Aris & Phillips Hispanic Classics – serie

Tirso de Molina was, with Lope de Vega and Calderon, one of the great dramatists of 17th century Spain, which produced a theatre as vital rich and as varied as its Elizabethan counterpart. The Trickster of Seville is thoroughly representative of the drama of Spain's Golden Age: a drama of fast-moving action which set its face against classical precepts, broke the unities of time and place, cheerfully mixed the serious and the comic, combined main and sub-plots, and cultivated Spanish subjects and Spanish characters. In this respect Tirso's Don Juan is of course, the most famous character in the drama of the Golden Age, as well as the first of a long line which extends through Mozart and Moliere to the 20th century.

One of the most powerful and sustained works in all medieval literature, without which no series could be considered complete. The Poem of My Cid deals with the exploits of the medieval Castilian warrior, beginning with the sorrow of his departure into exile and focusing on his determination to regain the favour of his king. The poem is rich in incident and around the strength of the epic hero is developed the theme of the relationship between the individual and seigneurial society. The tribulations of his life and the drama of his battles against both Moors and Christians are presented with unusual directness and force. The translation preserves the tone of the original and reflects the vitality of its style while following the facing text closely. The full notes and the introduction cover problems of interpretation, style and background. Spanish text with facing-page translation, introduction and commentary.

The story comes from the Second Book of Samuel and tells of the incestuous passion of Amnon, David's eldest son, for his half-sister, Tamar and the subsequent murder of Amnon by his brother Absolom. Amnon's lust is set in the context of complementary passions of ambition and revenge, reflected in Absolom and Tamar respectively. The play explores King David's conflict between justice and mercy when confronted with these tragic events. It is a work of constantly changing perspectives in which tragedy and comedy, instead of being simply juxtaposed, are blended in a highly original way. Tirso's play is one of the earliest treatments of a theme that has continued to be an inspiration for such modern writers as the novelist Dan Jacobson in The Rape of Tamar and the dramatist Peter Shaffer in Jonadab . Spanish text with facing-page translation, commentary and notes.

Fuente Ovejuna (C.1613) is the most famous and frequently performed play by the creator of Spanish theatre, Lope de Vega (1562-1635). Astonishingly for its period, it celebrates the murder in 1476 of a nobleman, the Grand Commander of the Military Order of Calatrava, by the peasants he had oppressed, and their subsequent solidarity under torture. Fuente Ovejuna , however, is less a history lesson or political tract than an optimistic moral fable. Spanish text with facing-page translation, introduction and notes.

Admired by Shelley for 'its satisfying completeness', this thought-provoking and skilfully constructed play, which dramatizes the same subject as Shakespeare's Henry VIII , is one of its creator's most outstanding achievements. Understandably, Calderon offers an interpretation of King Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon and break with the Church of Rome which is markedly different from that given in Shakespeare's work. Yet, despite his Counter-Reformation allegiances, Calderon brings Henry VIII sympathetically to dramatic life. The schismatic English monarch is portrayed by the Roman Catholic Spanish playwright as a man endowed with moral awareness and with exceptional talent for spiritual leadership, who is, nevertheless, morally and spiritually destroyed by his extraordinary surrender to the forces of physical passion. In this first published translation of the play into English Kenneth Muir and Ann MacKenzie have adhered to methods effectively adopted in their previous books ( Four Comedies by Calderon, and Three Comedies by Calderon). They have composed, almost entirely in blank verse, an accurate yet elegantly poetic version, after the manner of the Elizabethans, but avoiding vocabulary which might seem affected to a modern audience, in order to produce a 'script' that could be performed with success on the stage. The critical edition, prepared by Ann Mackenzie to accompany the translation, is based on the editio princeps (published by Vera Tassis in Calderon's Octava parte de comedias [Madrid, 1684]). Her substantial Introduction and comprehensive Commentary together constitute the most detailed critical evaluation accomplished to date of this key-drama from the Golden Age in Spain. The Introduction, in particular, supplies new evidence as to the date of the play (1627) and the circumstances of its composition, and provides an analysis of Calderon's creative treatment of his historical source-work: Ribadeneyra's Historia eclesiastica del cisma del reino de Inglaterra (1588). Spanish text with facing-page translation, introduction and commentary .

