Teoría de la comedia, and: La comedia española del Siglo de Oro (review)

Reviews87 mucho, y exponer la cuestión cumplidamente exigía un espacio de que aquí no dispongo. La anotación de las comedias y el prólogo han sido ampliados y corregidos ». I fail to find L 'abuseur de Seville, éd. critique, introduction, traduction et notes par Pierre Guenoun (Paris, Aubier, 1962). It would seem to belong in this bibliography, for the compilers list other translations if they contain notes and introductory material. The following reviews of this translation exist: A. Caravaca, Arbor, 58:104-6 (1964), Ivan Christ, La table ronde, no. 180:142 (1963), André Nougué, Bulletin hispanique, 66:179-185 (1964) and Gerald Wade, Hispania, 45:663-4 (1963). Of interest also are Victor Molinier, «Notice sur le tragi-comédie de G. Tellez, El burlador de Seville et le Don Juan de Molière,» Mémoires de l'Académie des sciences, inscriptions et belles lettres, 7th series, 5:92-120 (1873) and D. Paulme, «La statue du commandeur,» Revue de l'histoire des religions, 153:34-67 (1958). One can conclude only by reiterating that this is the fullest and most scholarly annotated bibliography yet compiled on Tirso de Molina. It should be the starting point for all future research concerning his life and works. Hensley C. Woodbridge Southern Illinois University OLSON, ELDER. Teoria de la comedia; WARDROPPER, B. W. La comedia española del Siglo de Oro. Barcelona: Editorial Ariel, 1978. Paper. This book contains a translation of Elder Olson's The Theory of Comedy first published in English by Indiana University Press in 1968 and a 59 page essay, including notes, on Golden Age comedy by Bruce Wardropper. Since Olson's book has long been available in English and since it has been reviewed by others (see New Republic, March 15, 1969; Yale Review, Summer 1969; and Comparative Literature, Summer, 1970), this review will focus primarily on Wardropper's contribution. Wardropper begins with a double lament: the rigorous study of comedy in the Golden Age is still only in its infancy, and the classification of Golden Age plays in general, and comedies in particular, is muddled at best. To simplify this muddled state, Wardropper proposes three general types of comedy: capa y espada, comediafantástica, and entremés. Two of the categories are already well-known to comediantes. The third category, comedia fantástica, then would include the type of play which, «no discurre sobre la vida cotidiana sino sobre el vuelo de fantasía; no trata de lo posible sino de lo apenas concebible . Tal comedia debe disociar al espectador de los elementos burlescos, placenteros o inquietantes que contempla alejándolos de él en el espacio o el tiempo» (p. 195). The reader of such plays would find them more mysterious and possibly more disturbing than either capa y espada or entremés. Comedy plays a vital role in life and Wardropper shows through reasoned 88Bulletin of the Comediantes argument and often brilliant analyses of individual plays various aspects of comedy's functions. Such plays as El vergonzoso en palacio and El perro del hortelano as well as entremeses like La polilla de Madrid and El retablo de las maravillas demonstrate a fascination with the fine line that divides art and life and with the metatheatrical techniques that are symptomatic of such a concern . Another of comedy's interests lies in the role of social subversion. The full length plays mentioned above, for example, «ponen en tela de juicio el carácter intrinsecamente estable de la nobleza, proponiendo a cambio la idea más bien revolucionaria de que la nobleza puede ser un rasgo del temperamento antes que una circunstancia genealógica. Ambas . . . afirman la primacía del derecho de los individuos a la felicidad amorosa por encima del valor social del honor familiar» (p. 214). His centerpiece for the discussion of the disquieting nature of comedy is a penetrating analysis of Sembrar en buena tierra. This analysis should be required reading for all comediantes. Through its focus on love, comedy often displays a «feminist» viewpoint. Women are traditionally seen as subjugated by men but in comedy, men dance, often ridiculously, to tunes women call. «Las mujeres de la comedia actúan...