el sentido les roba, que, quando era yo mui boba, me tube por mui discreta. Y como es tan semejante el saber eon la humildad, 2960 ya que tengo habilidad, me tengo por inorante. Clara. En el desban viue bien vn matador criminal, cuya muerte natural 2965 ninguno, o pocos la ven. En el desban de mil modos, y sujeto a mil desgragias, aquel que diziendo gracias es desgragiado con todos. 2970 En el desban vna dama, LA DAMA BOBA 243 Finea. que ereyendo a quien la ynquieta, por vn ora de discreta, pierde mil anos de fama. En el desban vn pregiado de lindo, y es vn cayman ; pero tienele el desban como el espejo enganado. En el desban el que eanta con voz de carro de bueyes, y el que viene de Muleyes, y a los godos se lebanta. En el desban el que escriue versos legos y donados, y el que por vanos cuidados sujeto a peligros viue. Finalmente . . . Espera vn poco; que viene mi padre aqui. 2975 2980 2985 * [Entren] Oiabio, Miseno, Duardo, Feniso Miseno. jEso le dixiste? Otahio. Si ; que a tal furor me proboco. No ha de quedar j viue el cielo ! en mi cassa quien me enoje. Feniso. Y es justo que se despoje de tanto nezio mozuelo. Otahio. Pidiome gragiosamente que con Nise le cassase; dixele que no pensase en tal cosa eternamente, y asi estoy determinado. Miseno. 0yd ; que esta aqui Finea. Otahio. Hija, escucha. Finea. Quando vea, 2990 2995 3000 214 ACTO TEBCESO como me lo habeys mandado, que estays solo. Otabio. Espera vn poco; que te he cassado. Clara. 6 Que nonbres easamiento donde ay honbres? Otabio. Luego jteneysme por loco? Finea. No, padre ; mas ay aqui honbres, y voyme al desban. Otabio. Aqui por tu bien estan. Feniso. Vengo a que os sirbays de mi. Finea. j Jesus, senor! jNo sabeys lo que mi padre ha mandado? Miseno. Oye; que hemos conzertado que OS easeys. Finea. G-raeia teneys. No ha de haber hija obediente como yo: voyme al desban. Miseno. Pues no es Feniso galan. Finea. Al desban, seiior pariente. 3005 3010 3015 'Vaya[n]se Fined [y Clara] Duardo. jComo vos le habeys mandado que de los honbres se esconda? Otabio. No se, por Dios, que os responda. Con ella estoy enojado, con mi contraria estrella. Miseno. Ya viene Lisseo aqui. Determinaos. Otabio. Yo por mi, jque puedo dezir sin ella? 3020 3025 [Entren] Lisseo, Nisc y Turin Liseo. Ya que me parto de ti, solo quiero que conozcas lo que pierdo por quererte. LA DAMA BOBA 245 Nise. Conozeo que tu persona 3030 mereze ser estimada, y como mi padre agora venga bien en que seas mio, yo me doy por tuya toda ; que en los agrauios de amor 3035 es la venganza gloriosa. Liseo. ] Ay Nisse, nunca te vieran mis ojos, pues fuiste sola de mayor yneendio en mi, que fue Elena para Troya! 3040 Vine a cassar con tu hermana, y en viendote, Nisse hermosa, mi libertad salteaste, del alma pregiosa joya. Nunea mas el oro pudo 3045 con su fuerza poderosa, que ha derribado montaiias de eostumbres generosas, bumillar mis pensamientos a la baxeza que doran 3050 los resplandores, que a vezes eiegan tan altas personas. Nise, duelete de mi, ya que me voy. Turin. Tienpla agora, bella Nise, tus desdenes: 3055 que se va amor por la posta a la cassa del agrauio. Nise. Turin, las lagrimas solas de vn hombre ban sido en el mundo veneno para nosotras. 3060 No ban muerto tantas mugeres de fuego, yerro, y ponzona, como de lagrimas vuestras. * 246 ACTO TEBCEBO Turin. Pues mira vn honbre que Uora. I Eres tu barbara tigre ? jEres pantera? ^Eres onza? ^Eres duende? jEres lechuza? jBres Qirge? jEres pandorgal jQual de aquestas cosas eres, que no estoy bien en historias ? Nise. I No basta dezir que estoy rendida ? 3065 3070 * Entre Celia Celia. Escueha, senora. Nise. jEres Celia? Celia. Si. Nise. i, Que quieres ? Que ya todos se alborotan de verte venir turbada. Otahio. Hija, jque es esto? Celia. Vna eosa que OS ha de poner euidado. Otabio. j Cuidado ? Celia. Yo vi que agora Uebaua Clara vn tabaque eon dos perdizes, dos lonjas, dos gazapos, pan, toallas, cuchillo, salero y bota. Seguila, y vi que al desban caminaba. Otahio. Celia loca, para la boba seria. Feniso. \ Que bien que comen las bobas ! Otabio. Ha dado en yrse al desban, porque oy le dixe a la tonta que, para que no la engauen, en viendo vn ombre se eseonda. 3075 3080 3085 3090 LA DAMA BOBA 247 Celia. Miseno. Celia. Otabio. Celia. Feniso. Otabio. Duardo. Otabio. Esso fuera, a no haber sido para saberlo curiosa. Subi tras ella, y gerro la puerta. Pues bien, j, que ynporta ? jNo ymporta, si en aquel suelo, 30H5 como si fuera vna alfonbra, de las que la primabera* en prados fertiles borda, tendio vnos blaneos manteles, a quien hizieron corona 31()0 dos honbres, ella y Finea? j Honbres ? j Buena va mi honrra ! j Conozistelos 1 No pude. Mira bien si se te antoja, Qelia. No sera Laurenzio; 3105 que esta en Toledo. Reporta el enojo; yo y Feniso subiremos. Eeeonozean la cassa que ban afrentado. Vayase Otabio. Feniso. No suceda alguna cossa. Nise. No hara ; que es cuerdo mi padre. Duardo. Qierto que es diuina joya el entendimiento. Feniso. Sienpre yerra, Duardo, el que ygnora. Desto OS podeys alabar, Nise ; pues en toda Europa no tiene ygual vuestro yngenio. Liseo. Con su hermosura conforma. 3110 3115 248 ACTO TEBCEBO Oiabio. Laurencio. Feniso. Laurencio. Otabio. Finea. Otabio. Finea. Otabio. Miseno. Turin. Clara. Miseno. Otabio. Saiga con la espada desnuda Otabio siguiendo a Laurenzio, Finea, Clara y Pedro Mil vidas he de quitar a quien el onor me roba. Detened la espada, Otabio ; yo soy, que estoy con mi esposa. jBs Laurenzio? jNo lo veys? j Quien pudiera ser agora, sinp Laurenzio, mi ynfamia? Pues, padre, j de que se eno ja 1 i ynf ame ! j No me dixiste que el dueiio de mi desonrra estaua en Toledo? Padre, si aqueste desban se nombra Toledo, verdad le dixe. Alto esta, pero no ynporta; que mas lo estaua el Alcazar y la puente de Segobia, y hubo juanelos que a el subieron agua sin sogas. El I no me mando eseonder ? Pues suya es la culpa toda. i Sola en vn desban, mal aiio ! Ya sabe que soy medrosa. Cortarele aquella lengua, rasgarele aquella boca. Este es casso sin remedio. jY la Clara socarrona que Uebaba los gazapos? Mandomelo mi seiiora. Otabio, vos soys discreto ; ya sabeys que tanto monta cortar como desatar. jQual me aconsejays que escoja? 3120 3125 3130 3135 3140 3145* 3150 LA DAMA BOBA 249 Miseno. Otabio. Feniso. Laurencio. Otabio. Liseo. Otabio. Laurencio. Pedro. Finea. Turin. Nise. Turin. Feniso. Duardo. Desatar. Seiior Feniso, si la voluntad es obra, reeiuid la voluntad, y vos, Duardo, la propia; que Finea se ha eassado, y Nise, en fin, se conforma con Lisseo, que me ha dicho que la quiere y que la adora. Si fue, senor, su ventura, paciengia ; que el premio gozan de sus justas esperanzas. Todo corre viento en popa. Dare a Finea la mano. Dadsela, boba yngeniosa. Y yo a Nise. Vos tan bien. Bien merezco esta vitoria; pues le he dado entendimiento, si ella me da la memoria de quarenta mil ducados. Y Pedro, jno es bien que coma algun guesso como perro de la messa.destas bodas? Clara es tuya. Yyo, jnaci donde a los que nazen Uoran, y rien a los que raueren ? Qelia, que fue tu debota, sera tu esposa, Turin. Mi bota sera, y mi nobia. Vos y yo solo faltamos. Dad aca esa mano hermosa. Al senado la pedid, si nuestras f altas perdona ; 315S 31 GO 3165 3170 3175 3180 250 ACTO TERCEBO que aqui para los diseretos da fin la Comedia boia. Loado sea el santisimo sacramento Amen En Madrid, 28 de Abril, de 1613 Lope de Vega Carpio {riibrica) Additions in connection with the license to act : Vea esta comedia el seeretario Thomas Grazian Dantiseo, y vista, me la traiga. En Madrid, a 26 de otubre de 16 (rest illegible near the edge of the page). Esta comedia intitulada La Dama hoba se podra representar, reservando a la vista lo que fuera de la lectura se offreciere, y lo mismo en los cantares y entremeses y bayles. En Madrid, a 27 de 8bre 1613. Thomas Gracian Dantiseo. Dasse lizencia para que se pueda representar esta comedia eon- forme a la eensura. En Madrid, a 30 de otubre de 1613. Podesse representar esta comedia intitulada la Dama boba eon entr ernes y bailes honestos [y buenos?] (no date, rest illegible). LA BAMA BOBA 251 NOTES ACTOES AND ACTRESSES On the actors and actresses whose names Lope himself wrote opposite the various dramatis personae, cf. H. A. Bennert, The Spanish Stage in the Time of Lope de Vega (New York, 1909). This volume contains on page 409ff. an alphabetical "List of Spanish Actors and Actresses, 1560-1680." Of the majority of them little or nothing is known. The chief names in our list are the actor Cristobal Ortiz de Villa^an, famoso represent ante (cf. Rennert, p. 545), and the actresses Jeronima de Burgos (pp. 268, 438), and Maria, who may have been either Maria de Argiiello (p. 423) or the able and skillful Maria de Cordoba (p. 456). The latter was especially famous as a comedienne, and in this comedy (if she really appeared in it), had the hardest part to play, namely the title-role. Jeronima de Burgos, on the other hand, who played the part of Nise, was no less famous, being favored by the devotion of Lope, who wrote the Dama hoha for her. The preservation of the manuscript may be due to this fact. Cf. La Barrera, Nueva biografia de Lope de Vega (Madrid, 1890), p. 271 ; Rennert, The Life of Lope de Vega (Philadelphia, 1904), pp. 172 and 244. The first scene opens at an inn of the village of Illescas (note 4). 1. lindas: all editions known to us print buenas. Lope un- questionably abused the adjective Undo which occurs frequently enough on some pages to justify an apology which he printed in the dedication of la Viuda valen- ciana: "Muchos se han de oponer a tan linda catedra: perdonen los criticos esta voz linda; que Fernando de Herrera, honor de la lengua castellana y su Colon primero, no la desprecio jamas ni dejo de alabarla, como 252 NOTES se ve en sus Comentos, etc. ' ' The reference is to : Ohras de Garcilasso de la Vega, con anotaciones (Sevilla, 1580) . Cf . also Fernando de Herrera, controversia soire sus anotaciones, etc. (Sevilla, 1870), especially p. 7, ser. 1, vol. 2 of the BibUofilos andaluces. possadas: cf. also, la Noche toledana, I, xii: (el Capitdn Aceiedo y el Alferez Carrillo, de camino; despues el huesped.) "Alferez. Buena posada. Capitdn. Y quieta. Alferez. Manana lo estara mas. ..." Lope frequently places the opening of an act, or a scene, in a hostelry or inn. Cf. el Bobo del colegio, II, iv. 2. chinches: Hartzenbusch, por buenos respetos, we may pre- sume, changed this word to cuartos. 4. Yllescas: The place of this scene was once a popular "half - Vy way house" between Madrid and Toledo, and is fre- quently mentioned in Spanish plays. Cf. Lope, el Ausente en el lugar, II, i: "Mas, por Dios, que aunque vestido ya de camino te vea, y a mi con esta librea a lo flandesco lucido, que no ereo que de lUescas has de pasar." In the play Entre bobos anda el juego by Francisco de Rojas Zorrilla, the second act opens in el meson de Illescas. Covarrubias (in Tesoro de la lengua castellana) says, under Illescas: "De esta Villa hizo donaeion el Key Don Alonso, cerca de los anos de mil y ciento y setenta y seis a la Santa Iglesia de Toledo, que segun parece aula buelto a ser de la Corona Real, para que los Santos patronos della alcangassen de nuestro Seiior vitoria, y LA DAMA BOBA 253 prospero sucesso de la guerra que pretendia hazer a los Moros. Oy dia (Covarrubias wrote this only a few years previous to the date of our play) esta ilustrada esta Villa con el Santuario, y easa de oracion de vna Imagen de la Virgen, y Madre de Dios, que eomunmente Uaman nuestra Senor de Illescas." Paseual Madoz (in Dicciondrio geogrdfico-estadistico-historico de Espana, Madrid, 1847, IX, p. 421) says: "En el santuario de Nuestra Senora de la Caridad se venera la imagen de Nuestra Seiiora (que es una de las que San Ildefonso tenia en su oratorio) y fue eonstruido a espensas del pueblo por los anos de 1600 ; fue trazado por Domenico Teotoeopuli, conocido por El Greco, quien ademas hizo para el dos escelentes cuadros que aun se conservan en sus altares colaterales . . . ; la f ama de los milagros de esta imagen ha fijado en alto grado la devocion de los fieles; . . . nuestros monarcas . . . han heeho muehos regalos a esta Senora." Although this village has lost its former prosperity, it deserves a visit today. guindas: of. Cervantes: Per sites y Sigismunda, III, xxi; edition Schevill-Bonilla, II, p. 194: " — jDonde vistes vos, senora — , dixo Marulo — , a mi hi jo Andrea? jFue en Madrid, o en Salamanca? — No fue sino en Illescas — , dixo Ysabela — , cogiendo guindas la manana de San Juan, al tiempo que albo- reaua ; mas, si va a dezir verdad, que es milagro que yo la diga, siempre le veo, y siempre le tengo en el alma. — Aun bien — replied Marulo — que este mi hijo cogiendo guindas, y no espulgandose, que es mas propio de los estudiantes. " Cf. also Covarrubias, under guindas. mentiras: "travelers' yarns"; the reader will recall the Spanish saying, de luengas vias, luengas mentiras; .there are many scenes or episodes in Spanish drama and fiction, in which we find travelers of every rank and 254 NOTES station exchanging their experiences, both true and otherwise. Inns would be especially suitable for such scenes. 17. medidas: "Se llama assimismo la cinta, que se eorta igual a la altura de la imagen o estatua de algun Santo, en que se suele estampar su figura, y las letras. de su nombre eon plata u oro. Usase por devocion. ' ' — Diccionario de Au- toridades. Bartolome de Villalba y Bstaiia, in el Pele- grino curioso, printed in the Sociedad de BiMiofilos Espaiioles, Madrid, 1886 tells us how pious pilgrims were wont to buy these medidas: "Despues de haber cum- plido con lo que es de esencia en la pelegrinacion, y haher tornado medidas de imagenes que alii dan, el Pelegrino se despidio de aquellos padres etc." This refers to Nuestra Senora de la Pena de Prancia, casa devoiisima, I, p. 280. 19. Ymagenes: Alonso, mozo de muchos amos (of. el Doctor Jeronimo de Alcala Yaiiez y Rivera : El Donado kdbla- dor, I, chap. 5) tells us: "Llegue eon no pequeiia pesadumbre a lUeseas, y sin irme a meson de puro devoto me fui dereeho a visitar el sagrado santuario de tanta estima, y con much a razon tan famoso en toda Castilla, de la sagrada imagen de la Madre de Dios, Senora nuestra. Adore en aquel suntuoso templo de la Caridad a la Emperatriz de los cielos, considere sus riquezas, visite su grandioso hospital, remedio de tantos pobres neeesitados del favor humano; y habiendome encomendado al Seiior y a su divina providencia, sali a buscar un pedazo de pan." . / 25. pastas: "Los eauallos que de publico estan en los caminos cosarios para correr en ellos, y caminar con presteza .... Dixeronse postas por estar expuestas, y pre- venidas para qualquier hora y tiempo. Los cosarios que las corren se Uaman correos : los que guian con ellas Postillones. ' ' — Covarrubias. LA DAMA BOBA 255 -^"Ay Paula! mi bien se va. i Estara en las postas ya ? " ' ' Carlos se fue : yo vi pasar las postas" ' ' Con dolor pico la posta, de suerte que paso eual suele el rayo, que apenas de la vista se pereibe. ' ' — Lope : el Ausente en el lugar, II, ix, xiii. For la posta has also acquired the meaning "without delay, " " post-haste ' ' : — "Pues pierdan, Celia, el pesar; que por la posta en un coche conmigo entonces vendran." — Alarcon : las Paredes oyen, I, xi. Cf . also below, verses 890, 904. 39. nonhre: Lope also writes nomhre (49) ; hambre (41) and fianire (44) as rime words merely represent in their different spelling a very common inconsistency in all of Lope's autograph manuscripts. 44. tozino fianire: "fiambre, quasi friambre, la carne que despues de asada, o cozida, se come fria, manjar que el estomago le abraga muy mal." — -Covarrubias. This may account for Turin 's statement, verse 38 : ay a quien pesa de oyr su nonbre. 50. vna hermosa caxa: a box of some conserve, possibly of quince. ' ' Algunas mercaderias ay, las quales se venden en sus eaxas ; y assi dezimos : caxa de confitura, caxa de diacitron, etc." — Covarrubias. "Giron. jTienes algo que me dar, para que pueda Uevar alguna consolacion? Elvira. Cajas de conserva rieas, y una bota de azahar. ' ' — ^Lope : Servir a Senor discreto, II, iii. \/ 256 NOTES Cf. Cervantes: el Rufian dichoso: Comediasj edition Schevill-Bonilla, II, p. 35, vs. 27; the entremes la Guar da cuidadosa: "Dile una destas eaxas de earne de membrillo, muy grande etc."; the entremes, el Vizcaino fingido, which speaks of "una caxa de con- serva." In verse 954, below, the word may be found again. 53. liziones: here means "principles"; Covarrubias under leer has: "letura: lo que comunmente se le, y en escuelas significa materia; leccion, lo mismo, y la doctrina del maestro." 56-8. las damas . . . diuinas: — "Yo no imagine que estan desa suerte las mujeres, sino todas cristalinas, como vn vidro trasparentes. " — Lope : el Perro del hortelano, I, xii. The idea that women are frail, "as brittle as glass" is common to all the writers of the Golden Age. In his Novela del curioso impertinente Cervantes states: "Quiero dezirte vnos versos que se me han venido a la memoria, que los ohi en vna comedia moderna, que me pareee que hazen al proposito de lo que vamos tratando. Aconsejaua vn prudente viejo a otro padre de vna donzella, que la recogiesse, guardasse y ence- rasse. Y entre otras razones le dixo estas: — ' ' Es de vidrio la muger pero no se ha de prouar, si se puede o no quebrar, porque todo podria ser. Y es mas f acil el quebrarse ; y no es cordura ponerse a peligro de romperse lo que no puede soldarse. etc." — Don Quixote, I, xxxiii, fol. 189. LA DAMA BOBA 257 64. xalea: " Jalea, vale el §umo, o el lieor del membrillo, o de otra cosa de que se haze conserua, la qual trauan, y eongelan de modo, que queda transparente, y vale tanto como cosa elada, de el nombre Toscano giallo, por yelo. ' ' — Covarrubias. . . ."Yo se hacer rica eonserva y jalea, eon que darte de comer." — Lope : Servir a 8enor discrete, III, xxv. 66. con dos puntos en el ayre: The printed versions all read con tres puntos en el aire. I have found no passage to illustrate this use of puntos. My learned colleague, Pro- fessor F. 0. Reed suggests that the phrase may be taken from the card-player 's terminology and mean : she will get along a whole week (and more, that is, with several points to spare) on sugar; or, with two stitches loose. 