La comedia hagiográfica del Siglo de Oro español: Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina y Calderón de la Barca (review)

Reviews447 monstruo del mundo de Calderón," pp. 115-27. In 1632 Calderón had finished El mayor monstruo del mundo, a play designed for presentation in a corral de comedias; in 1672 he had finished a second version ofthe play, El mayor monstruo los celos (the form best known to the modern reader) with more elaborate scenic effects, meant to be performed for the royal court. Valbuena comments on the major differences between the two versions; for example, the 1632 play contains 532 lines fewer than the second version, which tends to lengthen a number of speeches and elaborate considerably the role ofthe gracioso. WillardF. King Bryn Mawr College Dassbach, Elma. La comedia hagiográfica del Siglo de Oro español: Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina y Calderón de la Barca. New York: Peter Lang (Ibérica 22), 1997. Hardback. 200 pp. Elma Dassbach has chosen 1600 to 1640 as the peak years of the comedia de santos (1). She discusses seven ofthe twenty-five or more comedias de santos written by Lope de Vega, five of Tirso's nine plays about nonbiblical saints, and four ofCalderón's ten such plays, though one ofthe four (El José de la mujeres, about St. Eugenia) is ofdoubtful ascription. Two titles are not entirely clear. By Santa Teresa de Jesús the author means Lope's early play La bienaventurada madre Santa Teresa de Jesús, not La vida y muerte de Santa Teresa de Jesús of later date and weaker attribution . La Santa Juana indicates only the first play ofTirso's trilogy. Dassbach correctly points out that Brother Francis ofEl rústico del cielo is not officially a saint, though he was considered so by the populace (5, n. 1). The same should be said of Sor Juana de la Cruz ofLa Santa Juana, and of Antonio Neyrot of La devoción del rosario, though the latter has been beatified. Dassbach's stated purpose is to arrive at a better understanding and appreciation of the characteristics, conventions, and dramatic qualities of the comedia de santos. The three major sections ofthe book deal with the three basic elements the author finds in every hagiographie comedia: the religious , the spectacular, and the secular. Concerning the religious, Dassbach finds that hagiography offers different kinds of subjects, requiring different kinds of dramatic treatment. While somewhat unlike the usual broad classification of saints as apostles, martyrs, bishops, and confessors, Dassbach's 448BCom, Vol. 50, No. 2 (Winter 1998) four categories of mendicantes, convertidos, mártires, and hacedores de milagros appear useful for approaching the comedia de santos, though we must remember that miracles are expected of all saints. Respective examples of the four types are Lope's Santa Teresa and San Ginés, and Calderón's Prince Fernando and San Patricio. The spectacular element may include such appealing features as weddings , processions, and music, but essential to the comedia de santos is the supernatural. Miracles worked by the saint, and appearances of angelic and demonic beings, were required. The playwright had to confront not only the convictions of the audience, but also the church's requirement of miracles in the process ofcanonization. The third element, the secular, offers human interest, artistic appeal, and comic relief. Dassbach discusses the various kinds of subplots and graciosos contained in many ofthese plays. The numerous notes in this book are usually informative but often lengthy. Chapter 3, for example, contains eight pages oftext and eight pages of notes. Many notes are of sufficient interest and pertinence, in my view, to warrant inclusion in the text. Some notes are cumbered with full bibliographic information for one or more references, even though this guidance is available in the final bibliography. Furthermore, I find the Conclusion of most chapters too long and repetitious. Especially is this true in chapter 2, where the conclusion is almost half the length of the chapter proper. These slight excesses are probably traceable to the origin of the book as a dissertation. The bibliography is in four parts: "Ediciones de comedias," "Estudios sobre comedias de santos," "Estudios sobre hagiografía," and "Estudios sobre teatro del Siglo de Oro y otros estudios generales." The...