Mariana Pineda (1925) was Lorca's first success in the theatre. Based on a popular Andalusian ballad, it tells the story of Mariana Pineda who was garrotted in 1831 under the reactionary regime of Ferdinand VII for embroidering a Liberal flag and refusing to betray her lover. Written during the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera, the political message would not have escaped Lorca's audience. But the play is primarily the work of a poet and its appeal lies in the delicate tension that results from a deft blend of lyricism and drama which culminates in an astonishing level of spirituality in the final scenes when Mariana awaits her execution in a prison-convent. The characteristic themes of Lorca's tragedies - love, frustration, fate, freedom, death and womanhood - flourish within the play's appropriate and exquisite romantic mood. Spanish text with facing-page translation, introduction and commentary.

One of Lorca's best known plays tells the story of a young peasant wife in rural Spain whose sole conscious desire is to embody what she regards as the natural, moral and social laws governing her life as a woman in motherhood. The tragedy of Yerma, which literally means 'barren', in this powerful and emotive drama, is that she remains childless and so is denied the dignity and the emotional fulfilment which traditionally only the role of mother could bring. The frustration of Yerma's maternal instinct, the only acceptable channel for her sexuality in her repressive society, leads her through humiliation and despair to an erosion of her whole personality which culminates at the end of the play in violence and death. It is not only the strong feminist theme that accounts for the play's great popular appeal today. With the highly charged emotion are blended poetic imagery and lyricism which haunt the imagination of modern audiences as much as those of fifty years ago when Lorca was murdered. Spanish text with facing-page translation, introduction and notes.

The Spanish ballad tradition is one of the largest and most colourful in Europe, as reflected in the present collection of 71 of the best examples. They include tales of love and adventure, ancient legends such as those of Rodrigo the last Visigothic king, the battle of Roncesvalles and Bernardo del Carpio, stirring accounts of events of Spanish History such as the life of the Cid and the reign of Pedro "the cruel", as well as the "frontier ballads" about the relations between the Christians and the Moslems. Roger Wright's brilliantly performable verse translations closely recapture the style of the originals and make the meaning and spirit of the mediaeval ballad tradition come alive. His careful transcriptions of the Spanish texts and his detailed historical and linguistic notes provide a valuable insight into this splendid tradition. Spanish text with facing-page English translation.

It is astonishing that this is the first English translation of these Chronicles , as they are undoubtably amongst the finest produced in the Middle Ages and treat an important episode in the Hundred Years War. Lopes' mastery of dramatic narrative and picturesque description, so ably captured in this translation, found a fit subject in the foreign interventions and the revolutionary changes that took place in the second half of the 14th century in Portugal. What makes Lopes virtually unique as an historian of that date is his insistence on the use of documentary sources as he explains in his prologue to The Chronicle of Dom Joao , something that he as the keeper of the Royal archives was able to practice so effectively. It seems fitting that Fernao Lopes' great work should appear in a dual language edition as a tribute to the six hundred years alliance, whose beginning he so vividly recalls between the English and Portuguese peoples.

It is astonishing that this is the first English translation of these Chronicles , as they are undoubtably amongst the finest produced in the Middle Ages and treat an important episode in the Hundred Years War. Lopes' mastery of dramatic narrative and picturesque description, so ably captured in this translation, found a fit subject in the foreign interventions and the revolutionary changes that took place in the second half of the 14th century in Portugal. What makes Lopes virtually unique as an historian of that date is his insistence on the use of documentary sources as he explains in his prologue to The Chronicle of Dom Joao , something that he as the keeper of the Royal archives was able to practice so effectively. It seems fitting that Fernao Lopes' great work should appear in a dual language edition as a tribute to the six hundred years alliance, whose beginning he so vividly recalls between the English and Portuguese peoples.

Alan Paterson presents Calderon's original text, from manuscript and printed sources, with a skilful verse translation into English of a remarkable play, in which Calderon develops the motif of marital honour in quite original ways. The blending of deep pathos and humour anticipates the modern theatre of the absurd, though Calderon is pushing to the limits the license gained by Lope de Vega to mingle tragedy with comedy. The play incorporates important aesthetic ideas of the Renaissance on painting and the character of the artist. It must be unique in seventeenth-century European in dramatising the painter as he works in his studio and meditates on his art. Since the play deals with the aesthetic component in human behaviour, its own aeathetic status as a verse drama had been conserved in the translation. Those with no knowledge of Spanish will find a text which is agreeable to read and to perform. The translation is close enough, however, to offer the reader of limited ability in Spanish a reliable key to the Spanish text. Spanish text with facing-page translation, introduction and commentary.