86. estribos de palo,- "Hay tres diferencias de estribos. De medio celemin o media luna de hierro que usan los vaqueros; son para la guerra los me j ores, porque guardan mas el pie .... La segunda es de palo de la misma hechura, todos cerrados. ... La tercera, y mas galana es de los marines, de hierro, de la hechura ordinaria" (from Tapia y Salcedo- Exercicios de la Gineta) quoted by Leguina, in his Glosario de voces de Armeria (Madrid, 1912), p. 466. 88. merienda: "en rigor vale lo que se comia al medio dia, que era poca cosa, esperando comer de proposito a la cena : y assi se dixo merienda quasi meridiana, o antes quasi merenda, porque se daua despues de auer traba- jado, quando ya se merecia." (Covarrubias) 106. Es Madrid vna talega de piezas: Even Sancho Panza thought the comparison of human beings with chess pieces a trifle old. 258 NOTES "Braua eomparaeion, — dixo Sancho — , aunque no tan nueua, que yo no la aya oydo muchas y diuersas vezes, como aquella del juego del axedrez, que mientras dura el juego, cada piega tiene su particular ofieio, y en aca- bandose el juego, todas se mezelan, juntan y barajan, y dan con ellas en vna bolsa, que es como dar eon la vida en la sepultura. — Cada dia, Sancho — , dixo don Quixote — , te vas ha- ziendo menos simple, y mas discreto. ' ' — Don Quixote, II, cap. 12, f. 41. Lope had used the comparison before : ' ' Bueno vengo desta vez con la mascara fingida ; bien parece que esta vida es un juego de ajedrez. i Oh como es mudable y vana ! Y echase en esto de ver, que una pieza blanca ayer puede ser negra manana. ' ' — los Locos de Valencia, II, xiv. 142. a gentiles vistas voy: for this use of vistas compare the following passages: "Alejandro. . . . luego quiero pedir lieencia para verla. AutiUo. En todo tendremos el cuidado necessario. Alejandro. Si en estas vistas tengo buena estrella, I quien caso con muger tan rica y bella ? ' ' — Lope : las Flores de Don J\ian, III, vii. Also: "Pues hoy seran las vistas, y amor trace que se concluya, pues os viene al justo. ' ' — Lope: Quien ama no kaga fieros, I, vi. This word belongs to a stereotyped social vocabulary, with the special meaning of "first formal interview"; LA DAMA BOBA 259 it generally refers to the first interview and formal exchange of promise of marriage between lovers. Cf. also Velez Guevara: el Diablo cojuelo, tranco II, for vistas in the sense of "garments for a bride," pp. 22 and 244 of Seiior Bonilla's admirable edition {Bibliofilos madrilenos, Madrid, 1910). 180. basilisco: the modern reader learns with interest and amusement that Lope and his contemporaries really believed in this fabled creature. Many of the Mis- celdneas of the sixteenth century tell all about its dangerous qualities; Covarrubias treats it seriously in his Tesoro, presumably because it was heresy to doubt anything stated by Pliny in his Natural History. Pero Mexia in his Silva de varia lection, II, xxxix says : ' ' Otras cosas tienen esta oculta virtud [habla de propie- dades secretas] en sola vna parte de si proprias : como ... el basilisco que tiene poneona solamente en los ojos, que mata con su vista. " It is hard to see what the poetic conceptistas of those days would have done with- out the basilisk. The dramatists bring him into the dialogue frequently. Compare, for example : Rey. j Que mas hechizos que ver ? Don Manrique. Luego j basilisco ha sido ? Bey. No ; porque es su condieion matar mirando, y morir si le miran. Lope : La Corona merecida 1, vi. This legendary creature has fortunately become extinct in modern poetry. An interesting article on the basilisk in Spanish folklore may be found in Folklore Espanol: Biblioteca de las tradiciones populares espanolas (Madrid, 1884) III, pp. 13-83. (Ant. Machado y Alvarez). 260 NOTES 185. Lope does not indicate any scenes in his manuscript. We are now in Madrid in the house of Octavio, presumably in the chief living room of the house. 210. mas me pudre y martiriza: a popular usage: "Pudreme, sobre todo, hallar tan continua blasfemia en lenguas de quienes apenas pueden ser cauallos, quanto mas caua- Ueros. ' ' Christoual Suarez de Figueroa : d Passagero (Madrid, 1617) ; reprinted in 1914 in the series Biblio- filos espanoles; cf. p. 277, also 81. "Por Dios, senor nuestro amo, — replico Sancho, — que vuessa merced se quexa de bien pocas cosas. ^A que diablos se pudre de que yo me sirua de mi hazienda . . . ? — Don Quixote, II, xlii, f . 163r. 216-40. In connection with this whole passage the modern reader must take into account that in Lope's day men were inclined to concede to women only a very retired and unobtrusive place, whether at home or in society. They must be virtuous above all; intelligence was of secondary importance. "Miren los padres las obliga- ciones que tienen, quiten las ocasiones, consideren de si lo que murmuran de los otros, y vean cuanto mejor seria que sus mugeres, hermanas e hijas aprendiesen muchos puntos de aguja, y no muchos tonos de guitarra : hien gohernar y no mucho hailar, que de no saber las mugeres andar por los rincones de sus casas, nace ir a haeer mudanzas a las agenas. ' ' — Guzman de Alfarache, parte 2a, libro 1°, cap. 2. "Puede un hombre situar su reputacion en letras, en armas, en gobierno y en virtud. Pero la mujer en sola la virtud puede fundar su honor; porque ni ellas son menester para letras, ni para jugar las armas ni salir eon ellas al enemigo, ni para gobierno que pase de re- mendar unas mantillas a sus criaturas, y dar imas LA DAMA SOBA 261 sopillas a los gatos de easa; y si mas hacen, es meterse en la jurisdiecion de sus maridos y dueiios." — Gaspar Lucas Hidalgo: Didlogos de apacible entretenimiento, III, cap. 3. ' ' Propio de la muger es oir y obedecer al marido, en cuya potestad se halla ; mas ha de ser tratandola ni como a eabeea ni como a pies, sine como a la parte y lado de donde fue formada, que fue de vn medio, y medio cer- cano al coragon" . . . (p. 213). " Su mas perfeta her- mosura es la verguenza, puesto que la corporal mas superior, en poco espacio de tiempo, o por breue en- fermedad se pierde. . . . Afirma san Geronimo serle al hombre concedido por diuersas vias don particular para adquirir honra, f ama y nombre : a vnos eon letras, a otros con armas, a muehos con dif erentes artes ; mas a la muger solamente se concedio hazerse en el mundo eterna eon la verguenca, honesta y casta." (p. 271) — El Passagero, op. cit. These commonplace teachings repeat the gist of what may be found in many a eon- temporary sermon, and in their last analysis go back to the doctrines of the great church fathers themselves. 231. ensenar: the MS., anseiiar. 254. Otabio: the MS. has Ma, for the usual Ota. 259. que le falta [a] Miseno: a is often mechanically omitted when another vowel (generally a), precedes or follows; cf. Cervantes: "no madrugamos a dar memoriales, ni acompanar magnates." — la Gitanilla (first edition) ; "dexo mudos a los dos amigos que escuchado la auian, especialmente Avendaiio" . . .—la ilustre Fregond (first edition) ; "el no salio, boluile a esperar, boluio a no salir, y boluiose acostar." — Don Quixote, II, cap. 17, f. 63r. "Yo me Obligo con ella cercenar vn copo de lana." — Lazarillo de Tonnes, III. 262 NOTES 279. Eliodoro: Lope frequently refers to the romance of Thea- genes and Chariklea. In his la Noche de San Juan, Don Juan says: "No cuenta eosas tan varias de Clariquea Heliodoro; las de Teagenes passan en anos, pero las mias en vna noche. ' ' — Ill, f. 89r. (ed. 1). Cf . also Lo que ha de ser, I, xiv ; de Cosario a cosario, III, i, and his very mediocre novela: las Portunas de Diana (near the beginning) ; la Dorotea, III, i. On Heliodorus, cf. Sehevill: The Question of Heliodorus, in Studies in Cervantes, II, printed in Modern Phil- ology, IV, 4, April, 1907; also Lope de Vega: Novelas; edited by J. D. Pitz-Gerald and Leora A. Fitz-Gerald, in Bomanische Porschungen, XXXIV (1913), p. 4 and note. 285. Es que no se da a entender con el artificio griego hasta el quinto libro: Heliodorus introduces the reader in medias res. We first learn of the adventures of hero and heroine in Egypt, and elsewhere, but not until the fifth book do we learn how the lovers fell into the situa- tion with which the first book opens. On the artificio griego, cf. the anonymous translation of Heliodorus, printed at Antwerp in 1554: Historia ethiopica de Heliodoro, a portion of the prologue of which (p. 4) Nise repeats. An excellent work on the subject is Der griechische Roman und seine Vortdufer (ed. 2, Leip- zig, 1900), by Erwin Rohde. 292. digna de aplauso y teatro: plays based on this story were written by Perez Montalbin, and Calderon, but its theme of love and adventure was ill suited to the stage. LA DAMA BOBA 253 298-302. Nise and her circle are devotees of the various poetic fads then in vogue, known as conceptismo, and culte- ranismo, which will be referred to again below. Lope frequently ridicules this ' ' new style ' ' of verse. See the introductory essay also. 307ff. The humor of this scene recalls that of Moliere's Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, II, vi, where the maitre de phUosophie says: "Pour bien suivre votre pensee, et traiter cette matiere en philosophe, il faut commencer, selon I'ordre des choses, par une exacte connaissanee de la nature des lettres, et de la diflerente maniere de les prononcer toutes." And thereupon M. Jourdain has a lesson in the vowels and consonants of the alphabet. 317-8. El alba debe de ser quando andaua entre las coles: "vn dicho comun que traemos a proposito, quando vno pregunta con descuydo, y paciencia : j que es aquello ? siendo cosa en su per- juizio, le responden : No es sino el alba, que anda entre las coles. Para declararme, presupongo que los gentiles hazian a la aurora vna deidad, figurandola como vna ninfa muy hermosa, vestida de bianco, y rociada de aljof ar . . . ; y vna hortelana, auiendose entretenido con vn amigo, detuvose mas de lo que fuera razon para no ser visto, y saliase de la huerta. Ya que amanecia, el marido que se levanto y vio el ruido que hazia, sa- liendo por entre la hortaliza a gatas, Uamo a su muger muy maravillado, y dixole : Muger, j es persona aquella que va haziendo ruido 1 Respondio ella : No es sino el alba que anda entre las coles." (Covarrubias). Cf. also Lope : el Acero de Madrid, II, xvi ; la Dorotea, TV, v ; Cuento de Cuentos, in Ohras de Don Francisco de Quevedo (Rivadeneyra), II, p. 407. 335. acordaua: the MS., acordoua. 264 : NOTES 337. The manuscript has an interrogation point; this, or any punctuation, is very rare in Lope's autograph manu- scripts. 360. The printed versions have: dilo; as the original plainly has dila, the la naturally refers to causa. 359. 370. Qas : Quevedo, in ridiculing the abuse of some words says : "jHay cosa tan mortal como zas? Mas han muerto de zas que de otra enfermeded ; no se euenta pendencia que no digan: Y Uega, y zas y zas, y eayo luego?" — Cuento de Cuentos (dedication), op. cit., p. 402. 387. pieza de Bey: "Se llama comunmente el truhan o bufon: assi al que es sabandija palaciega, se dice que es pieza de Rey. " — Diccionario de Autoridades, which cites Quevedo: "jQue traes? — dixo el entremetido. Re- spondio : — Estos dos. — j Quien son ? — Un hablador y un lisonjero y vano: son piezas de rey, y por eso los traigo al nuestro. — Violos Lucifer con asco, y dixo : — i Y como si son piezas de reyes! Mas aunque rey diablo y diablo y archidiablo, no gusto desta gente." — el Entre- metido y la dueiia y el soplon, in Ohras, op. cit., I, p. 378. Lope uses the phrase to mean boba, or simpleton ; of.: "La tristeza que oprime tanta belleza nos ha obligado a sacar ' este del Colegio Vie jo; que es pieza de Rey." — el Bobo del Colegio, II, xvi. Cf . also Tirso de Molina : Por el Sotano y el Torno, I, iv. In la Gitanilla oi Cervantes we read: "yo dare traza que sus Magestades te vean, porque eres pieza de reyes." LA DAMA BOBA 265 395. se te sale el alma: "Y, dando vn gran suspiro, se le salio el alma. — Persiles y Sigismimda, op. cii. I, cap. 10, vol. I, p. 75. 402. en todas las criadas: en for entre is not uncommon in Lope 's day : ' ' En estas platicas, y en otras seme jantes, Uegaron al lugar a la hora que anoehecia." — Don Quixote, I, cap. 5, f. 16 v. Some commentators com- plete the phrase by inserting "oeupados en estas pla- ticas" which is unwarranted. 405. pario: wherever Lope has an accent in his manuscript, I have left it ; usually at the end of a verse. 415. con la lihrea del rey Colorado y amarillo: Cesareo Fernandez Duro, in his ad- mirable work, Disquisiciones nauticas (Madrid, 1876, I, p. 259), speaking of the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella (1469) adds: "se habian fundido las diversas nacionalidades de la Peninsula en dos agrupaeiones designadas con los nombres de Castilla y Aragon: al refundirse en una sola, al adoptar un simbolo comun, logico era que se tomaran los elementos principales. Ahora bien : Castilla blasonaba castillo de oro en campo de gules o rojo y Aragon euatro barras o — hablando eon mas propiedad heraldica — euatro polos a bastones de gules en campo de oi'Oj esto es, identieos colores, de manera que sin abdicacion por ninguna de las partes se ofrecia por si misma la combinacion del rojo y ama- rillo u oro para contiiiuar siendo los colores nacio- nales. . . . Dije ^que las libreas de particulares y los trajes uniformes de los servidores del Bstado estan inti- mamente relacionados con los escudos respectivos, y caen bajo el domihio de la Heraldica. . . . Los trajes militares del reinado del Emperador consistieron en jubon, ealzas y gorra rojos acuchillados de amarillo. En tiempo de Felipe II vistio la inf anteria de amarillo, eon 266 NOTES cuchillos rojos. Asi esta presentada en la pintura de San Quintin de la Sala de batallas del Escorial . . . Felipe IV suprimio las calzas acuehilladas, sustituyen- dolas con gregiiescos y medias calzas de lana, cuerpo de jubon con faldetas y sombrero de fieltro a la walona. El jubon y gregiiescos eran amarillos y las medias calzas rojas, segun una pintura que posee en Lorca el general Musso." 417. carretones: "carreton, diminutiuo de carreta: este le Ueua vna sola bestia, y si es carreton, o carretoneillo de pobre, le Ueua vna persona ; y ya yo le be visto tirar de dos perros, y de vno." — Covarrubias. 418. . . . el romadizo que da la noche a Madrid: "D. Juan. Conozco aquel romance, y quien le bizo. Tello. El tiplago es lechon con romadico. D. Juan. Serenos de Madrid causan catarro. Lope : La Noche de San Juan, III, f . 83v. 421. la calle Mayor: The noted playwright Ruiz de Alarcon has an entertaining passage on this street : "Leonor. ; Calle Mayor ! j Tan grande es que iguala a su nombre y f ama ? Clara. Direte por que se llama la calle Mayor. Leonor. Di pues. Clara. Pilipo es el rey mayor, Madrid su corte, y en ella la mayor y la mas bella calle, la calle Mayor. Luego ha sido justa ley la calle Mayor Uamar a la mayor del lugar que aposenta al mayor rey. Leonor. Bien probaste tu intencion. LA DAMA BOBA 267 Entre Redondo. Redondo. Ya que a tal tiempo llegue, con tu licencia dire tambien mi interpretaeion. Clara. Dila. Redondo. La calle Mayor pienso que se ha de Uamar, porque en ella ha de callar del mas pequeno al mayor ; porque hay arpias rapantes, que, apenas un hombre ha hablado, cuando ya lo han eondenado a tocas, cintas y guantes : y un texto antiguo se halla que dijo por esta calle: ' calle en que es bien que se calle ; que no medra quien no calla.' " — Mudarse por mejorarse, I, x, xi. The following extract is from Tirso de Molina: "Da. Bernarda. j Como se llama esta calle? Santillana. La calle de las Carretas. Es ombligo de la corte ; la Puerta del Sol aquella ; la Vitoria al cabo de ella ; y a la otra aeera es su norte el Buen Sueeso ; alii enfrente el Carmen ; a man dereeha la calle Mayor, cosecha de toda buscona gente: San Felipe a la mitad : Puerta de Guadalajara arriba, de quien contara lo que puede una beldad ; pues por mas que un bolsillo haga, es como dar con el toro ; 268 NOTES y cobrando en plata u oro, paga en cuartos, si es que paga. ' ' — For el Sotano y el Torno, I, vi. See also in Lope's el Acero de Madrid, I, xiii, the speech of Beltran. If the witticisms and descriptions dealing with this famous street were to be gleaned from the dramatists alone, a comprehensive history of the life and activities of the calle Mayor, and even of the entire capital could be written. Cf. also Mesonero Romanes: El antiguo Madrid (Madrid, 1861), p. 76ff., 116ff.; Eicardo Se- pulveda: Madrid we jo. (Madrid, 1887), pp. 193£f. 424. tantos seruizios: Owing to the absence of sewers, refuse and garbage, dirty water and worse were frequently thrown into the streets, and not only at night. The law required, however, that a warning agua va be shouted before anything was thrown out. The un- suspecting passer-by could then scurry into the nearest doorway until the shower was over. References to this incredible habit are common enough in the writers of Lope's day. "Un bellacon, mozo de cocina (que debia de estar fregando) pusose a una ventana, y echome por cima un gran pailon de agua hirviendo, y cuando la tuve a cuestas, dijo muy despacio : Agua va, guardaos deiajo. Comence a gritar, dando voces que me habian muerto." — Guzman de Alfarache, parte la, libro 3°, cap. 3. ' ' i Que sin dezir al que passa agua va, las desta eassa derramen vn orinal ! ' ' Gongora: el Doctor Carlino, II (fragment). Cf. la Casa de los Celos, by Cervantes, a popular song (Act II) : ■ ' ' Derramastes el agua, la niila, ynodixistes: lAgua va! La justicia os prendera." LA DAMA SOBA 269 In la Ch.mrda cuidadosa of Cervantes, the sacristan asks the soldier in what way Cristina, the housemaid, has received his mafiy favors, and the latter replies : "Con . . . derramar sobre mi las lavazas euando ja- bona, y el agua de f regar euando f riega ; y esto es cada dia, porque todos los dias estoy en esta calle y a gu puerta. ' ' See also the dialogue in Lope 's el Villano en su Rincon, II, vii, not unlike that in the entrem^.s of Cervantes. As regards the particular meaning of servicio in our play compare: "Una moza de f regar, dadas las once de la noehe, saco el servicio de sus amos a la ealle, y por quitarse de ruidos, vaciole a la puerta de un vecino que hacia y vendia esteras de esparto y de paja (oficio que comunmente se halla entre diseipulos del Alcoran) , y eomo por el mal olor viniese a noticia del hombre el desacato de la moza, salio muy enojado, diciendo: — i bellaca f regona, nunca otro eches en tierra de cris- tianos ! — Dijo la moza : — Por eso le vaeie yo a vuestra puerta." — Gaspar Lucas Hidalgo: Didlogos, I, cap. 4. "Tenia por costumbre el vie jo burlon de levantarse easi cada noche al servicio; y el ofendido Bartolo, que no ignoraba esta costumbre de su vie jo, la noche siguiente, euando le sacaba a la calle para limpialle, antes de acostarse el cura, en lugar de limpialle, como solia, le puso toda la redondez .esmaltada, etc." Ibid., II, cap. 4. "Abrio un mozo la ventana de arriba eon un candil eneendido en la mano y un tocador en la cabeza entre sueio y roto, diciendo : No hay posada. hermano ; vaya con Dios, y menos golpes ; que le coronara por necio un orinal de seis dias. ' ' — Tirso de Molina : los Tres maridos burlados, 2a burla. Quevedo, in his Vida del Buscon uses the word with the double meaning found in the play : " j Que estima- ban — dijo [el soldado] muy enojado — si he estado yo 270 NOTES seis meses pretendiendo una bandera, tras veinte aiios de servicio del rey, como lo dicen tstas heridas! . . . Pregunte v. m. en Plandes por la hazana del Mellado, y vera lo que dizen. — . . . El soldado Uamo al hues- ped y le eneomendo sus papeles con las cajas de lata que los traia. . . . Hizose hora de levantar; [el sol- dado] pidio luz muy aprisa; trajeronla, y el huesped el envoltorio al soldado, y olvidaronsele los papeles. El pobre Alferez hundia la easa a gritos, pidiendo que se le diese los servieios. El huesped se turbo ; y como todos deciamos que se los diese, fue corriendo, y trajo tres bacines, diciendo : — He aqui para cada uno el suyo. jQuieren mas servieios? — entendiendo que nos habian dado camaras. Aqui fue ella ; que se levanto el soldado con la espada tras el huesped, en camisa, jurando que le habia de matar por que hacia bur la del (que se habia hallado en la Naval, San Quintin y otras), trayendole servieios en lugar de los papeles que le habia dado." I, cap. 10. 