Coello's Debt to Gongora

2 All quotations are from the edition of Sidney F. Wexler, Calderón de la Barca, La devoción de la cruz (Salamanca: Anaya, 1966). 3 Cf. Mira de Amescua, El esciavo del demordo, ed. A. Valbuena Prat (Zaragoza: Ebro, 1956): dudé y casi es consentido. Alto, pues yo soy vencido. Soltóme Dios de su mano. (542-44) ^»{»•T^V COELLO'S DEBT TO GONGORA Donald E. Schmiedel, University of Nevada, Las Vegas Antonio Coello, one of the many ingenios who enjoyed royal favor at the court of Felipe IV, was a close friend and associate of Pedro Calderón de la Barca. The two young dramatists even collaborated in the composition of several comedias written for special occasions at the King's request.' Such close association would suggest that Coello's dramatic production should reflect the baroque style and technique of the socalled Calderón school. The opposite is true. His best work, El Conde de Sex (1633), demonstrates many similarities to the comedia as conceived by Lope or Tirso: the themes are carried by a fast moving plot, and psychological development takes precedence over philosophical exposition. Coello's play is almost stark in its lack of baroque imagery. There is, however, a highly lyrical Sassage in El Conde de Sex where orid style seems purposely called upon to emphasize the Earl's wonderment as he relates how he saved the life of a mysterious masked lady (really the Queen) whom he had spied wading in a sparkling stream in the quiet of a secluded garden. I have shown elsewhere that the tone, style and imagery of this passage was heavily influenced by similar descriptions in Luis de Góngora 's Polifemo, the Soledades, the sonnet "Oh claro honor del líquido elemento ," and the romance "En los pinares de Júcar."2 Now it can be demonstrated that Colleo's debt to Góngora goes far beyond mere sylistic influence or imagery borrowing. In a lengthy soliloquy at the end of Act I, Queen Elizabeth gives anguished expression to the reina-mujer conflict that plagues her. Confessing her impossible love for the Earl of Essex, which at once degrades her as a monarch and exalts her as a woman, she exclaims : Yo, ¿pechera del amor? Yo fío en los pasos de un ciego, la esperanza de un rapaz, de un loco el entendimiento, de un tirano la piedad, y en fin, de un desnudo el premio, (lines 1051-1056) These lines are flagrantly lifted from the third stanza of Góngora's romance, "Ciego que apuntas y atinas" (1580): Amadores desdichados que seguís miHcia tal, decidme, ¿qué buena guía podéis de un ciego sacar? De un pájaro, ¿ qué firmeza?¿ Qué galardón de un desnudo? De un tirano, ¿ qué piedad? Déjame en paz, Amor tirano, déjame en paz. (Millé, 1.) The influence of the poet of Córdoba upon Antonio Coello is no longer open to question. Not only was Coello ac39 quainted with Góngora's work, but he borrowed, adapted, and even copied it directly to suit his dramatic purposes. FOOTNOTES ' The two worked together on El jardín de Falerina, El Pastor fido, El privilegio de las mujeres, and Los yerros de naturaleza y aciertos de fortuna. 2 See "El Conde de Sex": A Critical Edition and Study (Madrid: Plaza Mayor, 1972), p. 64. A LOST PLAY OF SALAZAR Y TORRES Thomas Austin O'Connor, State University of New York, College at Cortland Bibliographic problems of the Siglo de Oro often seem insurmountable, especially when one considers the comedia. An illustration would be the recent problems concerning the dating of the first edition of El burlador de Sevitta of Tirso de Molina. When problems of such magnitude arise with outstanding figures of the 17th century, the lack of bibhographical information compounds those which concern figures of lesser stature or those which concern writers Httle studied. Often errors are passed on because one tends to give credence to such bibliophiles as La Barrera. While such authorities are guides to innumerable sources of material , they should be checked thoroughly before accepting their information as fact. A curious example results...