The Suenos is one of the most controversial, witty and fantastic works of early 17th century Spanish literature. The five Dreams minutely analyse stupidity, ignorance and evil, as these could be found in contemporary society. The work's serious moral intention, often masked by the author's pointed anger, scabrous wit, wide learning, love of verbal gymnastics and surreal flights of imaginative fantasy, has for 350 years presented a challenge to the translator and the student of Hispanic culture outside the Spanish speaking world. This first full English translation of the Suenos since 1688 is accompanied by the Spanish text, and Dr Britton's own introduction and notes help the modern reader to understand the numerous historical and literary references, to elucidate the various linguistic devices and to sketch in the intellectual, moral and religious background of the text. Spanish text with facing-page translation, introduction and notes.

The Suenos is one of the most controversial, witty and fantastic works of early 17th century Spanish literature. The five Dreams minutely analyse stupidity, ignorance and evil, as these could be found in contemporary society. The work's serious moral intention, often masked by the author's pointed anger, scabrous wit, wide learning, love of verbal gymnastics and surreal flights of imaginative fantasy, has for 350 years presented a challenge to the translator and the student of Hispanic culture outside the Spanish speaking world. This first full English translation of the Suenos since 1688 is accompanied by the Spanish text, and Dr Britton's own introduction and notes help the modern reader to understand the numerous historical and literary references, to elucidate the various linguistic devices and to sketch in the intellectual, moral and religious background of the text. Spanish text with facing-page translation, introduction and notes.

Although Calderon's comedy has received rather less attention than the other genres in which he excelled, it is widely acknowledged that his comic plays are inrivalled among his contemporaries in terms of plot structure and technical expertise; they also explore contemporary issues to an extent which has not been appreciated. Love is no Laughing Matter is one of the best, in which the dramatist casts a sardonic eye on male chauvinism, women's education and social snobbery. This is the first complete text of the play to be published since 1650. Spanish text with facing-page translation.

This volume gathers together extracts from texts in Latin, Hispanic vernaculars, and French, concerning the relations of the Christians and Moors in Spain in the first four hundred years of their co-existence in the Peninsula. An effort has been made to illustrate aspects other than the exclusively military. The texts are both historical and 'literary' (this distinction not being one that the medieval mind would make) and in both prose and verse; they are arranged in order of the events to which they refer, not by date of composition. The purpose is to make these texts available in a form not previously attempted, to all who are interested in this fascinating period, but may be unable to read the original languages or may not have access to the published sources. Each text has a facing translation and introductory section with notes on the background and on textual difficulties. There is also a general introduction and a short booklist.

The two previous volumes draw a fascinating picture of the confrontation between the Christians and Moors in Spain from the Christian side. This volume attempts to redress the balance by describing many of the same incidents from the Muslims' point of view. The close intermingling of Christians and Moors, whether in love, in politics or in the common enjoyment of popular festivals, helps to account for the unique character of Islamic society in the Iberian Peninsula. Extracts from Arabic sources cover the relations between Christians and Moors in Spain over nearly 800 years. Apart from military encounters, some attention is paid to diplomacy, and also to lawsuits, legal judgments and regulations governing the co-existence of the rival communities. These not only reveal the fundamental differences between the two sides, but show how, in many cases, the divisions were not as clear-cut as the jurists and theologians would have wished. Only a handful of these texts have ever been translated into English before, and it is hoped that this selection will make a contribution to the understanding of this remarkable period in Spanish and Islamic history.

The last two volumes in this series have looked at the confrontation between Christian and Moor in Medieval Spain exclusively from the Christian side.This book attempts to redress the balance by looking at many of the same incidents from the Moslem point of view. Apart from military encounters, some attention is paid to diplomacy, and also to lawsuits, legal judgements and regulations governing the co-existance of the rival communities. The 112 texts, many available in English for the first time, are also given in Arabic.

Tirso de Molina enjoys enduring popularity as a writer of irreverent comedies, though his critical reputation as a major dramatist rests largely on his more serious works. Don Gil of the Green Breeches as befits a high farce is much concerned with disguise, mistaken identity, role-reversal, ghosts, and trousers! Dona Juana, jilted by her lover Don Martin, follows him to Madrid, where, under the assumed name of Don Gil, he is courting the wealthy Dona Ines. Dressed as a man in a distinctive pair of green breeches, Dona Juana also masquerades as Don Gil. Don Martin is outwitted by his transvestite rival, who wrecks his schemes like a maleficent will-'o-the-wisp before leading him, shell-shocked, to the altar! In his lively, accurate and fluent line-by-line verse translation of this play Gordon Minter admirably conveys the unique flavour of Tirso's sparkling wit. Additionally, in his stimulating Introduction and Commentary he argues that this effervescent drama deliberately subverts the Don Juan legend to show that the Trickster of Seville's female counterpart can be just as resourceful and predatory when the restoration of her honour is at stake. The further revelation that Don of the Green Breeches has unobtrusively and unnoticed contributed an important strand to subsequent European versions of the Don Juan legend completes a scholarly reappraisal of the significance of a work too often regarded as little more than a highly amusing dramatic confection.