425. . . . agua ardiente, agua viznieta del vino: so called by Lope because it was distilled from wine. "Es la que por artificio se saca del vino, de sus heces, del trigo, y de otras cosas." — Diccionario de Autoridades. 427. los honbres earnest olendas: In el Acero de Madrid, Bel- tran says: ' ' Frainceses, que pregonais aguardiente y letiiario." For the noise and revelry of carnival time, hinted at in lines 425-8, see Gaspar Lucas Hidalgo: Dialogos, espe- cially the romance recited by Castaiieda in the last chapter, beginning : "Martes era, que no lunes, martes de Carnestolendas etc. ' ' LA D4MA BOBA 271 There is also a very characteristic description from the pen of Quevedo in his Vida del Buscon, I, cap. 2, be- ginning: "Llego, por no enfadar, el tiempo de las Carnestolendas etc. ' ' These passages are, of course, con- ceived in the popular and less decent spirit of carnival. In Moreto: el Desden con el desden, II, iii, carnesto- lendas are presented with a dignified and courtly spirit \/^ in a sarao. The scene begins : — Musicos. "Venid los galanes a elegir las damas, que en Carnestolendas amor se disfraza. Falarala, larala, etc." Lope finished this play in April ; he may, therefore, have been writing this passage at carnival time. 430. despertauan los offizios: trades people, craftsmen, etc. The oficial is here contrasted with the moneyed or aristo- cratic class (rentas) . "He tenido y servido, como dicen, siete oficios, aprendiz, oficial, despensero, criada, y criado, mayordomo y escudero." — el Donado hablador, op. cit., II, cap. 10. "Tristan. Pues jque falta a Garceran? Fulgencia. Ventura. Tristan. Y j que mas ? Fulgencia. Dinero. Garceran. Por esa faltilla sola hay en el mundo escuderos, dueiias, pajes y laeayos, oficiales y hombres buenos, y poetas hay tambien." — Lope : el Boho del Colegio, III, xxii. "Mando Pelayo salir a todos los oficiales. Que saldrian, respondieron. 272 NOTES de bueiia'gana los sasti'es a pelear con los mbros. ' ' — el Premio del'iien hahlar, 111, iv. "Cuaiido los espanoles alcanzamos un real, somos prin- cipes, y aunque nos falte, nos lo hace creer la presuncion. ~ si preguntais a un mal trapillo quien es, responderos ha por lo menos, que desciende de los godos, y que su corta suerte lo tiene arrinconado, siendo propio del mumdo loco levahtar a los bajos y bajar a los altos ; pero que aunque asi sea, no dara a' torcer su brazo ni se estimara en menos que el mas preciado, y morira antes de hambre, que poherse a un oficio; y si se ponen a aprender alguno, es con tal desaire que, o no trabajan, o si lo hacen, es tan mal, que apenas se hallara un buen oficial en toda Espana." — Luna, Lazarillo de Tormes, cap. 7. It would be worth while to identify this Luna. His tale is an interesting patchwork of phrases and episode's taken from other authors'. I am inclined to ' believe that the name Juan de Luna is hot a nom de plume; that he was nierely a teacher of Spanish and in- terpreter in Paris and Lolidon. After reading carefully his three books: Dialogos familiares (in Spanish and French, Paris,. 1'619) , his Arte breve i Compendiosa para aprender a leer, escreuir, pronunciar y hahlar la lengua espanola (London,. 1623), and his LazariUo de Tormes (Paris, 1620), one is impressed chiefly by his lack of originality, and his cleverness in putting together mate- rial gathered from other writers. ' 431. tocauan los hoticarios sus almirezes a pino: "the apothecaries clanged their brass mortars." The phrase is used of bells: "empinar la campana, o taiierla a pino, es leuantarla en alto." — Covarrubias, under pina. Pag6s: Gran Diccionario de la Lengua Castellana quotes Quevedo under almirez without exact reference : LA BAM.A POBA 273 "El clamor del que muere empieza en el almirez del boticario . . . acabase en las campanas de la iglesia." " j Y que gusto me apercibe un almirez al moler, ; y un lacayo al patear?" — Alarcon: No hay mal que por Men no venga, I, xiv (Bonilla's excellent edition, p. 54). 437. Oziquimocho: The names of these cats recall those of Lope 's Gatomaquia, some of which are : Zapaquilda, Marramaquiz, Maulero, Micifuf, Bufalia, Garraf, Gar- fiiianto, Micilda, Zapiron, Tragapanzas, Golosillo, Lame- platos, and others. 441. hablaban: the imperfect with 6 instead of lo (-auan) is rare in Lope 's manuscripts. 442. en tiple: " [las gatas] mauUando en tiple, y el gatazo en bajo." — la Gatomaquia, silva 2. 443. gerigonza: jargon, gibberish; "vn cierto lenguage parti- cular de que vsan los ciegos con que se entienden entre si. Lo mesmo tienen los gitanos, y tambien forman lengua los rufianes, y los ladrones que llaman Germania. Dixose gerigohga, quasi gregigonea, porque en tiempos passados era tan peregrina la lengua griega, que aun pocos de los que professauan facultades la entendian, y assi dezian hablar griego el que no se dexaua entender etc." — Covarrubias. The word has been much dis- cussed, but the poor guess of the Spanish lexicographer can be replaced only by the equally unsatisfactory modern conclusion "of uncertain origin" (cf. Murray's New English Dictionary, under jargon) ; also verse 918. 449. lo que arrastra honra: "hdse de entender que las ropas rozagantes, y que llegauan al suelo antiguamente, las traian los Reyes, y personajes muy graues; y por vestido honroso se da a los clerigos que no pueden 274 NOTES traer vestido que no Uegue por lo menos al tovillo." — Covarrubias. Correas: Vocdbulario de Refranes, etc., has the phrase, ' ' lo que arrastra honra, y arrastrabanle las tripas" (p. 198). " No se diga que lo que arrastra honra ; sino al contrario, que lo que honra arrastra y trae a muchos mas arras- trados que sillas." Gracian, el Criticon, parte 3a, crisi vi (Cejador's edition, Madrid, 1914), II, p. 229. "Si es largo como la historia, arrastrara por el suelo ; pero lo que arrastra honra." Lope : Santiago el Verde, III, vii. 459. pias: "haca remendada; vienen de las Islas Setemptrio- nales para seruicio de los Reyes y grandes senores. El nombre es de la tierra y lengua de donde vienen." — Covarrubias. Compare French pie, and cheval pie, and English pied and piebald. 484. correr gansos cinco a cinco : ' ' Correr el ganso, regozijo que se haze por carnestolendas, atandole en vna soga en medio de la calle; los que passan corriendo proeuran arranearle el pescuezo, y como esta bien trauado suele a vezes arrancarlos el de la silla." — Covarrubias. The first reading of the manuscript was correr lanzas, which Lope corrected, writing gansos over lamas. The printed versions all have canas. 512. Sibila eritrea: The sibyl of Erythrae, one of the twelve chief cities of Ionia, Asia minor. — Cicero: De Divina- tione ad M. Brutum, I, 18, speaks of her. "jNo es conocido [Christo,] mirad, a las sibilas, poetas diuinas, que del escriuen heroycos y altos poemas? Mirad lo que dizen del la libiea y la eritrea, la de Cumas, la de Arabia etc." LA DAMA BOBA 275 — Velez de Guevara : la Rosa de Alexandria, III. Cf . also Pedro Mexia : Silva de varia leccion, op. cit., libro III, cap. 34; "Que mugeres fueron las Sibillas." 522. Eduardo: Lope has both forms, Duardo (three syllables) and Eduardo; it is probable that the present verse has hiatus after senora, making Eduardo three syllables. 525. In this sonnet Lope ridicules his affected contemporaries who favored conceptismo and culteranismo in poetry. I have discussed these poetic aberrations at greater length in my introduction, and tried to show there, as well as in my notes, to what extent these phenomena were influenced by neo-platonism. The peculiar lan- guage of the poets of the early seventeenth century was not wholly new at the time; similarities in phrase may be detected in prose and verse running far back into the fifteenth century. The novelty of the style lay chiefly in the excess of it, in piling wp its artificial fea- tures to the exclusion of natural expression. It was the abuse rather than the use of conceptos and culto elements, that created their vogue and made the literary world alive to their possibilities. 526. mi amor que a la virtud geleste aspira: compare "El amor que a la virtud se tiene." — Cervantes: Galatea IV — a phrase which occurs with similar ones in the midst of a neo-platonic discussion. Cf. edition Schevill-Bonilla, II, p. 45. 552. la: refers to yntenzion: the printed texts have se. 576. vete a escuelas: "los estudios generales (that is, a Uni- versity) donde se enseiian las artes liberales, disciplinas, sciencias, y diuersas facultades de Teologia, Canones, Leyes, Medicina, Filosofia, Lenguas . . ." — Cova- rrubias ; note this use of the plural without the article : 276 • NOTES "Eso de argiiir es bueno para escuelas.'' — Lope : la Esclava de su galdn, I, i. ' ' Si entro en escuelas, gritan los gorrones : — i Ay, guarda el perro ! — Siluos y ceceos, y sosurro mejor que de auejones." -^Diego Ximenez de Enciso: Juan Latino, II, near beginning. 579. Platon . . . puso cortinas: that is, the neo-platonists re- joice in this obscurity. 587. La claridad a todos es agradable: Althoi}gh Lope himself indulged at times, in conceptismo and cuUeranismo he always ad- vocated clearness of style in his criticisms. He makes a distinction between culio, affected, and culto, cultured in the best sense. In the latter sense Garcilaso was culto: "Aquel poeta es eulto, que eultiva de suerte su poema, que no deja eosa aspera ni escura, como un labrador un campo; que eso es cultura, aunque ellos diran que lo toman por ornamento. ' ' — la Dorotea, IV, ii. See also his ' ' Discurso en prosa sobre la nueva poesia, ' ' in Obras sueltas de Lope de Vega (Madrid, 1776), IV, p. 459. 593. No traygas contigo [a] quien: on the mechanical omission of a before or after a vowel, cf. verse 259. 610. Nise stumbles and falls: This stage trick, which permits the lover to assist the young girl to rise, or to touch her hand without arousing suspicion or offending cur- ' rent etiquette, is one of several common devices, both of the theatre and the novel. Cf. Lope : la Discreta enamorada, I, iv: (Fenisa lets her handkerchief fall, so that Lucindo may hand it to her and add^-ess her) ; el Acero de Madrid, I, ii: (Belisa falls and Lisardo LA DAMA BOBA 277 helps her to rise) ; Tirso de Molina has the following scene : Dona Magdalena. . . . (ap.) Un favor, me manda amor que le de. {Tropieza, y da la mano a Mireno) i Valgame Dios ! Tropece ; . . . {ap.) que siempre tropieza amor. El chapin se me torcio. Mireno. {ap.) jCielos! jhay ventura igual? jHizose acaso algun mal Vuexeelencia ? Doiia Magdalena. Creo que no. Mireno. (ap.) j Que la mano la tome! — el Vergonzoso en Palabio, II, xvi. Cf . also Por el Sotano y el Torno, II, i ; and Alarcon : " — Jacinto, Luerecia e Isabel, con mantes; cae Jacinta, y Uega Don Garcia y dale la mano " — la Verdad sos- pechosa, I, iv. "No se si con cuidado, tropezo del chapin, acudile los brazos abiertos, y recibila en ellos, aleanzandole a tocar un poco de su rostro con el mio." — Guzman de Alfarache, II, iii, iv. 635. Hermoso soys sin duda, pensamiento: This apostrophe to a "thought" is exceedingly common in Lope, and is a dramatic device with the form and character of a mono- logue. The latter is seldoni satisfactory from an artistic point of view, because Spanish comedy (la comedia propiamente dicha), is intrinsically one of constant action and forward motion ; so that monologues, however brief they may be, assume an artificial character. In tragedy the monologue is more appropriate on account of the moments of pause and deliberation which occur in every tragic plot. Apostrophes to a "thought" may be found in la Yiuda valenciana: "Buen animo, pen- 278 NOTES samiento, de temeridad vestido. ' ' — II, i -jlos Locos de Valencia: "Vete despacio, pensamiento mio." — I, xiii; el Bobo del Colegio: "jDonde me llevas, pensamiento loco?" — III, iii; el Perro del hortelano: "Nuevo pen- samiento mio, desvanecido en el viento."— II, iv; la Moza de cdntaro: "Necio pensamiento mio, que en tal loeura habeis dado."- — I, xii; el Castigo sin venganza: "Dejame, pensamiento; no mas, no mas, memoria." — I, i ; and many other plays. Even in prose fiction Lope introduces this poetic stage device : Cf. the romance in el Peregrino en su pairia, libro 3, in Obras sueltas, V, p. 208 : "Cobarde pensamiento, pues todas tus promessas, burlandose del alma el viento se las Ueva. ' ' Similar apostrophes to "pensamiento" may also be found in other dramatists. 668. [las doce] que es numero de ynteres: Don Luis Zapata has a chapter in his Misceldnea, called "Grandeza del ntimero doce. ' ' It is, like most of the volume, a heap of absurdities, but contains items of popular interest. Among the scores of examples in which doce is used, he cites : ' ' Doce, los f amosos doce Pares de Prancia ; doce meses tiene el aiio; . . . doce horas da en Espafia el reloj, y no da mas . . . de doce aiios se puede easar una mujer, de doce puede testar. Doce hijos hacen por sus dias a un hombre hidalgo . . . ; doce son los Consejos principales que gobiernan nuestra machina . . . ; doce leguas hay de Madrid a Toledo . . .; una docena de agotes es el castigo ordinario de un muchacho . . .y doce gallinas y un gallo dicen que comen tanto como un caballo." Cf. Memorial historico espaiiol (Madrid, 1859), XI, p. 76i¥. Laurencio adds (vs. 681-4) : LA DAMA BOBA 279 "En las doze el ofizial descansa, y bastale ser ora entonzes de comer tan precissa y natural. ' ' This doce is in Zapata also : " A las doce del dia se come, los dias de ayuno en especial" (p. 78). 681. el ofizial: cf. note to verse 430 above. 693-700. Nisc es ora ynfortunada, . . . planeta ayrado, sestil, quadrado, Jupiter henigno, irino are astrological terms found especially in the vocabulary of culteranismo. "Los planetas se aman el vno al otro, quando se miran de aspecto henigno, que es trino, de distancia de ciento y veynte grades, el qual es aspecto de perf eto amor ; o de aspecto sestil, de la mitad de aquella distancia, que es de sesenta grados del vno al otro; el qual es aspecto de lento amor y de media amistad. Bmpero hazense ene- migos y se aborrecen el vno al otro quando se miran de aspecto oposito, . . . que es de ciento ochenta grados . . . ; y tambien, quando se miran de aspecto quadrado, de la mitad de aqueUa distancia etc." — Leon Hebreo: "Didlogos de Amor," I, "Didlogo segundo," p. 347 of the Nucva biblioteca de autores espafioles XXI : Origenes de la Novela IV (Madrid, 1915). Cf. also Christobal Suarez Figueroa, Plaza Universal (ed. 1733, Madrid), p. 210 (dealing with astrological matters) : "Si la Luna tuuiere aspecto . . . con Jupiter, las cosas correran henignas y propieias." Also p. 543, par. 7. Note also the following passages: "Tu, moro, astrologo falso, mira ; que presto mentiste ! Pues, sin trinos ni cuadrados, sextiles ni oposiciones, me traen el bien que aguardo." — Lope: la Nina de Plata, II, xxi. 280 NOTES ' ' /, Que planeta riguroso miro en aspecto contrario la casa de mi f ortuna ? ' ' — Velez de Guevara : La Obligacion a las mugeres, III, f. 258 in Segunda parte de comedias escogidas (Madrid, 1652). 