Capa Y Espada

Age critics, he declared that a new concept of tragedy was beginning to appear. This "nueva idea de la tragedia antigua," as González y Salas called it, understood tragedy to be admirable, provide both proveclw and placer, be hedonistic as well as didactic and perturbing as well as calming, have a cathartic purpose, and portray a change in the fortunes of the hero. El príncipe constante , according to Ortigoza, conforms to these standards and is therefore a tragedy in the sense in which the Golden Age understood the term. Miss Nellie Sánchez-Arce compared El principe constante with La adversa fortuna de don Alvaro de Luna. Both plays, according to her, represent the free interpretation of classical precepts so common in the Renaissance and the Golden Age. Both contain graciosos, presentiments of future tragedy , love affairs closely related to the tragic events, and heroes who demonstrate Christian stoicism. They differ m the portrayal of the characters of the protagonists; while Alvaro is not altogether perfect and is therefore human, Fernando's perfection and patience rivals Job's and he inspires sympathyonly when he experiences loneliness after everyone turns against him. In a paper sent by Professor Whitby, who was unable to attend the meeting, definitions of tragedy by two modern critics, Louis Martz and Eugene H. Falk, were applied to El príncipe constante. Martz's classification would place this play among the tragedies , but Professor Whitby asks whether it should figure with Oedipus at Colonus, Samson Agonistes, and Murder m the Cathedral, or will be found where Martz finds Shaw with Saint Joan, "hanging on by his hands to the very rim of tragedy." With regard to Falk's definition, the position of Calderon's play depends upon the hero's will to live and his devotion to a supreme value. Professor Whitby concluded that the determination of a conflict in Fernando between the will to live and his submission to the divine will would solve the question of whether the play is a tragedy or not provided Falk's criterion were applied. Much of the discussion which followed centered upon the definitions of the Golden Age preceptistas. Spanish theorists, according to Professor Valbuena Briones, were very close to Aristotle, and Pinciano quoted him almost word for word. Professor Wardropper suggested that Pinciano was perhaps too early to have been influential in Calderon's understanding of tragedy. With regard to the cathartic principle, Professor Reichenberger protested that catharsis is likewise present in the auto sacramental, which "uplifts and cleanses the passions," too. Professor McCreedy objected that it is not catharsis but a feeling of "rightness" that the reader gets from El príncipe constante. Professor Ashcom suggested that the queries concerning man's fate and God's inscrutable will that tragedy generally raises are not present in this play. The decision as to the subject for discussion at next year's meeting was left to the incoming executive committee. The Comediantes then proceeded to Riggs Restaurant for the annual luncheon, arranged this year by Professor Lihani. Capa Y Espada Conducted by the Editor • The Comediantes will discuss "The Spanish comedia in the light of modern trends in criticism and aesthetics, including the 'new criticism'," at the 1959 meeting in Chicago according to chairman, Myron A. Peyton. • Activity at Colorado: Two performances of Calderon's EL ALCALDE DE ZALAMEA on Feb. 22 and 23, 1959. Directed by Carlos Ortigoza. Doctoral dissertation completed: "The comic elements in Moreto's comedias" directed by Carlos Ortigoza. • John J. Metford, University of Bristol, is preparing editions of three of Tirso's plays, TANTO ES LO DE MAS COMO LO DE MENOS, LOS BALCONES DE MADRID, LA VENGANZA DE TAMAR. • An edition of ANGELICA Y MEDORO : ZARZUELA INEDITA DE JOSE DE CANIZRES, CON SU LOA Y ENTREM ÉS, ed. by McCready and Molinaro, Toronto, 1959 may be purchased for $1.50 from Prof. Warren T. McCready, Univ. of Toronto, 5, Canada, postpaid. • Dr. A. A. Parker, University of London , writes to ask if the Comediantes are willing to join an International Association of Hispanic Studies, affiliated with the Fédération Internationale des Langues et Littératures Modernes (FILLM). He proposes an...