Tirso de Molina enjoys enduring popularity as a writer of irreverent comedies, though his critical reputation as a major dramatist rests largely on his more serious works. Don Gil of the Green Breeches as befits a high farce is much concerned with disguise, mistaken identity, role-reversal, ghosts, and trousers! Dona Juana, jilted by her lover Don Martin, follows him to Madrid, where, under the assumed name of Don Gil, he is courting the wealthy Dona Ines. Dressed as a man in a distinctive pair of green breeches, Dona Juana also masquerades as Don Gil. Don Martin is outwitted by his transvestite rival, who wrecks his schemes like a maleficent will-'o-the-wisp before leading him, shell-shocked, to the altar! In his lively, accurate and fluent line-by-line verse translation of this play Gordon Minter admirably conveys the unique flavour of Tirso's sparkling wit. Additionally, in his stimulating Introduction and Commentary he argues that this effervescent drama deliberately subverts the Don Juan legend to show that the Trickster of Seville's female counterpart can be just as resourceful and predatory when the restoration of her honour is at stake. The further revelation that Don of the Green Breeches has unobtrusively and unnoticed contributed an important strand to subsequent European versions of the Don Juan legend completes a scholarly reappraisal of the significance of a work too often regarded as little more than a highly amusing dramatic confection.

Of all the remarkable people who first opened up the rest of the world to the Europeans Columbus, Magellan, Vasco da Gama, Pizarro and Cortes Afonso de Albuquerque, governor of Portuguese India from 1509 to 1515, was one of the most astonishing. He was a commander of bold strategic conceptions, a far-sighted administrator and in addition a talented writer, whose dispatches to King Manuel contain a wealth of spontaneous narrative, description and pungent comment. Caesar of the East is a specially edited anthology, based on the original Portuguese texts, of selections from these dispatches, or Cartas , and from the Comentarios (Commentaries) written by Albuquerque's son, also called Afonso, about his father's career, with new English translations of both. In the introduction Dr Villiers evaluates the part that Albuquerque played in the foundation of the Portuguese empire in Asia, and Dr Earle provides a literary analysis of the contrasting styles of the Cartas and the Comentarios , where the father's informality and spontaneity contrast fascinatingly with his son's carefully contrived and highly literary narrative. Historical and geographical notes help the reader to understand the text.

Lorca's famous Gypsy Ballads were composed in the 1920s, when his poetic style was evolving from the traditional towards the surrealist. The combination of the ballad's perennial narrative format with startling and allusive imagery has intrigued readers ever since. Dr Havard argues that the fatalism and tribalism of the gypsy settings relate to Lorca's own subjective dilemma and sexual anxieties, and that they ultimately make a deeply personal statement. The translations are broadly into free verse which aims to preserve the directness and the rhythm of the Spanish original so that the force of the poems may be appreciated by English readers. 162p

It may well be the sheer virtuosity of its writing that has deprived English audiences hitherto of an opportunity to appreciate Los cuernos de Don Friolera . This comic masterpiece by Spain's most innovative modern dramatist provides a provocatively sardonic treatment of marital infidelity and honourable revenge. Intricate in construction and thoughtful in the issues it raises, the play is nonetheless vivid in its impact as it veers disconcertingly between witty debate, uproarious farce and ludicrously overblown melodrama. The traditions and institutions which, in the 1920s (and, in some cases, for most of this century), blocked Spain's path to modernization and progress are mercilessly lampooned. The translation seeks to convey the dramatic point of the dialogue, its innuendos, allusions and shifts of register, rather than a strict literalness.

Buero Vallejo is Spain's most important living playwright. His profound, innovative theatre has earned him success and respect since 1949. Each new play has been an exciting experiment with dramatic form as well as a powerful expression of a tragic view of human life and Spanish society. A Dreamer for the People was first performed in 1958. In this history play, the first of a remarkable series, culminating in La detonacion ( The Shot also published by Aris & Phillips), the dreamer of the title is the often maligned Marquis of Esquilache, the reformist minister of Carlos III. Buero sets off Esquilache's relations with the king, the aristocracy, his wife and his maidservant against a lively re-creation of the build-up to the famous 1766 Capes and Hats Revolt in the streets of Madrid. Public history and private tragedy are brought together in a complex structure, bringing into clear focus the clash between forces of change and immobility that lay at the heart of both the 18th century and the Franco period in Spain. In returning his proofs, Buero compliments the author of this first translation into English of his play: 'La version de Mr Thompson es muy cuidada y fiel, asi como acertadas y oportunas sus notas'.