719-28. No ves que el sol del dinero va del yngenio adelante? etc.: Ever since the days of the Archpriest of Hita, whose witty lines beginning ' ' Mueho fas el dinero, et mueho es de amar," are read with pleasure today, Spanish writers have paid tribute to don Dinero in original ways. Quevedo's letrilla: Poderoso cahallero es don Dinero is well known, and Cervantes has on several occasions, especially in Don Quixote, written of the relative merits of poverty and riches ; Aleman, with his love of moral- izing, speaks of them at length, as for example, in la, parte, libro 3°, cap. 1, of his Guzman de Alfarache, be- ginning: "Para los aduladores, no hay rico necio, ni pobre disereto." But Lope always presents an old sub- ject in a new and inimitable manner ; compare, for example : "Beltran. jA quien pesa que le den? Dime tu ; en el mundo, [, a quien ? Florencio. ^ No hay nadie ? Beltran. Escuchame. Florencio. Di. Beltran. El medico esta mirando cuando el de a ocho le eneajas ; el letrado cuando bajas la mano al parraf o, dando ; el juez cuando le toca la parte del denunciado; LA DAMA BOBA 281 el proeurador no ha dado paso hasta que el plus le toca ; el que escribe, solo atiende cuando saeas el doblon; cualquiera negociacion de solo el dinero pende. El que viene a ser tu amigo, si nunca le has dado nada, culpa tu amistad honrada y deja de andar contigo. El que se pone a mirar, no esta mirando aquel rato si es flux, sino el barato aguarda que le has de dar. jQuien ha hecho algun placer, que no espere el galardon? — la Noche ioledana, I, vi. 746. jAsi fuera el alma! Pedro is far more particular than his master, and his preference of intelligence to mere prettiness reminds one of Alarcon 's verses : "Si es boba la hermosa, es de tenido papel una bien formada flor, que de lejos vista agrada, y cerca no vale nada porque le falta el olor." — Mudarse por mejorarse, I, v. 753. salis: The word in the MS. looks like sales, but the e may be an undotted i as elsewhere now and then. 769. ^Amor? Desseo . . . de vna cossa ermosa: A discussion 1/ of love along the same lines as here may be found in Lope's Fuente Ovejuna, I, iv ; see also la Dorotea, II, iv. The language and ideas of neo-platonism, especially as voiced in Leon Hebreo, Didlogos de Amor, are fre- / 282 NOTES quently repeated by the poets of Lope's day; they are reflected in practically all types of poetic creation. "Ya declare Platon que el nombre del amor es vniversal a qualquiera desseo, de qualquier cosa que sea y de qual- quiera que dessee ; pero que en especial se dize solamente desseo de eosa hermosa. ' ' ( Op. cit., p. 377 ) . Again : " El amor humano, de quien prineipalmente hablamos, es propriamente desseo de cosa hermosa, como dice Platon ; y eomunmente es desseo de cosa buena, como dize Aris- toteles." (p. 381). The interpretation of the pagan deities, Cupid, Venus, Apollo, etc., of heathen myths, as found in Leon Hebxeo is repeated in the poets of the Siglo de Oro. Cervantes copies Leon Hebreo extensively in his Galatea, IV, the definition of love, as un deseo de helleza recurring several times. Cf . the edition Schevill- Bonilla, op. cit., Introduceion, p. 21 ; Pitzmauriee-Kelly : Historia de la literatura espanola (Madrid, 1916), p. 130; and especially the great work of Menendez y Pelayo: Historia de las ideas esteticas en Espana, II, vol. 1° (Madrid, 1884), p. 108ff. 791. espiritus visiuos: "Lo que tiene facultud de ver," — Dice, de Aut., under visivo, with a citation from Fragoso: Cirugia Universal, I, cap. 37, "Por estos van los espiritus visivos a los ojos, y entran las especies, o serae- janzas de las cosas." Leon Hebreo, op. cit., p. 361, says: "del resplande- ciente entendimiento diuino fue produzida la luz visitia en el primer dia de la creacion, y en el quarto dia fue aplicada al sol, y a la luna y a las estrellas. ' ' 794. arriedro hay a: A more popular and antiquated form of arredro; cf. : "Comenzose a ofrecer a Satanas, dejo caer las alforjas, llegose a el el estudiante y dijo : — Arriedro vayas, Satan, cata la eruz," — Quevedo: Yida del Buscon, I, iv. LA DAMA BOBA 283 812. lAmor? locura, furor: Of the classical origin of this con- ception, I have spoken at length in my book on Ovid and the Spanish Renascence (Berkeley, 1913). Of. also the Aeneid, IV, 101: "ardet amans Dido, traxitque per ossa fur or em". Very apropos of this passage, Caspar Gil Polo says: "Aunque todos estos nombres [del Amor] son inf ames, peores son los que le dan sus mismos aficionados, nombrandole fuego, furor y muerte; y al amar, llamando arder, destruirse, consumirse, y enlo- queeerse; y a si mismos nombrandose, ciegos, miseros, eautivos, furiosos, consumidos e inflamados." — la Diana enamorada, I. 819. El mas rudo labrador a pocos cur SOS la adquiere: cf. Ovid and the Spanish Renascence, op. cit., p. 38; Juan Ruiz says: "El amor fas sotil al ome que es rrudo." stanza 156. 823. vna dulce enfermedad: cf. Ovid and the Spanish Rena- scence, op. cit., p. 58ff. 826. saiahones: "enfermedad que suele dar comunmente en los pies y manos y si da en el talon le Uamamos f riera. ' ' — Covarrubias. "Si mi senor te ha engaiiado, no vuelva a Madrid jamas. i Plega a Dios que un ignorante me lea, ilustre senora, perversos versos un hora ! Que se aficione a capones mi dama por voces vanas, y si tuviere tercianas, me euren por sabanones." • — Lope : el Premio del Men hablar, II, ii. X 284 NOTES 830. es luz del entendimiento amor: one of the conceptos often found in the religious verse of the seventeenth century, but referring to el amor diuino. It is found in similar forms in Leon Hebreo. 839. deso nagistes. 4Y0? The ignorance of Pinea may be com- pared with that of Agnes in Moliere's: L 'Scale des femmes; there are similar ideas in both plays. 852. pepitoria: a stew : ' ' Senor licenciado, lo primero que tengo de quitar deste su libro ha de ser el titulo que le pone, Uamandole Pepitoria. — Preguntole que por que, y res- pondiole: — porque la pepitoria Ueva pies y cabeza; pero este su libro ni lleva pies ni cabeza." — Gaspar Lucas Hidalgo: Didlogos, op. cit., lib. 3°, cap. 4; "La seiiora su vecina la desmenuzaba toda, y hacia pepitoria de todos sus miembros y eoyunturas." — la Gitanilla, p. 25, edition of Rodriguez Marin in Cldsicos castellanos, ' XXVII ; cf . also Velez de Guevara : el DiaMo cojuelo, the edition of Sr. Bonilla, op. cit., pp. 15 and 213. 861. saco de vna carta vn naypecito : Octavio hands Finea a picture of Liseo, drawn on the back of a playing card. According to a passage in Lope's Peribdnez, y el Comen- dador de Ocana (cf. Bonilla 's edition, Madrid, 1916), a painter draws his first sketch of a portrait on a play- ing card (naipe), throwing it afterwards on a larger canvas : "Pintor. A servirte vengo. Comendador. j, Traes el naipe y colores ? Pintor. Colores y naipe traigo. Comendador. Pues, eon notable secreto, de aquellas tres labradoras, me retrata la de enmedio, luego que en cualquier lugar tomen con espacio asiento. LA DAMA BOBA 285 Pintor. Que sere dificultoso temo ; pero yo me atrevo a que se parezca mucho. Comendador. Pues advierte lo que quiero. Si se pareee en el naipe, deste retrato pequeno quiero que hagas uno grande con mas espacio en un lienzo. Pintor. jQuieresle entero? Comendador. No tanto; basta que de medio cuerpo, mas con las mismas patenas, sartas, camisa y sayuelo." — I, xxii. In a very amusing scene (el Ausente en el lugar, III, iv) Carlos pretends to tear up the letters and pictures of Elisa to make her believe that all is over between them. Unfortunately he has nothing to tear up in his pockets, so he turns to his servant: ' Carlos. jTienes un papel ahi? Fingire que los rompi. (ap. a Estebw, Esteban. Buena industria. Carlos. Amor me advierte. Estelan. Si a darte otra cosa vengo tan buena, no has de enojarte. Carlos. No hare. Esteban. Pues escucha aparte. Diez doee naipes tengo. Carlos. I Naipes ? Esteban. Son para encajar, si necesidad se ofrece. Carlos. Muestra. Esteban. Lastima pareee. Carlos. Estotros puedes guardar. — {a Elisa) Elisa, hoy te dejo rota, hoy rompo . . . 283 NOTES Esteban. {ap. a su amo.) y pudiera ser, si fuera mala mujer; y rompes alguna sota. ' ' Carlos then tears up several playing cards under Blisa 's window, and departs. The latter promptly despatches Marquina, and her servant Paula, to examine the frag- ments, while she remains at the window. "Paula. jRasgolos todos aqui Carlos cuando se partio? Elisa. Si. Marquina. Naipes solo hallo yo. Paula. t, Como ? Marquina. Naipes. Paula. i, Naipes ? Marquina. Si. Paula. Mira no sea el retrato, que esta en naipe. Marquina. Lo que ves. La sota de bastos es. Jugo, perdio y dio barato. Paula. Mira que el reves sera. Marquina. Per aca no hay otra eosa." Cf . also la Borotea, I, v ; IV i ; V, v. The three picture cards of the Spanish deck are : a crowned figure (rey), a figure on horseback {caiallo), equivalent to our queen, and the knave, a standing figure (sota). Apparently Liseo's picture recalled the latter, being the image of a young man, but only as far as the waist, and, therefore, differening from the usual sota in having no legs. Cf. the phrase : "que es sota, y muestra los pies," in Tirso de Molina: La Villana de la Sagra, I, i ; " buscar los pies a una sota ' ' in Alarcon : Las Paredes oyen, II, i. This may be another reason for Finea's surprise on seeing her prospective husband on a playing card, but without legs, for she exclaims: "que no tiene mas de cara, cuera y ropilla" (vs. 870). On LA DAMA BOBA 287 the national popularity of all kinds of card games see the interesting note of Pellicer to his edition of Don a/ Quixote, II, cap. 49 ; also the notes of Clemencin to the same chapter. 869. el negro del marido: "Es color infausta y triste, y como tal vsamos desta palabra, diziendo : negra ventura, etc. ' ' — Covarrubias ; ef . : "la negra orden de eaualleria, ' ' — Don Quixote, I, iii. 901. retratado: for retratada; Lope may have referred uncon- sciously to Liseo. 907. llegad sillas y almohadas: that is, "bring chairs for the men, and pillows for the women." The room in which women received gentlemen had an estrado (cf. verse 2449 below) or a kind of low platform covered with a carpet. On this were placed special almohadas de estrado, and while the men took the chairs, the women seated themselves, presumably after the Moorish fashion, on the pillows. The evidence for these facts is extensive, but I shall select only a few references. Compare the following passages : "Sola en casa de Aurelio. Aurelio, Oetavio, Blisa, muy gallarda de novia; Mar- quina, escudero, etc. Aurelio. Llegad las sillas. — Tu, querida Elisa, ocupa esta almohada. ' ' — Lope : el Ausente en el lugar. III, xiv. Elisa, it will be remembered, is the only woman present. Cf . also II, X, of the same play ; furthermore Los Me- lindres de Belisa, I, ii ; and la Dorotea, II, v. ' ' Estaba el rieo estrado, de dos pedazos de una vieja ester a heeha la barandilla, de ricas almohadas adornado 288 NOTES en tarimas de corcho, y por defuera el grave adorno de una y otra silla ; ' ' — ^Lope: la Gatomaquia, silva 5. "Se entro y admitio una silla, con que le eonvidaron. Sentose la dama en un estrado que habia de razonables cogines en una sala, cuyo adorno era de unos guadama- eiles, al quitar euando los pidiese su duefio." — ^Ijinan y Verdugo: Guia y avisos de Forasteros, "novela y es- earmiento quinto." ' ' Camila le respondio, que mejor reposaria en el estrado, que en la silla, y assi le rogo se entrasse a dormir en el. ' ' — Don Quixote, I, cap. xxxiii, f . 192r. Cf. also the "Carta de dote otorgada por Miguel de Cervantes a Dona Catalina de Salazar Vozmediano, su muger," the list containing, among the usual household goods, una almoada de estrado de verduras; in Pellicer, Documentos . . ., p. 207 of his Introduction to Don Quixote (Madrid, 1797). Among the bienes dotales y propio caudal of Isabel de Cervantes are mentioned: "quatro almohadas de es- trado, de tereiopelo negro," and "otra alombra de es- trado." Perez Pastor: Documentos cervantinos (Madrid, 1897), p. 149. 918. xerigonza: in addition to the signification given, verse 443, also means hoax, trick, or deceitful game, a mystifying or ridiculous occurrence. Compare : ' ' Sotanitos de Madrid, jerigonzas encubrid eon las trampas de una calle." — Tirso de Molina : Por el Sotano y el Torno, III, xi. The Die. de Aut. cites Espinel: Marcos de Olregon, "hacia el gitano rail gerigonzas sobre el macho, de manera que tenia ya muchos golosos que le querian eomprar," I, cap. 16; Cejador: Tesoro: Silhantes, I, no. 30, p. 102 thinks the word of Basque origin. LA DAMA BOBA 289 923. hablaua en: cf. "hablando en el duque de Alba etc." — Lope : Al pasar del arroyo, II, i. "liabla en los reyes a tiento." — Guardar y guardarse, II, i. "Ansi estuuimos hasta la noche, hablando en cosas que me preguntaua." — Lazarillo de Tormes, III. Cf. also Hanssen, who says, of this phrase, Gramatica historica de la lengua castellana: "perteneee al len- guaje antiguo" (p. 299). 950. tanto el jo se le acomoda : jo, the call of muleteers to their beasts to urge them on, and so more appropriate for the silly Finea than joyas, jewels. The Die. do Aut. cites Quevedo: "Asimismo declaramos que no de a ninguna muger joya ninguna, so pena de quedarse con el jo como bestia. " In Premdtica del tiempo, Oiras, op. cit., I, p. 440 ; cf . also Jacara, no. 7 ; III, p. 105 : "Llegamos a la eiudad con sus arres y mis joes." "No haya miedo que me aturda. Con un palo y con un arre, y un jo, que te estriego, suelo dar con un hombre en el suelo. ' ' — Tirso de Molina : la Villana de Vallecas, I, xiii. This same phrase occurs in Don Quixote, II, cap. 10, f. 35r. 955. Haraos mal el agua sola. Traygan vna caxa: cf. above, verse 50^ In la Dorotea, II, iii, a similar idea is expressed : ' ' No bebais que os hara mal sin comer algo. Trae una caja, Celia, o mira si ha quedado algun bizeocho de los que me envio mi con- f esor. ' ' 959. vn menudo: "se dize el vientre del carnero con manos y cabeza. ' ' — Covarrubias. Other animals, and birds, how- 290 NOTES ever, were also used. The entrails and such parts as were included in the preparation were first carefully washed, and according to some descriptions, even scrubbed with soap (enxabonar) . In Francisco Mar- tinez Montiiio: Arte de Cozina, [Madrid, 1611] ? may be found the following recipe for vna empanada de memodos de pauos, f. 218v and 219r: "Tomaras vn menudo de pauo, que son los alones, y el peseuego, y los pies, y la moUeja; luego desoUaras los peseuegos, y haras vn relleno con higadillos de los mismos pauos, de aues, friendo vn poeo de tozino, y ceboUa, y los higadillos, y echales vn poco de yeruabuena, y luego echa quatro hueuos crudos, y rebueluelo sobre la lumbre, hasta que este bien seco ; luego sacalo al tablero, y piealo muy bien, y echale vn poquito de pan rallado, y echale dos hueuos crudos, y sacona [lo] con todas especias y agrio de limon, y sal; y con este relleno henchiras la morcilla del peseuego; luego tomaras los alones, y pelarlos has en agua, y cortarles has las puntas, y cuezanse assi enteros, y cortaras el pescueeo por medio, y cuezase todo junto con la moUeja y los pies y la morcilla con vn poeo de agua y sal y tozino; y despues de cozido sacarlo has que se enfrie, y haras vna masa dulce como de empanada Inglesa, y empanalo con ella (y), echando vnas lonjas de tozino debaxo, y sagonarlo [has] de sal, y especias, y echa otras lonjas de tozino eneima, y cierra tu empanada, y cuezase ; y aduierte, que para eada empanada son menester dos menudos con sus dos moreillas de los pescuecos ; y si no huuiere pauos, se puede hazer de gansos, aunque no son tan buenos, y si fuere en dia de carne, podras hazer el relleno con carne en lugar de los higadillos. ' ' Martinez 's book makes amusing reading, but I do not recommend it to people with weak stomachs. In the Biblioteca de la mnjer, dirigida por la Con- desa de Pardo Bazan: la Gocina espanola antigua LA VAUA BOBA 291 (Madrid, s. a.), P- 239, the reader will find another recipe for un Menudo a lo gitano: "Lavense en agua ealiente los callos y tripas; vuelvanse a lavar y a restregar con vinagre y limon. Cortense en pedazos chicos y echense en la olla, con agua y sal, una mano de ternera deshuesada, jamon cortado en pedazos, un chorizo picante, algunos garbanzos ya remojados, el zumo de medio limon, dos cabezas de ajos enteras y pimenton Colorado; desliase en el mortero un migajon remojado en agua saturada de azafran, cominos y cilantro, con un poeo de caldo del mondongo; aiiadase al guiso, dejese espesar, y sirvase muy ealiente." The . preparation of this dish is naturally to be found in no modern dictionary; as far as I know, the menudo is mentioned especially in the literature of the seventeenth century. Cf . also Lope 's la Gatomaquia, silva 6, vs. 332flE. (Stage direction after 960). Entren con agua, toalla, salba y vna caxa: of salva Covarrubias says: "la piega de plata, 6 oro, sobre que se sirue la eopa del senor, por hazerse en ella la salua, ora sea el maestresala, ora por el gentilhombre de eopa. 984. Adios. 4 Ola! On various occasions Lope puts this ex- clamation jola! into the mouth of a hoio, or of one playing the fool, and not as a greeting. It is manifestly intended as a sign of Finea 's simplicity. Compare : "Garceran. jHola, aho! mirad que rabio; por eso mandad saear la merienda." — el Boho del Colegio, II, xvi. "Asimismo mandamos que ninguno Uame a nadie di- ciendo : Ola, hombre honrado — ,porque nadie, mientras este vivo y sano, es honrado con ola, porque las honras se suelen hacer a un muerto, pero no a un oleado, que aun vive. ' ' — Quevedo: Premdtica del Tiempo, Obras, op. cit., I, p. 441. 292 NOTES 1021. Ciceron tuho a Marco TuUo: The inferiority of the younger Cicero, when compared with his illustrious father, be- came a tradition started perhaps by a few chance utter- ances. Thus Seneca, the rhetorician, says of him {Suasoriae, 7, 13) that he was "homo qui nihil ex pa- terno ingenio habuit praeter urbanitatem. ' ' My friend, Dr. T. Peterssen, called my attention to The Corres- pondence of> Cicero by Tyrrell and Purser (London, 1897), which has a detailed introductory article on Marcus Cicero the Younger, V, p. Iviff. A popular essay on the son may be found in F. F. Abbott, Society and Politics in Ancient Borne (New York, 1912), p. 191ff. 1031. rasganse cartas: so the manuscript seems to me to read, although the present subjunctive, which Lope would write rasgen (cf. forms like lleg[u]e, etc.), may have been intended, a and e, are occasionally hard to dis- tinguish. 1032. ningun tesoro conpra la Uhertad: a sentiment frequently expressed in Lope's day. Cf. the Latin phrase: "non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro"; and Schevill: Ovid and the Renascence in Spain, op. cit., p. 208. The line also recalls Lope's beautiful cancion beginning: " i libertad preeiosa, no comparada al oro, ni al bien mayor de la espaciosa tierra !" Compare also: " i libertad, gran tesoro, porque no hay buena prision, aiinque fuese en grilles de oro!" — la Nina de Plata, II, ii. Acto segundo: a room in Octavio's house, perhaps the same as in act first ; we must imagine it near the garden. LA DAMA BOBA 293 1082. [amor] es cl dotor: this recalls the titles of Tirso's el Amor medico, and Moliere's I' Amour medecin. The idea goes back to Ovid. 1083. catrcda: on transposicion, a common popular phenomenon, ef . Hanssen, op. cit., p. 67 ; compare : "Castillo. Nos han puesto, seilor, de arriba abaxo eomo nueuos. Duque. jPorque? Latino. Porque me he opuesto . . . Castillo, a vna catreda, y mandalo vn badajo, Villanueua, que paga a estos gorrones a seis marauedis cada gargajo, chieo con grande." — Diego Ximenez de Enciso : Juan Latino, II, f . 