The mind and art of Calderón: essays on the Comedias (review)

164 Reviews been changed back to mirror more closely that of the Icelandic, although not at the expense of natural English expression. The vocabulary remains fairly static, with most changes reflecting a now closer relationship between the English and Icelandic word. Some changes seem unnecessary, as in the case of 'mate' preferred over 'friend' for 'fylgdarmaflr'. The spelUng of names is unchanged except for the female patronymic as in 'Sur's-daughter', rather than 'Sur's Daughter'. On the whole, these 'extensive revisions' have made the text seem more fluid and less consciously translated, while retaining a subtle sense of the Icelandic syntax. The glossary and map make it easier to follow the somewhat complex interwoven strands of plot, and the notes provide an undaunting yet broad selection of critical works in a range of languages. This edition represents a welcome, andtimely,addition to the Penguin Classics range of Icelandic texts, and one that wiU be useful to both amateurs and students of this splendid saga. Louise A. Trott Department of EngUsh University of Sydney Parker, A. A., The mind and art of Calderdn: essays on the Comedias, ed. D. Kong, Cambridge, C. U. P., 1988; cloth; pp. xiv, 417; R. R. P. A U S $ 136.00. A review of this book is in essence a critical summary of a lifetime's work on Calderdn. Most of its first twenty chapters is a reworking, expansion, and development ofParker's articles that have appeared in each decade from the 1940s to the 1980s. Five of thefinalsix chapters introduce substantiaUy new material on those plays that focus on public affairs and especially the court plays based on classical mythology. Two, at least, of the book's stated aims are fully satisfied: to render comprehensible Calder6n's ideas and the language in which they are expressed, by means of clarifying textual commentaries, and to provide an understanding of the Spanish seventeenth century for a twentieth-century, English-speaking reader that would allow that reader to interpret Calderdn's plays in their appropriate social, historical and political context. A self-confessed traditionalist in the world of contemporary critical theory, Parker is even so brave as to refer to Calderdn's intention in relation to his plays, whde at the same time acknowledging the interpretive possibilities open to those with 'modern' critical sensibdities. The book is of very great value to the student of Calder6n, because it brings together the large number of important studies undertaken during Parker's career. His seminal article, published originally as The approach to the Spanish drama of the Golden Age, now modified, becomes the source from which flows the interpretation of individual works in the following chapters. In thisfirstchapter, Reviews 165 Parker expounds the importance of a thematic interpretation as it is derived from a work's structural unity, showing how the dramatic function inevitably bears a conceptual relationship to theme. Near the end of the book, Parker is able to show how past criticism, especially of Calderdn's tragedies, has placed the works' apparent moraUty before their dramatic and thematic arguments, leading to a misinterpretation of the so-caUed 'honour plays'. Parker also tackles those modern definitions of tragedy that have tended to exclude Calderdn's plays, on the grounds that a strict adherence to a code of honour and Calderdn's religious belief made it impossible for him to deal in truly tragic constructs. Parker shows that while the role of blind fate holds Uttle sway in Calderdn's plays, in dealing with questions of diffused moral responsibiUty in circumstances where it is impossible to assign guilt Calderdn actually extends the concept of tragedy. FoUowing the interpretive essay that opens the book are chapters on Calderdn's use of metaphor, symbol, myth, poetic truth and dramatic structure, and how these developed in relation to the playwright's own life experiences. The interpretive essays on individual plays are organized around the theme of social Ufe (with its manifestation in works of a basically domestic sphere), pubUc, political and religious concerns, and the plays devised for performance at court, which combined stage performance, music and the spectacle of royalty itself. This last section of material, pubUshed here for...