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of Hungary; the lion who will be conquered by his love will be Leonora.10 While Covarrubias (p. 761) denies its currency in his own day, he does point out that law seven, title eight, Partida seven, of Alfonso's Siete Partidas , establishes the following punishment for 'those who kill another with venom or poisonous herbs': "E si por aventura matare con ellas, estonce el matador deve morir deshonradamente, echándolo a los leones o a canes, o a otras bestias bravas que lo maten." The King who in Act III will force Nisida to take poison will indeed be thrown to a symbolic lion, the hero Leonido who will become the avenging instrument of justice. NOTES 1 Notes on the Fateful Curse in Golden Age Drama," Kentucky Romance Quarterly, 21 (1974), 326. 2 "Un dramaturgo de la Edad de Oro: Guillen de Castro," RFE, 28 (1944), 378-427. All future references to this article will be indicated in the text by page number in parentheses . 3Al] references to El amor constante are from Obras de Don Guillen de Castro y Bellvís (Madrid, 1925-27), 3 vols,, ed. E. Julia Martinez . 4 The lines of this passage have been numbered in order to facilitate reference to them in the analysis which follows. 5 Sebastián de Covarrubias, Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, ed. Martín de Riquer (Barcelona, 1943), p. 925. Subsequent references to this edition will appear in the text. 6 Not only is Nisida the daughter of the Duke, the most important peer of the realm, she is also related by blood to the Queen. 7 Though little is known about Castro's educational background, considering the close ties between Valencia and Italy in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Valencian dramatist would surely have had some knowledge of Italian. 8 Prior to this scene Celauro had made a similar use of diamante and pecho when he promised to prove his fealty to the King: "En cualquier guerra trabada, / cual si fuera de diamante, / le pondré el pecho delante / a los filos de una espada" (I1 11b). 9 Nísida's martyr role implied by the diamond -blood symbolism of Act I becomes a statement of fact in Act III when the King offers her the choice of death by poisoning or becoming his new queen. Although she eventually accepts the poison, she has a moment of doubt when she considers the effect her death will have upon Celauro. She is then counseled by her father to persevere in her refusal of the earthly crown: "que otra corona te espera / del martirio a que te ofreces" (I, 34b). 10Castro continues the etymological metaphor later in this same scene. After Leonido kills the animal, Leonora asks that her savior reveal his name. Although he much prefers the name "amigo" by which she has just addressed him, he replies that "solían llamarme / Leonido"; and the Infanta answers: "Y eso más / No león ido serás, / sino venido a matarme " (I, 21a). THE SACRED AND PROFANE IN TIRSO'S LA VIDA Y MUERTE DE HERODES A. K. Stoll, Cleveland State University Commentators on La vida y muerte de Rerodes have labeled the juxtaposition of sacred and profane elements in the play as unfortunate weakness or error on the part of the playwright.1 The interpretation presented here explains these elements as integral parts in the structure of the play and snows how they are essential to the meaning thus discovered.2 The play is fruitfully interpreted as a dramatic sermon illustrating the wages of sin and presenting 22 the tremendous contrast between a life of sin and a life of Christian goodness. This contrast is seen in a statement of the themes of ambition and love; striving for the ephemeral pleasures of the world (power, glory, beauty) is counterposed with seeking the eternal life of the soul; a selfish, blind love which is essentially desire for possession is counter-balanced with the selfless brotherly love of Christianity. The two royal families which figure in the drama illustrate the concerns and values of those favored by fortune and convinced that appearance and the pleasures of...

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