44r. 1087. Platan . . . Aristoteles: Leon Hebreo in his Didlogos, op. cit., discusses the opinions of Plato and Aristotle on love at length, p. 378ff. 1090. The three verses following 1090 are eliminated in the manu- script, and, according to the ink, by Lope himself. 1099ff. Practically all the ideas of this speech, — ^that love taught men the arts, how to live in communities, to make laws, create republics, in short, that this motive force would be Finea's best teacher, — these ideas are taken from Ovid's Ars amatoria and the Remedia amoris, modified by neo-platonic philosophy which made love a very comprehensive influence hard to define. It covers a wide range of motive forces, being a love or desire of every kind, a desire of possession, a desire of beauty, a desire of action and the like. 1063-1321. The dialogue of act II, i and ii, especially between the young men and Nise, is a good example of concep- tismo and culteranismo in a mild form. In as much as 294 NOTES Lope intended these scenes to be a good-natured satire on the affectations of society and its false notions of poetry and culture, the conversation is naturally not clear, and the vocabulary intentionally absurd, or culto. 1164. foriuna el tiempo corrio: fortuna in the sense of "storm" is common in the writers of the Renascence. ' ' Saliendo con gran prosperidad, a pocas leguas corrieron fortuna. ' ' — el Donado hablador, op. cit., I, cap. 8. 1171. las colores: masculine or feminine; Cervantes uses both about equally. 1175. The three speeches, that of Duardo, vs. 1155, of Feniso, vs. 1175, and of Laurencio, vs. 1195, of equal length, represent a kind of balance in dialogue, rather com- mon in Lope's dramatic art. The most artificial ex- ample may be found in la Noche toledana, III, xi-xv, in which the various lovers appear on the scene, one after the other, each reciting a sonnet "to Night," the last two lovers splitting a sonnet between them, by reciting a verse each, with the exception of the last verse, of which each has a word. Even Calderon could have gone no further in artificial dialogue. In these speeches, the three young men are plainly cultos, Laurencio being a trifle more metaphysical and dark than the others. Cf. the Introduction on Lope's art also, p. 46. 1274. dande ay tantos vendabales de ynteresses en los honbres, no fue milagro mudarte: "jMudose aquel vendabal? I Vuelves a busear tu igual te bur las y entretienes ? ' ' — Lope: el Perro del hortelano, II, xvii. LA DAMA BOBA 295 1297. Astrologo me parezes; que sienpre de agenos males, sin reparar en los suyos, largos pronosticos kazen: The astrological imposter is fre- quently mentioned in fiction and drama. Compare: "Vivia en su vecindad un astrologo, grande hombre de sacar por figura los sucesos de las casas agenas, euando quiza en la propia, mientras el eonsultaba efemerides, su muger formaba otras, que, criandose a su costa, le Uamaban padre." — Tirso de Molina: Los tres maridos iurlados: 1™ burla. "Cierto esta que este mono no as Astrologo, ni su amo ni el algan, ni saben alcar estas figuras que llaman judiciarias, que tanto aora se vsan en Espaiia: que no ay mugercilla, ni page, ni gapatero de viejo que no presuma de alear vna figura, como si fuera vna sota de naypes del suelo, echando a perder con sus mentiras 6 ignoraneias la verdad marauillosa de la cieneia. "-^DoW Quixote, II, cap. xxv, f. 98v. In Per sites y Sigismunda, Cervantes speaks of la Astrologia jxidiciaria several times ; ef. I, cap. 13. Doiia Maria de Zayas y Sotomayor {el Castigo de la miseria) also depicts the fraudulent practices of an astrologer. There can be no doubt that current popular supersti- tions favored these practices, although they were con- demned by the Inquisition. Cf. H. C. Lea: A History of the Inquisition of Spain, IV, 191ff. Lope mentions them frequently: el Bobo del Colegio, III, xv; el Au- sente en el lugar, II, xi ; la Dorotea, V, viii, and in other plays. 1307. The two verses following 1307 are eliminated in the manu- script. 1308. [los romances] no pueden ser consonantes: The oldest ballads, and the best, were composed in assonant verse, not rime (consonantes). 296 NOTES 1311. . . . a los amigos prueba la cama y la carzel: Correas, Vocdbulario, p. 321, has : ' ' Careeles y caminos, hacen amigos, ' ' and Aleman, Guzman de Alfarache, 2a, parte, libr. 3°, cap. 7, also calls la carcel "prueba de amigos." Compare Lope's play : la Prueba de los amigos, first printed in 1873. 1317. por regalos tuyos tube mudanzas etc.: Among the gifts which lovers gave were jewels, finery of all kinds, costly cloths (panos), and even house furnishings. Cf. la Viuda valenciana, III, ii; la Noche toledana, I, xiii and many other scenes in Lope 's plays. Lope 's women, however, seem more prone to receive than those of other playwrights; as a matter of fact, women of refinement and culture were satis- fied with the mere offer of presents. Cf. De cosario a cosario, I, vi, and Alareon's: la Vcrdad sospechosa, I, V, where Jacinta says to her admirer : "Yerran vuestros pensamientos, caballero, en presumir que puedo yo recebir mas que los of recimientos. " Cf. also Miss Bourland's edition of las Paredes oyen (New York, 1914), p. 173. 1347. el Prado: meaning here the same as in verse 1349, los Recoleios: The Prado vie jo consisted of three parts: Prado de Atocha, Prado de San Jeronimo,- and Prado de Recoletos. The last named section was a popular spot on account of some of its parks and gardens to which the people went for recreation. "Como con- traste de tan ostentoso aparato profano, en medio de todas aquellas mansiones de animaeion y de placer, otro austero convento elevaba alii tambien al cielo sus religiosas torres ; era el de padres Augiistinos Recoletos, fundacion de dona Eufrasia de Guzman, princesa de LA DAMA BOBA 297 Asculi, marquesa de Terranova, en 1595." Mesonero Eomanos : el Antigua Madrid, op. cit., p. 226. 1364. I have indicated the rubrica wherever it is found in the manuscript, as it may be possible that such parts of the play as are included between two ruhricas (when these come at the end of a scene or an act), were written in one session, without interruption. 1365. Fw maestro de danzar: Espinel would not have approved of the way in which Octavio was educating his daughters, since they saw all of their visitors freely and even had a dancing teacher. He says: "Quanto peor haeen los padres que dan a sus hijas maestros de danzar, o tarier, cantar, o baylar, si han de faltar un punto de su presencia ! Y aun es menos dano que no lo sepan; que si han de ser casadas. bastales dar gusto a sus maridos, criar sus hijos y gobernar su casa. Y si han de ser monjas, aprendanlo en el monasterio ; que la razon de estar algunas disgustadas quiza es por haber ya tenido fuera comunieaeiones de devoeiones, que por honestas que scan, son de hombres y mugeres sujetos al comun orden de naturaleza." — Marcos de Obregon, parte la, descanso 2°. Cf . also note to verse 216ff. 1379. Con que yo salgo de duda que no es alma la ielleza: Leon Hebreo, in accordance with his philosophy, states that real beauty lies in the soul, or spirit. To this, no doubt. Lope refers. "Tambien te mostre que las mayores hermosuras consisten en las partes del anima, que son mas eleuadas que el cuerpo, etc." Didlogos de Amor, op. cit., p. 422. 1382. trae manana vn tanboril. Esse es instrument o vil: Of this instrument Covarrubias says: "atambores pequenos para fiestas y regozijos." Cf . also Lope 's song : 298 NOTES " j Oh que bien que baila Gil con los mozos de Barajas, la chacona a las sonajas y el villano al tamboril ! ' ' — Al pasar del arroyo, I, xii. 1385. Que soy nmy afizionada al cascabel, os confiesso. . . . que no es mucha rustiqueza el irahellos en los pies. — Hario peor pienso que es trahcllos en la caheza: Compare: "Los dancantes en las fiestas y regozijos se ponen sartales de caseabeles en los jarretes de las piernas, y los mueuen al son del instru- mento. . . . Las azemilas suelen Ueuar sartales de caseabeles, assi para que sean sentidas, como para animarlas. . . . Al que tiene poco juyzio, y es liuiano y habladorcillo, dezimos ser vn cascabel, por ser vacio y hueco en el hablar. ' ' — Covarrubias. 1399. gapatero: the manuscript capatero. 1404. Three verses following 1404 are eliminated. 1419. Puesto que: equivalent to aunque. 1449. asilla: "Tomar asa, 6 asilla de alguna cosa, vale tanto como ocasion, y achaque. ' ' — Covarrubias, under asa. 1455. At this point of the dialogue a few verses have been erased and are very difficult to decipher. They are presumably verses which Lope eliminated and then rewrote as they are in the text. 1468. aprender: ant. for prender; Cuervo Diccionario (I, p. 562) cites : "Luego se aprendio mucho ahina, e comenzo a arder la rua." — Conquista de Ultramar, 2:77. LA DAMA BOBA 299 1472. cabezadas: The reader will remember that the pun lies in the double meaning of cabezala: a "nod" of the head which accompanies suehos, and a "halter" or "head- strap" which accompanies rocines. 1477. como el santo de Paxares: "El milagro del santo de Pajares, que ardia el y no las pajas." — Correas, op. cit., p. 105. Quevedo, in his Premdticas y aranceles gene- rales, Obras, op. cit., I, p. 430, says: "Quitanse por nuestra prematica los modos de deeir siguientes," and then he includes santa de pajares. I take this to be a misprint for the more common santo de Pajares, to whom Quevedo refers again in his Visita de los Chistes, I, p. 347 : " Yo me queria ir, y oigo que decia el santo de Pajares: Ah, compaiiero, decildes a los del siglo que muchos picarones que alia teneis por santos, tienen aca guardados los pajares ; y lo demas que tenemos que deeir se dira otro dia." According to some lists of idiomatic phrases (cf. Becker and Mora, Spanish Idioms (Boston, 1886), p. 308), the meaning of the one quoted is hypocrite. 1480. aladares: "los cabellos que nos caen delante de las ore- jas. ' ' — Covarrubias. This manner of wearing the hair, in the case of men no less than women, was especially in vogue in the seventeenth century, as may be seen on the portraits by Velazquez. "venga el perfil de uno de aquestos mozuelos que rizan los aladares con molde a fuego." — Lope : Quien ama no haga fieros, I, iii. 1486. labrar con hidro vn porfido: porfido: "vna especie de marmol roxo obscuro, propiamente purpureo." — Co- varrubias. Compare : 300 NOTES "Pero es labrar en un jaspe con un vidrio una figura. ' ' — Lope : los Emhustes de Celauro, I, xvi. The form vidro is very common in Lope 's time ; ef . note, verse 56. 1508. de la academia de mi hermana Nise: here used merely to indicate the literary gatherings of the cultos and con- ceptistas of whom Nise was the central figure. "Usur- pan este nombre otras qualesquier Escuelas de Artes liberales, o ciencias, que tienen algun esplendor, en cuyo sentido son quasi innumerables las que pudieran refe- rirse en Espana. Pero la formalidad de Academia la tiene solo la que es eregida por el Principe, o en virtud de su priuilegio." — Christobal Suarez Pigueroa: Plaza Universal, op. cit. (edition 1733), p. 283. On these liter- ary academies ef. below, note verse 2126. 1513. el Undo: "Dezir el varon lindo absolutamente, es Uamarle af eminado. ' ' — Covarrubias. "Tambien enflaqueee oir malos versos, cantar mal, y al que era ayer vuestro igual hoy mandar y hoy presumir. Enflaqueee una visita, si no OS da mucho contento ; un noble Ueno de viento, que a nadie el sombrero quita ; un Undo, todo alfenique, hecho mujer con bigotes, y unos ciertos marquesotes que OS hablan por alambique. ' ' — Lope : el Bobo del Colegio, I, iii. LA DAMA BOBA 301 "Gerarda. Luego jpreeiaste de Undo? Lucindo. i, De lindo 1 Donaire tienes. Preciome de hombre. " — la Discreta enamorada, I, ii. Cf. also the passage in la Viuda valcnciana, I, iv, be- ginning with the lines, " i No sine venga un maneebo destos de ahora de aleorza etc." There is also a new edition of Moreto's el Lindo don Diego (Madrid, 1916), with a good introduction by Narciso Alonso Cortes. 1581ff. This scene may be supposed to take place behind the Eecoletos in some secluded spot. 1600. a verse of twelve syllables. 1608. la Ventura de la fea: "Keina, pues que tan dichosa te hara el cielo, dulce esposa, que te diga quien te vea: — La Ventura de la fea pasose a Casilda hermosa." — Lope: Peribdnez y el Comendador de Ocana, I, i. Cf. also Cervantes: el Vizcaino fingidOf Entremeses (Bonilla ed., Madrid, 1916), pp. 90, 91 and note 159. Ac- cording to la Barrera and others. Lope also wrote a play entitled la Ventura de la fea, but nothing definite seems to be known about it. On a comedia with the title la Ventura de la fea, cf . an excellent article by Professor Buchanan in Modern Language Notes, XX, 1905, p. 39. 1618. Entrad con esta rumfla: "Runfla: la multitud de un mismo genero, o especie de cosas que estan una en pos de otra." — Die. de aut. As a playing term it appears to mean "a hand, or a miscellaneous number of cards" : V 302 NOTES "... jDesprecio extrafio! Pues aunque un rey me tripula y me descarta enojado, yo se que para su runfla me quisiera algun vasallo." — Lope : la Nina de Plata, II, xxii. "Bodrigo. Cuentanme mil perfeeciones. Liseo. I Como le.pueden f altar, si entra al juego de casar con tal rumfla de doblones?" — Lope : Santiago el Verde, II, i. In Juan Hidalgo's Yocabulario de Oermania "rumfla" is given the meaning of " muehedumbre. " 11 dalde pique : ' ' Dar pique : En el juego de los Cientos es eontar sesenta en lugar de treinta: que sucede quando el contrario no ha contado nada." — Bic. de aut., under dar. Cf. also pique, f. 281, col. 2. A term from the game of piquet, and applied here means: "play the winning cards, beat her at the game." 1619. q\ie no hara mucho en que de vos se pique: "picarse," another card term. "Eneenderse, resentirse y perder la paeiencia el que pierde a algun juego." — Die. de Aut. Compare : "El que versos quiere haeer, y buena dicha en ganar, no piense que ha de poder, por picarse y porfiar, ni ganar ni componer." — Lope : las Flores de Don Juan, II, vi. "No me afrentan tus razones, pues has perdido en el juego ; que siempre un picado tiene liceneia para hacer fieros." — Cervantes: la Guarda cuidadosa. LA DAMA BOBA 303 "iA solas estas hablando? Mai te ha tratado Leonor, porque el picado, senor siempre queda barajando." — Alarcon : Mudarse por mejorarse, I, v. "Estaba jugando el cocinero y en aeabando el dinero, eomo quedo picado, pidiole prestado a Zabala, el relo- jero, veinte reales, y respondiole que no los tenia" — Gaspar Lucas Hidalgo: Didlogos, op. cit., II, i. Com- pare also the terms picon, and despicarse de: "Carlos. i Que lindo picon le he dado! Que piensa que estoy ausente. Elisa. fiste piensa Uanamente que su auseneia me ha picado, y veole desde aqui. — Lope : el Ausente en el lugar, III, iv. "... Querria saber, para cierto pensamiento, si iguala el entendimiento al exterior parecer ; que si me ha de despicar de don Juan alguna cosa, Costanza, estoy sospechosa, que ha de ser oirle hablar." — Lope : las Flares de Bon Juan, III, i. 1620. cartas tripuladas: are "cartas, o naipes desechados;" ac- cording to the quotation in the note on rumfla, verse 1618, tripular is the same as descartar. The term is not uncommon in the dramatists. "El novio que tripule" Lope writes in las Flores de Don Juan, III, xix. My colleague Dr. Morley has told me of two scenes in Tirso in which tripular is used: Quien calla, otorga, I, vii; la Celosa de si misma, II, ii. Here the meaning is evi- dently the same, th^t is, desechar, descartar. 304 NOTES 1645. Grecia, adonde tanto el amistad se precia: Friendships are famous in Greek legend; we need only mention Orestes and Pylades (verse 1647), Damon and Pythias (Phintias), Achilles and Patroclus, imitated by Virgil in Aeneas and Achates. And there are many friend- ships in medieval literature copied after classic models. ' ' En Grecia, en aquella edad, teniase la amistad por excelente blason; pero en la nuestra lo son la mentira y falsedad." — Lope : las Flores de Don Juan, III, xxi. 1660. Vamos [a] aconpaiiaros y seruiros: on the mechanical omission of a, ef. verse 259. 1668. With this scene we return to a room in Octavio's house. 1677. la anacardina: "La confeccion que se hace de el Anacardo para f acilitar y habilitar la memoria. ' '■ — D'ic. de aut. 1809. Pues ino lo ves que son sus hijos? Compare: "Belarda. ^Son hijos de amor los celos? Jacinto. Sus hijos dieen que son." — Lope : el verdadero Amante, I. Cf. also la Corona merecida, II, vi. 1813. tiniendo: a popular form; cf. Timoneda: el Buen Aviso y Portacuentos, "Revue Hispanique" (ScheviU edi- tion), XXIV, cuento Iviii, p. 42 and cuento Ixii, 45. Verse 1813 has twelve syllables ; it may be corrected by writing : que bien se. 1815. celosia: for celos, not in the dictionaries, and presumably intended as a bobada of Finea. For a pun on the word, cf . Lope : "Lisena. (ap.) jAydemi! Beltran. {ap.) Lisena es; delante ponerme quiero. LA DAMA BOBA 305 Ponese Beltran delante, fingiendo que no la conoce. Ines, jque en fin soy barbero? j Que en fin soy barbero, Ines ? Lisena. Dejame pasar, desvia. Beltran. tin abrazo me has de dar. Lisena. Dejame, Beltran, mirar celos por tu celosia. Dejame, pues me eonoees. Beltran. j Celosia yo? jY que tal? De ebano de Portugal. — la Noche toledana, II, vi. 1816. desenamorarse : the manuscript has desanamorarse. 1870. segun por los ayres andas: "Ir por los ayres, es andar levantado de pensamiento, o hazer diligencia para alguna eosa eon gran presteza, eomo los que por arte de nigromancia, dizen ir de vn lugar a otro en poeo espacio de tiempo."^ — Covarrubias, under ayre. "Ortuno. . . . si se deseuida, entraras eomo primero. Comendador. jBueno, a fe de eaballero! Pero i, el villanejo cuida ? Ortufio. Cuida, y anda por los aires." — Lope : Fuente Ovejuna, II, v. ' ' Yo no soy bruxo para gustar de andar por los ayres ' ' says Sancho Panza — Don Quixote, II, cap. 41, f. 153r. Cf. also the note in Persiles y Sigismunda, op. cit., I, p. 331. 