Written in the early 1920s, Lights of Bohemia is set in the twilight phase of Madrid's bohemian artistic life against the turbulent social and political background of events between 1900 and 1920. The play's protagonist, the poet Max Estrella, confronts the dilemma between art and social commitment and the problem of salvaging some sort of authenticity and identity in a context which converts him into an anachronism. This is the first play in a series of 'esperpentos' or 'grotesques' in which Valle-Inclan tries to convey the tragi-grotesque contradictions of his contemporary surroundings by the use of similarly contrasting registers in his theatre.

This passionate and moving story of social injustice, violence and revenge, set in the Valencian huerta, has become the classic text of Spanish regional realism. Blasco Ibanez, the 'Spanish Zola', dramatically confronts one of the great social issues of the late nineteenth century, the possession of land, in a vivid recreation of the local types and traditional customs of a closed rural community which jealousy guards its rights and administers its own rough justice against the outsider. The novel is both a lyrical hymn to nature and an expose of man's inhumanity to man, narrated with a human compassion worthy of his master, Galdos. Spanish text with facing-page translation, introduction and notes.

Ramon LLull (1232-1316) was born the son of a prosperous Catalan merchant and spent his youth pursuing worldly pursuits, until a series of powerful visions of Christ moved him to devote his life entirely to serving God. One of his lifelong ambitions was to write a book to counter the "errors of the infidels", to which end he studied Arabic and immersed himself in whatever arabic texts he could obtain. The Book of the Lover is one of the most celebrated works of medieval mystical literature offering a uniquely expressed and moving testimony to the soul's quest for union with God. The 365 paragraphs of "moral metaphors" intended for daily meditation, are written in the style of the Muslim sufis who offer words of love and brief exampla that inspire great devotion. Professor Johnston concisely explains the peculiarities of Llull's idiosyncratic theological and philosophical system and offers the most comprehensive assessment to date of his debt to the Islamic tradition of devotional discourse. In addition, brief notes help to guide the reader's appreciation of the spiritual insight that Llull sought to stimulate with his text. Contains original Latin and Catalan text, translation and commentary.

Ramon LLull (1232-1316) was born the son of a prosperous Catalan merchant and spent his youth pursuing worldly pursuits, until a series of powerful visions of Christ moved him to devote his life entirely to serving God. One of his lifelong ambitions was to write a book to counter the "errors of the infidels", to which end he studied Arabic and immersed himself in whatever arabic texts he could obtain. The Book of the Lover is one of the most celebrated works of medieval mystical literature offering a uniquely expressed and moving testimony to the soul's quest for union with God. The 365 paragraphs of "moral metaphors" intended for daily meditation, are written in the style of the Muslim sufis who offer words of love and brief exampla that inspire great devotion. Professor Johnston concisely explains the peculiarities of Llull's idiosyncratic theological and philosophical system and offers the most comprehensive assessment to date of his debt to the Islamic tradition of devotional discourse. In addition, brief notes help to guide the reader's appreciation of the spiritual insight that Llull sought to stimulate with his text. Contains original Latin and Catalan text, translation and commentary.

The three plays edited and translated in this volume are strongly linked to what we now think of as the Portuguese Discoveries. All three are fundamentally concerned with the expansion of Portugal in Africa and India through either crusade or commerce. In the introductions to the plays, the playwright's social role as a court dramatist is emphasized and his dramatic productions are set firmly within the political concerns of his time. Careful consideration is given to the involvement of both Gil Vicente and the Inquisition in the later emendation of the play's texts.

Lazarillo de Tormes (1554) is here offered facing the brilliant Tudor English translation of David Rowland of Anglesey (1586). Ostensibly a racy autobiography of a young rogue and his succession of masters, in reality it is a comical and caustic expose of sixteenth century Spanish society, and especially the Church. Rowland's translation exploited the propaganda potential of the text at a time when England and Spain drifted into open war. Lazarillo de Tormes is a key Renaissance humanist text and a formative influence upon European rogue literature and the evolution of realist prose fiction. Keith Whitlock has written a full introduction from a European perspective and provided a comprehensive annotation of the Tudor English. 176p