The Minor Dramatists of Seventeenth Century Spain by Vern G. Williamsen (review)

Book Reviews109 The present volume contains 25 representative studies which review major facets of the political, social, and economic life of the "DanubianSuebians," of whom presently over 300,000 live in North America. Scholars who are interested in minority culture and politics per se will be amply rewarded. However, linguists and literary historians who are interested in minority fiction and poetry, and in the struggle to keep the language of a minority alive, will not suffer from want either, for this volume is a treasury of socio-political, historical, and literary background material. There is, for instance, much to be learned in Hans Diplich's essay "Anton Valentin und die Banater Monatshefte" (pp. 211-229) about the aggressively or defensively oriented ethnic novel (Vol/cstumsroman) in the manner of Adam Müller-Guttenbrunn. The appended bibliography for the MB lists items which are along comparatist lines (e.g., on German and Rumanian lyric poetry), on lesser known literatures (e.g., contemporary Bulgarian story telling, translations from Rumanian, Finnish literature), on the reception of nationally explosive works (e.g., Hans Grimm's novels) by an ethnically defensive society, etc. Of lesser consequence, though still valuable, is Johann Wurtz's contribution "Wefstrecken im Zeichen des Wandels: Geschichte als literarisch-künstlerisches Motiv" (pp. 230-252). This study deals primarily with literary works in the dialect but is broad enough to refer in its argument, e.g., to the works of S. Petöfi, the great Hungarian poet of Serb extraction, who supposedly claimed that if he were the last Serbian he would commit suicide so that that race would die out. Only one printing mistake seems to be present in the whole volume (recte: Geschichtsbetrachtung, p. 197). PETER HORWATH Arizona State University Vern G. Williamsen. The Minor Dramatists of Seventeenth Century Spain. Boston: Twayne, 1982. 160p. Vern Williamsen's The Minor Dramatists of Seventeenth Century Spain features basic reference material on eleven little-known yet important Spanish Golden Age playwrights. These are presented chronologically under the traditional Lopean and Calderonian rubrics, subdivided into two chapters per school: Miguel Sánchez, Damián Salucio del Poyo, and Andrés de Claramonte y Corroy (1601-1620); Felipe Godinez, Diego Jiménez de Enciso, and Luis de Belmonte Bermúdez (16211630 ); Antonio Hurtado de Mendoza and Alvaro Cubillo de Aragón (1631-1650); Agustín de Salazar y Torres, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, and Francisco Antonio de Bances y López-Candamo (1651-1700). The discussion on each playwright, which varies from two to ten pages, consists mainly of plot summaries, ranging anywhere from 8% to 100% of a dramatist's known works. His/her significance emerges from comments from contemporaries (e.g., Lope or Cervantes), subsequent literary criticism, or the author's observations on the dramatist's special contribution to the development of the comedia. Williamsen underscores that the malleability of this genre results precisely from numerous works by minor dramatists. He posits definite structural units for the comedia which he exemplifies, in the introductory chapter, through a detailed analysis of Peribóñez and, in the following chapters, through parenthetical labels interspersed throughout the plot summaries — e.g., "(ra)" for rising action, "(pt)" for potential trajectory, etc. These structural components may not exist in plays of a 110ROCKY MOUNTAIN REVIEW more ceremonial nature, for which the name comedia belies a lack of cohesiveness consonant with their purpose of pageantry. Such pomp and circumstance is evident in three of Lope's plays (Carlos V en Francia, La tragedia del rey don Sebastián y el bautismo del principe de Marruecos, and Las paces de los reyes y judia de Toledo) often criticized for their lack of dramatic unity, as well as in some works by minor dramatists. In terms of dramatic technique, these playwrights propel the evolution of the structure of the comedia through a gradual reduction of multiple plots. Their use of decorative elements, like sententiae, cuentecillos and polymetry, also reflect the development of the genre. Given the limitations of the Twayneseries, Williamsen 's book must necessarily appear rudimentary. His selection of minor dramatists is admittedly a personal one; their uneven treatment remains unexplained. Nevertheless, Williamsen's study provides an excellent...