1917. Juan Latino: Practically all that tradition handed down about this illustrious negro was gathered in the ex- tremely interesting play Juan Latino, by Diego Ximenez de Bnciso, and printed in the Segunda parte de comedias escogidas de las mejores de Espana (Madrid, 1652), a volume I have before me. In the opening scene Dr. Carlobal, a clergyman, chides his sister dona Ana for 306 NOTES her many flirtations, for the liberty with which she treats her numerous suitors. She replies in a spirited way that the doctor has forgotten that he is her brother, not her husband, and that on St. John's Eve she pro- poses to enjoy the masks and gaieties. Her brother threatens to marry her off immediately, whereupon she says : "jYo casarme con hombre que no sea duque, marques o conde ? j Yo casada ? jDoria Ana Carlobal, a quien desea seruir el mundo, y f estejar Granada 1 ' ' While dona Ana is discussing her suitors with her serv- ant, shouts are heard, with mingled music and song, and a crowd of revellers passes the house. They are chiefly students, and among them is young Juan (Latino) at- tached as slave to the person of the youthful D. Gonzalo, son of the duque de Sesa. In the confusion Juan picks up Ana's ribbon which had fallen from the window, the indication being, according to certain superstitions con- nected with St. John's Eve, that Ana will marry the negro lad, Juan. In the next scene we deal with the uninteresting subplot, the discontent of the Moriscos and their reform, all of which however, permits the introduction later of D. Juan de Austria. "We then have a typical students' scene in which Juan goes through the usual torments of these episodes (gargajeanle todos) and excites particular envy be- cause he wears doiia Ana's ribbon. Then follows the session of an Academy at the Duke's house, in which Juan wins the applause of all by a very learned disquisition on the invention of print- ing, and the origin of writing. Juan is thereafter en- trusted to Dr. Carlobal, that his education may be per- fected, and his promise fulfilled. LA DAMA BOBA 307 In the second act, Juan aspires to a professorship at the university, and desires to compete for it with a certain Villanueva, already maestro and catedratico. He pleads eloquently with his master the Duke for his freedom, in order that his oposicion may be taken seriously, but the Duke puts him off with vague promises. In the meantime dofia Ana, always eager to learn, demands a teacher of her brother who selects Juan Latino. In this way Juan sees a great deal of her, teaching her not only gramdtica as Lope puts it, but amo, amas. He also recites verse to her which is rather free from the usual cuUeranismo, and sings to the "biguela." "We now have the interesting scene of the oposicion in which Villanueva attempts to defend his professor- ship, but in vain, as Juan's dignity, self-possession and learning carry the day. In the third act, Juan has made great strides in his suit for dona Ana's hand, but to the displeasure of Dr. Carlobal who did not engage him "to make love to his sister. ' ' D. Juan de Austria now appears on the scene, honors Juan Latino in various ways and promises to intercede for him with the Duke, so that Juan may become a freedman. D. Juan de Austria eulogizes him in the following sonnet : ' ' Hijo de esclauo soy ; naci en Baena, donde las letras aprendi primero ; ereci siguiendo el centro verdadero, premio que a la virtud el cielo ordena. No me ha estoruado mi amorosa pena que sea de Granada Racionero, Orfeo, Marte, Ciceron, Homero, en voz, en armas, en Latin, en vena. Catredatico fui, Griego excelente, y, en fin, varon insigne, pues que Uego a ser deste lugar Colector digno. 308 NOTES Y como le llamo por eminente la antigua Roma a sn Adriano, el Griego, la noble Espafia me llamo el Latino. ' ' If these details are true, they give us new facts in Juan's career. We also learn that dona Ana had a brother who was licenciado and alcalde of Granada, while Dr. Garlobal, the clergyman, is called "fundador de la eelebrada Vniversidad de Osuna. " Whether D. Juan Tellez Giron, fourth Count of Urena, and founder of the University of Osuna (1548), called Garlobal to some important position I am unable to ascertain. In the midst of great pomp and ceremony Juan is finally made Doctor, the last act devoting considerable space to the usual vejamen. The latter is pronounced by the chief wit of the play, Castillo, who relates various anecdotes concerning Juan, characterizing him as fol- lows: ". . . un dia naturaleza tuuo ciertas combidadas, Diosas de aquellos contornos, que de camino passauan. Era Sabado, y, muy triste de no poder regalarlas, se puso a hazer vn menudo, y aun dizen que era de baca. Tomo vna larga morcilla la naturaleza sabia, y CQjnengo a echar en ella letras, lenguas, esciencias varias, nominatiuos, gerundios, en fin, toda la gramatica, la teologia, y las artes ; pero echo pimienta harta ; que al cozer esta morcilla, salio como vna gualdrapa. Minerua, diosa de guerra, LA DAMA BOBA 309 viendo que es rey de las armas el elaro Duque de Sesa, embiosela a su casa, donde ha los anos que veis que esta al humero colgada, sin que la de libertad; que aun ay morcillas eselauas. Verdad es que el sefior Duque, sabiendo de Juan las graeias, le dio estudio, que fue hazer de vn cueruo vna aguila braua." Juan Latino, now maestro, catedratico, doctor, and liberto, attains his final and chief honor in the hand of doiia Ana. These statements do not agree with most of those made by Bermudez de Pedraza in his Antigiiedad y excelencias de Granada, and quoted by Clemencin (edi- tion of Don Quixote, note 10 to preliminary verse). In fact no two writers agree on the details of Juan Latino 's life, which seem to have been handed down chiefly by word of mouth. One of the most interesting facts in the life of Juan Latino, and one which relates him more intimately to Lope, is the connection between their re- spective patrons. D. Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba, third duke of Sessa, and grandson of el Gran Capitdn was the owner of the negro scholar; while D. Luis Fernandez de Cordoba Cardona y Aragon, sixth duke of Sessa, grandson of dona Beatriz de Cordoba y Figue- roa, nieta del Gran Capitdn, was Lope's patron and intimate friend. I cannot disentangle the confusion which seems to exist regarding doiia Ana's brother and father, although the assertion of Pedraza, that the latter was licenciado, y Gobernador del estado del duque de Sesa, lends some au- thority to Lope's statement that he was a veinticuatro. Enciso, we saw, gives doiia Ana two brothers, one of 310 NOTES whom is Licenciado and alcalde. Pellicer, in his edition of Don Quixote, Madrid, 1787, p. 233, states briefly that Juan Latino died in Granada in 1573, while Ticknor and others guardedly say "after 1573." Nicholas Antonio may be responsible for this uncertainty. He says: Jaeet in Sanctae Annae paroeciali ecclesia Granatensi, uti fert prae se lapidis titulus, quern ipse in ea urbe agens excripsit: Del Maestro Juan Latino, Catedratico de Granada, y doiia Ana de Carleval su muger y here- deros. MDLXXIII; (followed by six hexameter verses). Cf. also Gallardo's Ensayo de una Biblioteca espaiiola, III, no. 2627 ; and Rodriguez Marin : Luis Barahona de Soto (Madrid, 1903), p. 35, and an article in el Im- parcial (de Madrid), 1916, November 19th, which adds practically nothing to previous information. Line 1927 : al for el? 1977. quieres darle vn filo en mi: Compare the phrases: "no dejaran los Zoilos, los Cinicos, los Aretinos y los Bernias de darse un filo en su vituperio, sin guardar respeto a nadie." — Cervantes: Novelas, dedicatoria; and "gente de la hampa, y de mi talle y marea, con quien pudiera darme tres o cuatro filos cuando quisiera." — Guzman de Alfarache, 2a parte, libro 2°, cap. 2. Act III: The scene remains the same. 2036. [amor] o accidente, o eleccion: cf. below, verse 2177, where the same idea fits better into the mouth of a culta like Nise than a regenerate hoha like Finea. Both words are without the usual cedilla in the manuscript. In connection with this whole speech, cf. above, on the influence of Ovid's ars amatoria. In its last analysis, what Finea says is a fusion of Ovid and Leon Hebreo, conceived in moderate culto style. 2090. catredatico: cf. verse 1083. 2099. Duardo: as elsewhere, 3 syllables. LA DAMA BOBA 311 2107. endiosada: " endiosarse, vale entonarse, erguirse y enso- berbeeerse." — Die. dc ant. " i Oh secretaria cruel de la ninfa melindrosa, la que se alcorza y endiosa, la que viendo en un. papel un San Jorge dibujado, de la sierpe se espanto ! ' ' — Lope : los Melindres de Belisa, II, xxii. 2110. Petraica: (1304r-1374) Nise could have read Petrarch in Spanish. I have in mind two editions: Triumphos: Traslacion de los seis triunfos de Francisco Petrarca de toscano en castellano, hecha por Antonio de Obregon (Sevilla, 1526), in folio, goth. j Sonetos y canciones del pacta Francisco Petrarca que traduzia Henrique Garces, de lengua thoscana en castellana (Madrid, 1591). Gargilaso: G-arcilasso de la Vega (1503-1536), one of the greatest of Spanish lyric poets. Of. Fitzmauriee-Kelly, Historia de la Literatura castellana (ed. 2, Madrid, 1916), p. 137 and 404; Cejador: Historia de la Lengua y Literatura castellana, II, p. 70ff. 2111. Virgilio: On Virgil, and the influence of Virgil's Aencid in Spanish literature of the Renascence, cf . Schevill : Studies in Cervantes, III, in Transactions of the Con- necticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, vol. XIII, p. 475£E. Taso: There are two Italian poets of this name : Bernardo Tasso (1493-1569) and his more famous son Torquato Tasso (1544-1595). The former's epic poem Amadigi may interest readers of Amadis de Gaula; the latter 's master piece, Gerusalemme liberata, was imitated by Lope in his Jerusalem conquistada, and the Aminta was translated into Spanish by Jauregui (1607). 2117. On Heliodorus cf. verse 279. 312 NOTES 2119. Rimas de Lope de Vega: Of Lope's Rimas printed before 1613, Nise could have possessed: la Hermosura de Angelica, con air as diver sas rimas (Madrid, 1602) ; the same volume contains Segunda Parte de las Rimas, f. 242, and Tercera Parte de las Rimas, f. 342. This volume was several times reprinted between 1602 and 1613. Cf. also Gallardo: Swsai/o, IV, nos. 4214, 4215; Lope's Rimas Sacras were not printed until 1614, and his Rimas humanas y divinas not until 1634. On Lope de Vega, cf. Fitzmaurice-Kelly, op. cit., p. 436. 2120. Oalatea de Cervantes: Cf. the edition Schevill-Bonilla, op. cit. In el Premio del bien hahlar, I, x, Lope mentions Cervantes, and again in la Viuda valenciana, I, xv, to- gether with the Galatea; in the first ease especially, for the sake of the rime. Cf . also Fitzmaurice-Kelly, op. cit., p. 383. 2121. el Gamoes de Lisioa: Luiz de Camoes (1524?-1580) famous Portuguese poet, whose great epic Os Lusiadas was first printed in Lisbon, 1572. Cf . Theophilo Braga : Camoes, epoca e vida (Oporto, 1907). 2122. Los Pastores de Belen: Pastor es de Belen, Prosas y versos divinos de Lope de Vega Carpio (Madrid, 1612). On this book cf. Renert, Life of Lope de Vega, p. 200ff. 2123. Comedias de don Guillen de Castro: (1569-1631) ; no volume of Castro's plays in print as early as 1613 (the date of la Dama boba) is known as far as I can ascer- tain, the first editions of his plays being Primer a parte (Valencia, 1621), Segunda parta (Valencia, 1625). But this passage of Lope must not be taken seriously, as does, for example, the editor of Las Mocedades del Cid in Cldsicos castellanos (Madrid, 1913), p. 22, note. In the first place the word Guillen was convenient as a rime word ; in the second place it is not unlikely that Lope LA DAMA BOBA 313 (i.e., Nise) possessed some manuscript copies of Castro's plays, which would amply explain his statement. On Castro, cf . Pitzmauriee-Kelly, op. cit., pp. 253 and 383 ; Cejador, op. cit., IV, p. 184ff. 2124. Liras de Ochoa: no liras by any Ochoa are known to me, and it is futile to theorize as to his identity. La Barrera has a note on one Ochoa praised by Cervantes in his Viaje del Parnaso, cap. 2, vs. BfE., where he is called "el Licenciado Juan de Ochoa" (cf. Obras completas de Cervantes (Madrid, Kivadeneyra, 1864), XII, p. 363. La Barrera inclines to the belief that the poet men- tioned by Cervantes is the playwright Juan de Ochoa, of whom the Biblioteca Nacional possesses a comedia: el Vencedor vencido; cf. his Catdlogo del teatro antiguo espanol, p. 285; the play is no. 3428 in Paz y Melia's Catalogue. 2125. L^iis Velez: Luis Velez de Guevara (1578-1644) a famous dramatic poet and friend of Lope de Vega. (_Cf. the the admirable introduction prefixed by Professor Bonilla to his critical edition of el Diablo Cojuelo, op. cit.). Professor and Seiiora de Menendez Pidal have printed an edition of Velez de Guevara's play la Serrana de la Vera (Madrid, 1916). Both Lope and Cervantes speak of him with high praise. Cf. La Barrera 's Catdlogo, p. 463, and his note, XII, p. 389, in the already men- tioned Obras completas of Cervantes; Fitzmaurice- Kelly, op. cit., p. 438 ; Cejador, op. cit., p. 215ff. 2126. en la Academia del duque de Pastrana: 1. This duque de Pastrana (the third of the title) is don Ruy Gomez de Silva y Mendoza (1585-1626). Of his personal appearance Espinel says {Marcos de Obregon, parte II, descanso xi) : "Acuerdome de ver salir a un Duque de Pastrana una manana como esta, a caballo, con un semblante mas de angel que de hombre. 314 NOTES elevado en la silla, que pareela centauro, haciendo mil gallardias, y enamorando a cuantas personas le mira- ban." He is praised by Cervantes in his Viaje del Parnaso, cap. viii, near the end, biit the tribute is of that perfunctory kind paid to a Maecenas by a poor poet: "y que la fama, en la verdad ufana, contaba que agrado con su presencia y con su cortesia sobre humana ; que fue nuevo Alejandro en la exeelencia del dar ; que satisfizo a todo cuanto puede mostrar real magnificeneia. " But this tells us nothing of the Duke as a literary light, although we are led to believe by the mere fact that Cervantes praises him, that he could appreciate the gifts and writings of others. He was Ambassador in Paris and Rome under Philip III, and Philip IV; his contemporaries also state that he was especially fond of the sports, and excited admiration as a torero. 2. The academy mentioned by Lope was doubtless the Academia Selvage, first called El Parnaso, opened in February, 1612, in the house of D. Francisco de Silva, a brother of the Duke of Pastrana, the latter being presumably its most illustrious patron. According to the Licenciate Pedro Soto de Rojas {DesengaFw dc Amor, Madrid, 1623, f. 181) : "assistieron en esta academia los mayores ingenios de Espaiia, que al presente estaban en Madrid." We may assume that among them were Lope, Velez de Guevara, and perhaps Espinel and Cervantes. Cf. La Barrera: Nucva hiografia de Lope dc Vega, pp. 183 and 571. 3. On these academies, which were patterned after Italian prototypes (on which see Sandys, A History of Classical Scholarship, II, p. 81) Suarez Figueroa says in his Plaza universal (Madrid, 1615), f. 63: "En LA DAMA BOBA 315 esta conformidad descubrieron los aiios pasados algunos ingenios de Madrid semejantes impulsos, juntandose con este intento en algunas casas de Senores, mas no consiguieron el fin. Fue la causa qiiiza porque, oluida- dos de lo principal, frecuentaban solamente los versos aplieados a diferentes asuntos. Nacieron de las eensuras, fisealias y emulaciones no pocas voces y diferencias, pa- sando tan adelante las presunciones, arrogancias y arro- jamientos, que per instantes no solo ocasionaron menos- preeios y demasias, sino tambien peligrosos enojos y pen- dencias, siendo causa de que cesasen tales juntas con toda breuedad." (Discurso XIV, de los Academicos). Lope bimself presented his Arte Nuevo de hacer Comedias to one of these numerous academies, and mentions an "Academia de Madrid" in his dedication of the Laurel de Apolo. Cf. also La Barrera: Nueva Mografia, op. cit., pp. 151, 176; Luis Fernandez-Guerra y Orbe: D. Juan Buiz de Alarcon y Mendoza (Madrid, 1871), p. 529 (a list of academies) ; Navarrete, Vida de Cervantes, pp. 123 and 482ff. ; Schaek, Geschichte der dramatischen Literatur und Kunst in Spanien (Frankfurt, 1854), II, p. 39fE. ; a note on D. Juan de Silva, in II, p. 304 of the Galatea, op. cit. 2127. Obras de Luque: Judging from Nise's literary taste, espe- cially her fondness for the poetry of the conceptistas, it is possible that this Luque mentioned by her father is Juan de Luque, "natural y abogado de la ciudad de Jaen," whose Divina Poesia y varios conceptos a las fiestas principales del ano, que se ponen por su calen- dario con los Santos nueuos y todo genero de poesias, was printed at Lisbon in 1608. He says in his prologue : "uso de toda suerte de poesias de las que hoy corren en nuestra Bspaiia, y aun algunas que no las he visto en ningun autor, eomo son un soneto en laberinto, en cuyas primeras, medias y ultimas letras hay senteneias leyen- 316 NOTES dolas hacia bajo, y redondillas duplicadas; que me ha parecido compostura muy acomodada para conceptos de larga disposieion; y un soneto en siete lenguas, que no me eosto poco trabajo." And again: "Ansi que podra servir esta obra de Arte Poetica, pues el que quisiere hacer soneto con remate terciado, en repetieion, de otra suerte de las que se practican; o caneion, o otro cualquier genero de poesia, aqui la hallara, bus- candola por la tabla. ' ' Another Luque is Gonzalo Gomez de Luque, whose absurd rhymed tale of chivalry Libro primero de los famosos hechos del principe Celidon de Iberia (Alcala, 1583), may also have appealed to the taste of a romantic girl like Nise. Of. note, II, p. 335 of La Galatea, op. cit. Lope had to use the name for the sake of the rime, hence the uncertain identity. 2128. cartas de don Juan de Arguijo: (1564?-1623) ; among the poetic forms used by Arguijo are epistolas which may be the cartas to which Lope refers. Cf . Fitzmaurice- Kelly, op. cit., p. 374, and Cejador, op. cit., p. 141flE. 2129. den sonetos de Liiian: Pedro de Linan de Riaza (d. 1607). Of. la Galatea, op. cit., II, p. 319 ; Cejador, op. cit.. Ill, p. 136ff. In as much as Oetavio tells us that Nise's library contained "librillos, papeles y escritos varios," we may infer that such poetry as had not been printed at the date of our play, 1613, was possessed by her (or Lope) in manuscript. This was a very common state of affairs at this time, when many works were known only through manuscript copies. We have no reason for doubting that Lope possessed many of them in his library. This would apply to Oehoa, Luis Velez, Arguijo, Linan and possibly Castro, of the above men- tioned list. LA DAMA BOBA 317 21Z0. Herrera el diuino: (1534?-1597) ; cf. Adolphe Coster: Fernando de Herrera {el Divino), (Paris, 1908) ; and, ibid., Algunas obras de Fernando de Herrera (Paris, 1908) ; La Galatea, op. cit., II, p. 327 ; Fitzmaurice- Kelly, op. cit., pp. 175 and 400; Cejador, op. cit.. Ill, p. 89ff. 2131. el libro del Peregrino: Lope's el Peregrino en su Patria, first printed at Sevilla, 1604 (ef. G-allardo, IV, no. 4212). It is an artificial story of adventure, pedantic, and marred by digressions and bad taste. Moreover, Lope's prose style is inclined to be mediocre, dull and culto. 2132. el Picaro de Aleman: The well knovin rogue story by Mateo Aleman (1547-?), Guzman de Alfarache, was printed in two parts, the first at Madrid, 1599, the second at Lisbon, 1604. Cf. Pitzmaurice-Kelly, op. cit., pp. 230 and 370; Cejador, op. cit., IV, p. 130ff. 2167. sala: "salas se Uaman vnas piegas grandes de Palacio, en lo baxo del, donde se juntan los Consejeros de su Mages- tad a despachar los negocios de justicia y gobierno."— Covarrubias. 2177-8. Cf . the beginning of act III ; eleccion and accidente are without the usual cedilla. 2182. estrellas que congiertan las voluntades: According to culto poetry love is considered a disease, and the influence of the stars brings on "el accidente de una enfermedad"; as such, "accidente" is frequently found in contrast with ' ' eleccion, o albedrio. ' ' ' ' No digo JO que f uerzan las estrellas ; que inelinan digo ; pero tu no quieres por tu eleccion ni por que inelinan ellas. Amor I que se ha de hacer de las mujeres, 3] 8 NOTES que ni vivir eon ellas ni sin ellas pueden nuestros pesares y placeres?" — Lope: Sonnet 278 (Obras no dramdticas in Biblioteca de autores espanoles). "Pero si las estrellas dano influyen, y con las de tus ojos naci y muero, jcomo las vencere sin albedrio?" — Lope: Sonnet 168. "... En tanto que este aplique remedios a su amor o a su aceidente, Don Arias, y su vida pronostique, por otra parte quiero yo que intente el interes curar a esta senora de la dureza que en el pecho siente. ' ' — Lope : La Nina de Plata, II, viii. "El amor que le he eobrado en este poeo de tiempo que le he visto es de suerte, que me fuerza a que atropelle eon todo, y habiendo de ser yo la rogada, venga a rogarle : f uerzas son de estrellas y oculta inelinaeion ; que no se puede aleanzar la causa de adonde proeede tan gran mudanza como la que vengo a ver. " — el Do- nado hablador, op. cit., I, cap. 5, near the end. Cf. also Lope: Al Pasar del arroyo, I, ii; Quien ama no haga fieros, I, vii ; la Noche de San Juan, II, f. 77v; el Caballero de Olmedo, I, iii. 2215. pensamientos : cf. above, verse 635. 2220. Todo es mudansas amor: In as much as Octavio says "vaya el baile del otro dia," Liseo's phrase contains a pun on the step of a dance. The chief interest in this dance for us, lies in its pronounced popular character. We may recall that in Don Quixote. II, xx, Cupido [amor] dances a mudanza, on which occasion, however, it is a formal dance, as is also the case in Moreto's el Desden con el desden, II. The double meaning of LA DAMA BOBA 319 mudanzas de amor and mudanza, the step of a dance, is not uncommon in the romances. See, in the ballad be- ginning : "En el tiempo que Celinda — cerro airada la ventana etc." the verses : Que en el villano de Amor — es muy cierta esta mudanza, y la danzan muehas veces — los que de veras se aman. ' ' And in the ballad beginning : Abindarraez y Muza — y el Key Chico de Granada etc." the verses : ' ' Entre tanto el rey y Muza — estaban con Zaida y Zara, cansados de tantas vueltas, — que son de amor las mudanzas. ' ' Compare also such stereotyped phrases as, "todo es enredos amor," "todo es enganos (or industrias) amor." 2238. cadenas y vandas: "era un hombre de hasta cuarenta anos, algunas canas, agradable presencia, ealvo, de me- diana estatura, calza de obra, galas al uso, una vanda de oro al euello de las que se comenzahan a usar en- tonces." Lilian y Verdugo: Guia etc.: Novela y escar- miento segundo. The vanda was an effeminate trait, and generally worn by lindos; cf. also vs. 2247. 2245. tranzelin en el sombrero: other forms are trencillo. tren- cellin : "no hay irencellin de diamantes que se acabe en otro nombre, ' ni tiene la corte un hombre cuyos eoletos y guantes espiren olor igual." — Lope : el Ausente en el lugar, I, v. "La cabeza adornada de un sombrero, la falda levantada, de un trencellin ceiiido." — La Oatomaquia, VII. 320 NOTES 2247. cadenita de oro al cuello: no young gallant was satisfied to go without a chain, and very frequently, if he could not afford one of gold, he wore a false one {de alquimia). 2249. en los hrazos el griguiesco: "los griguiescos se llamaron asi de grex gregis y la lana del ganado, si no es que vinieron de Grecia.; son habito descansado, aunque las calzas son mejores para las armas." — la Dorotea, IV, iii ; cf . also the next two notes. The singular, as here, is less common than the plural ; cf . Los Comendadores de Cordoba, III ; — "Para la segunda vez tengo un grigiiesco valon, que es lo bajo de un capon. ' ' also Covarrubias under gahon: "por otro nombre cal- gon greguesco" ; and Cervantes: el Gallardo Espanol, Schevill-Bonilla ed., I, p. 68, vs. 16. I assume that in saying that Amor wore the grigui- esco on his arms. Lope is ridiculing the width and full- ness of the sleeves which might well have resembled that garment. In verse 2303 we are again told that Amor wore la manga ancha (perhaps with the double meaning that "Love may be unscrupulous"), and el calzon an- gosto which latter garment was close fitting, while the gregiiescos were loose breeches, extending, when first introduced, to the ankle, later from the hip to the middle of the thigh. The latter style was worn especially by soldiers, pages, etc., during this very period, the first third of the seventeenth century. Lope's ridicule of wide sleeves recalls a passage in Quevedo, Visita de los chistes, where we have an amus- ing description of the costume of don Diego de Noche who had found a pair of sleeves big enough to wear as gregiiescos: "Muy angosto, muy a teja vana, las carnes de venado, en un cendal, con unas mangas por gre- giiescos y una esclavina por eapa . . . se llego a mi LA DAMA BOBA 321 un rebozado etc." {Oiras, op. cit., I, p. 345). Cf. also, Luna : Lazarillo de Tormes, II, cap. 1 : " [los vestidos] ni tenian prineipio, ni fin: entre las calzas y sayo no habia difereneia; puse las piernas en las mangas, y las calzas por ropilla, sin olvidar las medias que parecian mangas de escribano." ■ And Tirso de Molina, in his Cigarrales de Toledo (Victor Said Armesto ed., Madrid, 1913, p. 101) has the following passage: "Causo novedad el trage de los nuevos dogmatioantes, porque las coronas de la ingrata ninfa no cenian sus sienes como se acostumbrava, sino sus cinturas. Pudo ser por Uamar a los desta facultad, que tan mal se dan a entender por palabras, baehilleres de estomago. Y aunque curiosamente vestidos, havian mudado el uso hasta en el modo de su adorno, porque 'traian los baqueros de tela abotonados por las espaldas, las rosetas de las ligas les Servian de euellos y punos, y los punos y euellos de ligas, las mangas de gregiieseos y los gre- giiescos de mangas, a imitacion de su poema." 2251. las ligas con rapazejos: "vieron que venia con vnas medias de seda encarnada, con ligas de tafetan bianco, y ra- pacejos de oro y aljofar, los greguescos eran verdes, de tela de oro." — Don Quixote, II, cap. 49, f, 186v. 2253. gapatos al uso nueho: (capatos in the manuscript) ' ' Lleuaua la espada sobre el ombro, y en ella puesto vn bulto, 6 emboltorio, al pareeer, de sus vestidos, que al parecer deuian de ser los caleones o greguescos, y herreruelo, y alguna camisa, porque traia puesta vna ropilla de terciopelo eon algunas vislumbres de raso, y la camisa de fuera ; las medias eran de seda, y los ga- patos quadrados a vso de Corte." — Don Quixote, II, cap. 24, f. 93r. According to some writers, the origin of this custom is attributed to the Duke of Lerma, who suffered much from bunions; cf. also vs. 2301. 322 NOTES 2255. sotanilla a lo turquesco: It is difficult to describe Spanish garments patterned after foreign models. In this par- ticular case, I can only mention Turkish or Moorish apparel which resembled a short cassock. Diego de Haedo, in his TopograpMa e Historia General de Argel (Valladolid, 1612) says of the men of Algiers: "El vestir de todos estos es primeramente vna camisa y earaguelles de lienco, y quando haze frio, vn sayo de pano de color que les da por abaxo de la rodilla, como sotana pequena, a que Uaman Gonela, o Goleila, mas en verano no la traen; y en su lugar ponen muchos otra camisa de lienco delgada, larga, y muy ancha, y muy blanca, a que ellos Uaman Adorra" (fol. 8, col. 2). In chapter 26 (Del vestido de todos los turcos de Argel, etc.), f. 20r., col. 1, he says: "Encima deste jalaco traen de ordinario vna ropa que Uaman tafetan, que es a manera de sotana de clerigo, habierta por delante, y con botones en el pecho, la qual de la misma manera tiene las mangas cortas hasta los codos, y es larga hasta media pierna, y a vezes mas, o a lo menos passa siempre de la rodilla, es tambien de algun color, etc." Again speaking of women: "0 (lo que muchas vsan) traen sobre la camisa de tela otra de seda, de cendal o tafe- tan muy delgado, de algun color, que les Uega hasta los pies; y si haze gran frio traen debaxo vn sayo de pano, o de colehas, como traen los maridos, a que Uaman gonila, y otros goleyla" (fol. 27, col. 2). A garment worn by the Moors in Spain, and adopted with slight modification by the Christians for specific occasions, no- tably the joust, or "para lucir," was the marlota. It was a kind of loosely fitting sayo, or man's frock, and Dozy in his DicUovnaire detaille des noms des vete- ments chez les Arahes (Amsterdam, 1845), p. 412, speaks of it at length. In Spanish literature it is fre- quently mentioned together with the capellar, a short mantle worn hanging from the shoulders. Cf. Dozy, LA BAMA BOBA 323 op. cit., p. 350. Both garments may be found in a number of romances moriscos, and were much worn in Lope's time. In the latter 's poem la Manana de San Juan note the following stanza (30) : "Su padre, invicto de su edad, un dia, eon el vestido arabigo de Bspafia, que nos dejo su antigua monarquia, marlota, capellar, adarga y cana, el cefiro del alba desafia en el jinete que de sangre bana, en tal aurora, que por justas leyes obliga tal manana a tales reyes. " That the marlota was also a street garment may be seen from the following passages found in the romances moriscos : ' Y que en vez de echarte al hombro — la malla y turques alf ange, te eches bordadas marlotas, — y vayas a ruar calles." ' Sale galan, aunque triste, — para mostrar por sus galas que parte rico y contento, — pues de ello gusta su dama. Con muehos raeimos de oro — una marlota enearnada, acuchillada a reveses, — y en tela verde af orrada, etc. ' ' Lope may have implied that the sotanilla a lo turquesco was different from the usual sotanilla in that it was embroidered and colored, finer than the gonela or goleila and possibly more like the marlota. It is all a matter of unsatisfactory guessing. On Moorish garments see also the edition of Gines Perez de Hita's Guerras civiles de Granada, Primera Parte (Madrid. 1913), by Paula 324 NOTES Blanchard-Demouge, pp. 71ff. Many costumes of the Spanish people in Lope's day were patterned after foreign models, and as evidence of this vogue the follow- ing passage may be cited: "Nuestra Espana de cada dia usa nuevos trajes, no bastando pragmaticas y pro- visiones para remediar tan numerables gustos, saeando eada uno nueva traza, nuevo modo de vistir, no mas de como le paso por la cabeza, imitandole todos eomo a verdadero restaurador de las galas, y de mayor curio- sidad, ya perdida en el mundo. Usa el italiano, el franees, el flamenco, el ingles, el turco, el indio, desde que tuvo principio su naeion, de una misma forma de vestido, sin haber mudado el uno ni el otro el turbante, y solo el espaiiol es variable, no habiendo camaleon que asi mude de colores como el de trajes y diversas hechuras." — el Donado hablador, op. cit.. II, cap. 6. 2261. Corto cuello y pionos largos: a narrow or simple collar without the usual ruffs (lechuguillas) . The small col- lar was more characteristic of the beginning of the reign of Philip II; about 1562 the elaborate collars known as marquesotas became popular ; according to Rodrigo Mendez de Silva, Catdlogo real genealogico de Espana (Madrid, 1636), this monstrosity was intro- duced into Spain by an Italian marquis who suffered from scrofula and concealed his disease by means of the marquesota. Alarcon tells a similar tale about a young gallant. La Verdad sospechosa, I, iii, an interesting scene, in which the author makes an amusing plea for the valoncilla angosta. In 1623 an effort was made to introduce a valona liana, without ornamentation or color, but the result was only the introduction of a new vogue, the golilla. The puiios largos were also worn by fops and dandies. "Todas mis ansias consistian acerca de mi ornato y atauio : no desflorado el gapato, al vso pecho LA DAMA BOBA 325 y cafeello, grandes punos, euello con muchos anchos y azul, pomposas ligas, medias sin genero de flaqueza. ' '■ — el Passagero, Aliuio II, p. 71. In Lope the young gallants frequently wear punos a lo veneciano: cf. la Viuda valenciana, I, iv. 2265. guante de anbar adobado: "fue un gentil hombre, bien aderezado al uso de ahora, euello azulado y abierto, ealza entera de obra, sombrero con plumas, espada dorada, ferreruelo aforrado en felpa, guante de ambar, y al euello una vuelta de cadena de oro de moderado peso." — el Donado hablador, op. cit., I, cap. 4. Com- pare also: "Fenisa. Bstos son guantes: bien puedes tomar estos euatro pares. Lucindo. jSon de ambar? Fenisa. Si. No repares." — Lope : el Anzuelo de Fenisa, I, x. For an anecdote, turning on guantes muy olorosos, cf. Timoneda, el Buen Aviso, op. cit., cuento liv; also the quotation, verse 2245; Senor Bonilla's delightful little volume, De Critica cervantina (Madrid, 1917), p. lOlff., tells us of the perfuming of gloves at length. 2267. grayi jugador del vocablo: "jugar del vocablo: usar del con gracia, en diversos sentidos: que freqiientemente es decir equivocos." — Die. de aut. Foi- one of these "puns" cf. Lope: "Flora. Ana se llama. Conde. A nadie perdona agora. Marcelo. Jugo el Conde, mi seiior, del vocablo. ; Triste easo ! ' ' — Quien ama no haga fieros, I, x. "Los pobres hacen retablo de sus duelos y pesar; no hay dinero que jugar, y juegase del vocablo. ' ' — los Comendadores de Cordoba, III. 326 NOTES 2275. chapeton castellano: the name given to a Spaniard re- turning from the Indies, and, generally, in poverty; the epithet was used in Mexico according to the Die. de aut., and was equivalent to our "greenhorn." Cf. Lope; (Tristan chides his master for being so easily duped) : ' ' i Que chapeton estas en estas Indias ! ' ' — el Anzuelo de Fenisa, II, viii. In the Passagero, op. cit., p. 268, the word has the meaning of pelon, "a bald-headed man," presumably -because chapeton means one who has been fleeced in the Indies. Cf. also el Diablo cojuelo, op. cit., p. 138, and la Dorotea, op. cit., II, iv. 2293. jDexa las auellanicas, mora! — que yo me las vareare — : The same refrain may be found in a cantar in el Villano en su Rincon, III, ii. It is much more appropriately used there as the scene takes place in an olive grove, and the merry-making is com- bined with the task of gathering the olives. Moreover, the refrain manifestly is a part of the romance there sung, which cannot be said of the cantar in la Dama ioha. The surmise is justified that having met with great applause in el Villano en su Rincon (written be- ween 1604 and 1618, presumably about 1612), the dance with its refrain was reintroduced in la Dama boha. 2295. el Amor se ha buelto godo: "para encarecer la presuncion de algun vano, le preguntamos, si deciende de la casta de los godos." — Covarrubias. "Quise hacerme de los godos, emparentandome con la nobleza de aquella ciudad." — Guzman de Alfarache, la parte, libro 3°, cap. 1; cf. also, 2a parte, libro 3°, cap. 5; Luna: Laza- rillo de Tormes, cap. 3 ; Lope: el Anzuelo de Fenisa, II, xvii; "No dira uno: soy virtuoso o soy bueno; sino: soy de los godos, o soy de tal o de tal linaje, descen- LA DAMA BOBA 327 diendo de tal casta o de tal parentela. ' ' — Torquemada : Colloquios satiricos {tercera parte del colloquio de la honra) . 2299. liga de oro: ef. above, verse 2251; on the liga D. Juan Sempere y Guarinos, Historia del luxo y de las leyes suntuarias de Espana (Madrid, 1788), II, p. 56, has an interesting statement: "Las medias eran de carisea, estameiia, pano, ligadas con atapiernas, o senogiles, que por los Italianos digeron ligagambas, y hoy ligas." 2301. sonhrero y gapato romo: "si bien ya se usan [sombreros] altos, ya bajos, ya voleados, ya romos, todos vienen a tener las alas redondas y sin esquinas." — Fernandez de Avellaneda: Don Quixote, cap. 25. On the chang- ing vogue in shoes we find in el Donado hahlador, II, cap. 6 : " aun con tener yo mas de cincuenta anos, poeo mas menos, tengo experiencia de la diversidad de zapatos que se han usado, tan diferentes en su hechura, porque unos vi redondos, otros pijntiagudos, de una suela, de dos, y de tres, y de cuatro; otros romos, con orejas y sin ellas, largos de pala y corta; y si en el calzado es esto, jque sera en lo demas?" Cf. also verse 2253. 2309. matamoros: "a boaster, blusterer"; one of many similar compounds : matasicte, — Luna : Lazarillo, cap. 1 ; ma- tacandiles, ibid., cap. 8; matamoscas (mata-siete-de-un- trompon) in Biblioteca de las tradiciones populares espanolas I, p. 121, cited R. Koehler, Kleinere Schriften, I, p. 564. 2313 and 2315. "iAmor loco, y amor loco! jYo por vos, y vos por otro!" These two verses are sung in Moreto's play, Yo por vos, y vos por otro, I, iv and v. 328 NOTES 2323. de Duardo con Finea: Lope means Nise: in the heat of writing he occasionally confuses the names of his char- acters. Thus, in the last act of la Nina de Plata, the names of Dorotea and Teodora are exchanged, which creates confusion for the reader. 2345. que nunca se caso Men quien se casso por vengarse: Compare: "que nunca por la venganza son buenos los casamientos. " — Lope : Quien ama no haga fieros, III, i. 2394. Pues adios: given to Laurencio in the manuscript. 2409. auisare in the manuscript. 2440. vna muger cordera es tusson de su marido: a good example of conceptismo, and characteristic of the language of Laurencio. The reference is both to the Golden Fleece, and to the Order del Tuson; the idea, that a meek woman is an honor and ornament (like the Order of the Golden Fleece) is com- mon in Lope's time. 2449. el estrado: cf. verse 907. 2454. no es sancto como el silenzio: reference to the proverb "al buen callar llaman sancto o Sancho"; cf. Correas, Yocabulario, p. 35 for a long article on the saying. 2526. dueno: dueno in the manuscript. 2536. Oliberos: hero of an old romance of chivalry: la Historia de los nobles caualleros, OUucros de Castilla y Artus dalgarbe (Burgos, 1499) ; reprinted by Professor Boni- Ua in vol. XI of the Nueva Biblioteca de Antores espa- noles. Cf. Fitzmaurice-Kelly, op. cit., p. 416. LA DAMA BOBA 329 2557. que la mayor discrezion es acomodarse al tiempo. — Eso dixo el mayor sabio: According to the Diccionario de Autoridades, the phrase ' ' acomodarse al tiempo mas es prudenzia que baxeza" is found in Diego G-racian's translation of Plutarch's Mar alia, and the reference is presumably to the following volume: Morales de Plu- iarcho, traduzidos de lengua Griega en Casiellana. Por el Secretario Diego Graeian, criado de su Magestad. Va de nueuo anadida la quarta parte, que nunca ha sido impressa. Los titulos que en estos Morales se eon- tienen se veran en la plana siguiente. (Real escudo.) Con Priuilegio. En Salamanca. En Casa de Alexan- dro de Canoua. Ano MDXXI. I have before me an edition of 1548 with only three parts, in which I have not found the passage quoted. 2572. duena: Finea thinks that Liseo has called her a duenna. How unpopular these characters were, how questionable the reputation which they bore, is made evident by many writers of Lope's time, especially Quevedo (cf. la Visita de los Chistes in Obras, op. cit., I, p. 344) and Cervantes; (ef. a passage in the latter 's el Celoso estremeno: "0 duenas, nacidas y usadas en el mundo para perdicion de mil recatadas y buenas inten- ciones . . ."). 2575. ^Qiie es alma? The hobos in los Locos de Valencia, III, ii, carry on the same kind of conversation : — "Verino. jTu sabes lo que es alma? Floriano. Se que es alma acto primero y perf eccion del cuerpo. ' ' Aristotle, through the interpretation of medieval and Renascence theologians and philosophers, is the source of these phrases. Cf. Obras de Aristoteles puestas en lengua castellana por D. Patricio de Azcarate, Psico- 330 NOTES log'ia I, Tratado del Alma, libra II: Teoria general y definicion del Alma: "La sustancia es una realidad perf ecta, una entelequia ; luego el alma es la entelequia del cuerpo, tal como la aeabamos de definir. " (p. 147). "Si se quiere una definicion comun a todas las especies del alma, es precise decir que el alma es la entelequia primera de un cuerpo natural organieo." (p. 148). The Latin renders entelequia by actus (the acto primero, or the goMerno of Lope's phrase), the word means "that by which the soul actually is. " 2580. s^o es alma la que en el peso le pint an a San Miguel? Immortal spirits released by death were weighed by St. Michael in a balance, and it is thus that the Archangel is frequently depicted in church paintings. "In those devotional pictures which exhibit St. Michael as lord of souls, he is winged and unarmed, and holds the balance. In each scale sits a little naked figure, representing a human soul; one of these is usually represented with hands joined as in thankfulness — he is the beato, the elected ; the other is in an attitude of horror — ^he is the rejected, the repro- bate; and often, but not necessarily, the idea is com- pleted by the introduction of a demon, who is grasping at the descending scale, either with his talons, or with the long two-pronged hook, such as is given to Pluto in the antique sculpture. Sometimes St. Michael is thus represented singly; sometimes very beautifully in Madonna pictures, as in a picture by Leonardo da Vinei (1498), where St. Michael, a graceful angelic figure, with light, flowing hair, kneels before the Madonna, and presents the balance to the Infant, who seems to welcome the pious little soul who sits in the uppermost scale. I have seen this idea varied. St. Michael stands majestic with the balance poised in his hands; instead LA DAMA BOSA 331 of a human figure in either scale, there are weights; on one side is seen a company of five or six little naked shivering souls, as if vs^aiting for their doom; on the other several demons, one of whom with his hook is pulling down the ascending scale. ' ' — Sacred and Legendary Art, by Mrs. Jameson (ed. 3, Boston, 1857?), I, p. 113. The origin of this conception is found in such verses of the Bible, as Daniel V, 27 : " Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting"; or in Revelation, VI, 5: "And I beheld, and, lo, a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. ' ' Finea has in mind a painting in the church of San Miguel, built during the reign of Philip III, and de- stroyed by fire in 1790. Cf. Mesonero Romanes: el Antiguo Madrid, op. cit., p. 71ff. Lope apparently refers to the same painting in los Melindres de Belisa, I,iv:- "lAsarda. Pues no nos pongan el coche ; que a San Miguel a pie basta. Belisa. Y, j no es nada el de los pies, junto al peso de las almas?" 2602. a verse of nine syllables. 2603. . . . Soy medrosa de las almas, porque temo que de tres que andan pintadas puede ser la del ynfierno: Finea 's silly fears remind one of the melindres of Belisa, in the play of the same name, I,iv: "Tiene [San Jeronimo] a los pies un leon, que siempre que entro me espanta; y una vez, madre, no dudes que ha de saltarme a la eara." 332 NOTES Finea refers to the pictorial representation of the here- after: the soul in Paradise {la Gloria), the soul in Purgatory {en pena) and the soul in Hell {la del in- fierno). 2607. la Noche de los diffunios: Finea is afraid of ghosts. Cf. el Padre Pedro de Ribadeneyra, Flos Sanctorum (Bar- celona, 1790), III, p. 327: La Commemoracion de los difuntos; 2 de noviembre; "hase de advertir, que aunque estas apariciones de las Almas del Purgatorio, que aqui havemos referido, y otras seme j antes, por ser escritas de Autores graue's y Santos, se. deben tener por verdaderas, y que nuestro Senor quiere en ellas en- senarnos las horribles penas que las Almas padecen, . . . debemos usar de gran cautela en estas cosas; porque muchas veces no son verdaderas las apariciones de las Almas, sino de nuestra flaca cabeza, e ilusiones del De- monio, que nos inquieta y engaiia, dandonos a entender que vemos lo que no vemos." p. 329. 2613. iQue ie dize? On various occasions printed copies of Lope's plays change this to ^que te parece? As in this particular case; and again in verse 2868 it is changed to i,que me dizesf It is hard to believe that contem- porary printers did not understand the question, since it is not uncommon in Lope. Cf. "jque te dice el casamiento?" — al Pasar del Arroyo, II, xiii. 2679. y aqui viene Men que Pedro es tan ruin como su amo: Correas, Vocahulario, p. 411, has : "Tan bueno es Pedro como su amo, y mejor un palmo. (Bs variable)." 2704. i,Tienes cuenta de perdonf "Cuenta de perdon: es una cuenta a modo de las del Rosario, a quien se dice que el Papa tiene concedida alguna indulgencia en favor de las Animas del Purgatorio." — Die. de aut. LA DAMA BOBA 333 "En pena a las once estoy. Tu cuenta el perdon me aplique para que saiga de pena. ' ' — Lope : Peribdnez y el Comendador de Ocafia, III, xiii. Finea understands that Nise "will take her soul out" of purgatory. Cf . also la Esclava de su Galdn, II, xiii. 2714. almario debo de ser: an unexpected pun from the boba Finea. 2768. si OS faltan telas y rasos: "you may give your sonnets (as presents), if you have no fine cloth and satin." That these were included amongst the gifts of a lover can be seen from Peribdnez y el Comendador de Ocana, I, XV: "Si serviera una dama, hubiera dado parte a mi secretario o mayordomo, o a algunos gentilhombres de mi casa. Estos hicieran joyas, y buscaran cadenas de diamantes, brincos, perlas, telas, rasos, damascos, terciopelos, y otras cosas extranas y exquisitas. ' ' 2771. Este [i.e. Garcilaso] venden por dos reales, y tiene tantos sonetos eligantes y discretos, que vos no los hareys tales: In his novela, Las Fortunas de Diana (printed in 1626), Lope wrote: "Pero a V. ni jque va ni le viene en que hablen eomo quisieren de Garcilaso? Assi dezia vna eanzion que cantauan vn dia los musicos de vn seiior grande : Las obras de Bosean y Garcilaso se venden por dos reales, y no las hareys tales, aunque os precieys de aquello del Parnaso. ' ' 334 • NOTES There is no reason to doubt that the poet whose verse the musicians sang was Lope himself, and that he had recalled an idea already expressed elsewhere. 2825. muquir: according to Juan Hidalgo's Vocahulario de Germania, means to eat {comer). See Quinones de Benavente, in his Loa con que empezd Tomds Fernandez en la corte (first ed.) : "A vuestros gustos ofrezco, Madrid, este nuevo plato. Si OS sabe bien, le tendreis siempre a punto y sazonado. Pero si no es de sustancia para podelle muquir, ojos, que le vieron ir, no le veran mas en Francia." 2829. ynposible: ynposihles in the manuscript. 2892. jBien mi termino agradeces! "A fine way you have of ap- preciating my position (my conduct) !" Termino: "vale tambien forma o modo de portarse, u hablar en el trato cdmun. ' ' — Dice, de aut. Liseo accuses Otabio of not liv- ing up to his side of the bargain either. Compare, for this use of termino : "Fuera en tanta amistad termino injusto no ser don Luis como le aueis pintado." — Lope: la Noche de San Juan. I, f. 73r. 2976. es vn cayman: a shrewd, dangerous rascal; it is evident from Covarrubias that the caiman or alligator had a bad reputation : " vn pez lagarto que se cria en las rias de Indias, y sc come las homhres que van nadando por el agua, y por ser el nombre de aquella lengua barbara, no me han sabido dar su etimologia ; deve ser a modo de los eocodrilos, que se crian en el rio Nilo." The Die. de aut. cites as an example of the definition which I have LA DAMA BOBA 335 given la Vida de Estebanillo Gonzalez: "Dexome la tropa de caimanes tan rematado de cuentas, que, en Uegandose el tiempo de la embarcaeion, huve menester vender parte de mi reeamara. ' ' pi. 329. 2981. el que viene de Muleyes: Muley, according to Pedro de Alcala : Vocabulario Espaiiol-Ardbigo is equivalent to do7i. Ochoa's lexicon defines it as follows: "Titulo que precede al nombre de emperadores y principes de Marruecos." I do not find the word in the last edition of the Academy's Dictionary. 2982. y alos godos se levanta: cf. verse 2295 and note. 2984. versos legos y donados: the poetry of a layman, and un- worthy of the "profession." 3056-7. que se va amor por la posta a la cassa del agravio: "Love is easily offended," but expressed in culto language. 3058-60. . . . las lagrimas solas de vn hombre han sido en el mundo veneno para nosotras: How women are to be won by men's tears and protestations forms a prominent fea- ture of the teachings expressed by Ovid ; cf . Ovid and the Renascence in Spain, op. cit., p. 91 et al. "Y el Petrarca [dice], entre sus raros versos, que no hay corazon de tan duro bronce o marmol, que no se ablande o se mueva, rogando, llorando, amando; ya puede, Hipolita bella, haber el tuyo toeado." — Lope : Las Flores de don Juan, II, xx. 336 NOTES 3068. i,Eres pandorgaf Perhaps Turin meant to say Pandora, thinking of her as an objectionable creature, for, he says, "no estoy bien en historias." In addition to the meaning of pandorga "discord," the Die. de aui. also gives : ' ' En estilo f estivo y familiar se llama la muger muy gorda, pessada, dexada y floxa en sus acciones." On pandorga cf. el Diablo cojuelo, op. cit., pp. 12 and 208. 3133. . . . el Alcazar ■ y la piiente de Segobia, y hubo Juanelos que a el subieron agua sin sagas: 1. The Alcazar: or royal palace of Toledo, now a military academy, was built chiefly in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and having been partly destroyed by fire on various occasions, has under- gone extensive restorations. The palace stands on the highest ground above Toledo, and is an imposing sight when viewed from the valley of the Tagus. 2. The bridge of Segovia: There was no bridge of this name across the Tagus at Toledo as far as I am able to learn, and we may assume that Finea, in her foolish chatter is confusing Toledo with Segovia whose puente del diablo is one of the great aqueducts of the world. It is known throughout Spain as the puenie de Segovia, and as a "watercarrier" was associated in Finea 's mind with the juanelos of Toledo. The structure is a work of Roman times. Cf. Richard Ford's excellent Handbook for Travellers in Spain (London, 1845), part 2, p. 825. 3. the juanelos ("artificio de Juanelo") : a compli- cated invention to raise water from the Tagus river to the Zoeodover, the public square of Toledo ; the inventor was a mechanician and engineer from Cremona, whose Italian name Giovanni Turriano, endures in its Spanish form Juanelo. He is known not only for the above in- LA DAMA BOBA 837 vention, completed in 1568, but as a maker of elaborate clocks, in which capacity he became a favorite of Charles V. The artificio is described at length by Villalva, in el Peregrino curioso, op. cit., I, p. 194 ; it is mentioned by Quevedo in his Vida del Buscon, I, cap. 8, by Cervantes in la ilustre Fregona, and other contem- porary writers. Cf . also D. Sisto Ramon Parro : Toledo en la mano, 2 tomos (Toledo, 1857), II, p. 660f£. 3145. llebaba: instead of the usual llebaua, or lleuaua. 3171. algun: aZgrweH in the inanuscript, where Lope's haste made him anticipate the gue of guesso, the next word. 3174. donde a los que nazen lloran, y rien a los que mueren: refers to the Trausi, whose customs are thus described by Herodotus : ' ' Llevo dicho de antemano que modo de vivir siguen los Getas atani- zontes (o defensores de la inmortalidad). Los Trausos, si bien imitan en todo las costumbres de los demas Tracios, practican no obstante sus usos particulares en el nacimiento y en la muerte de los suyos ; porque al nacer alguno, puestos todos los parientes alrededor del reeien nacido, empiezan a dar grandes lamentos, con- tando los muchos males que le esperan en el discurso de la vida, y' siguiendo una por una las desventuras y mise- rias humanas; pero al morir uno de ellos, con muchas muestras de contento, y saltando de placer y alegria, le dan sepultura, ponderando las miserias de que acaba de librarse, y los bienes de que empieza a verse colmado en la bienaventuranza. " [Vivian los Trausos al pie del Hemo, en la Mesia inferior. — Nota del Traductor.] Cf. los Nueve libros de la historia de Herodoto de Hali- carnaso; (traducida del griego al castellano por el P. Bartolome Pou, 1727-1802, de la compaiiia de Jesus), 2 tomos (Madrid, 1909) ; II, libro quinto, § iv, p. 7. 338 NOTES Two volumes (in one) of this work were printed at Madrid, 1846; the present edition is taken from the manuscript of the author. There were Italian transla- tions of Herodotus in Lope's day, but none in Spanish, as far as I know. On Herodotus cf . also R. W. Macan, M. A. : Herodotus, the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Books with Introduction, Notes, Appendices, Indices, Map (London, 1895), p. 155. 3179-80. This close, according to which all the characters are married, is given a humorous turn by having the two men who are left without mates clasp hands. The same device is not uncommon in the Spanish comedia; ef. the end of la Noche toledama, and of Santiago el Verde. INDEX a (mechanical omission of), 261, 276, 304. Academias, 300, 313. accidente (o eleccion), 310. acomodarse al tiempo, 329. Actors and actresses, 251. agua ardiente, 270. ajedrez (piezas de), 257. aladares, 299. alba, 263. Aleman, 317. alma, 329, 330. amor, deseo de belleza, 282. amor (locura, etc.), 283, 293. anacardina, 304. andar por los aires, 305. aprender (prender), 298. Arguijo (Juan de), 316. arrastra, lo que- honra, 273. arriedro, 282. asUla, 298. astrologo, 295. banda, 319. basiliseo, 259. boticario, 272. Bourgeois Gentilhomme (le), 263. eelosia, 304. Cervantes, 312. CSeeron (hijo de), 292. conceptismo. 275, 276. euadrado, 279. cuello, 324. cuenta de perdon, 332. cabezadas, 299. cadenas, 319, 320. caja, 255, 289. callar (al- llaman sancto), 328. calle Mayor, 266. Camoes, 312. carnestolendas, 270. caseabel, 298. Castro (Guillen de), 312. catreda, 293, 310. cliapet6n, 326. damas . . . como un vidro, 256. dinero, 280. doce. 278. en for entre, 265. endiosarse. 311. escuelas, 275. espiritus visivos, 282. estrado (sillas, almohadas), 287, 328. estribos, 257. fea (ventura de la), 301. fiambre (tocino), 255. file (dar un), 310. fortuna (tormenta), 294. gansos (correr), 274. Garcilaso, 311, 333. godo, 326. gregiiesco, 320, 321. guante (oloroso), 325. guiudas, 253. hablar en, 289. Heliodoro, 262. Herrera, 317. ihola! 291. lUescas, 252. jalea, 257. jerigonza, 273, 288. ijo! 289. juanelos, 336. jugar del voeablo, 325. Latino (Juan), 305. leccion, 256. libertad (no se vende), 292. librea del rey, 265. liga, 321, 327. lindo, 251, 300. Lin^n, 316. Luque (obras de), 315. matamoros, 327. matamosoas, 327. matasiete, 327. medidas (de imagenes), 254. mentiras, 253. menudo, 289. merienda, 257. mudanza, 318. mujeres (estado social de), 260. Muley, 335. muquir, 324. naipe (retrato), 284. negro, 287. Ochoa (liras de), 313. oficio, 271. Pajares (santo de), 299. pandorga, 336. Pastrana (duque de), 313. Pedro (es tan ruin como su amo), 332. [339] 340 INDEX pensfimiento, 277. pepitoria, 284. Petrarca, 311. pias, 274. piearse, 302. pieza de rey, 264. pino (a-), 272. porfido, 299. postas, 254. Prado, 296. prueba de amigos, 296. pudre, 260. puesto que, 298. puntos (dos- en el aire), 257. puno, 324. J que te dice? 332. rapacejo, 321. Eecoletos (los), 296. regalos (de amante), 296. romadizo, 266. rumfla, 301. sala, 317. servicio, 268. sestil, 279. Sibila eritrea, 274. sombrero romo, 327. sotanilla, 322. Taso, 311. t^rmino, 334. tiniendo, 304. tranzelln, 319. Trausos (costumbres de los), 337. trine, 279. tripular, 303. tropezar, 276. Vega (Lope de), 312, 317. YSlez (Luis), 313. vendaval, 294. Vidro, 299. Virgilio, 311. vistas, 258. zapatos al uso nuevo, 321, 327. zas, 264. Niii ill',!, m fiiili