This Companion is a readable and up-to-date guide to all aspects of the extraordinary flowering of theatre in Early-Modern Spain. Spain's artistic Golden Age produced Cervantes's great novel, Don Quijote, the sublime poetry of Quevedo and Gongora, and nurtured the prodigious talent of Velazquez, and yet it was the theatre that captured the imaginationof its people. Men and women of all social classes flocked to the new playhouses to see and hear the latest offerings of their favourite dramatists, and to be seen and heard. As well as dealing with the lives and major works of the most significant playwrights of the period - Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina, Miguel de Cervantes, Calderon de la Barca - the Companion focusses on other aspects of the growth and maturing of Golden Age theatre, reflecting the interests and priorities of modern scholarship. These include: the sixteenth-century origins of the comedia nueva; the lesser-known dramatists, including women playwrights; life in the theatre; the Corpus Christi street theatre and minor genres; performance studies; and the critical reception of the drama. The Companion also contains a guide to comedia versification, a full bibliography and advice on further reading. JONATHAN THACKER is a Fellow of Merton College, Oxford.

About the Author
JONATHAN THACKER is King Alfonso XIII Professor of Spanish Studies at the University of Oxford and Professorial Fellow at Exeter College, Oxford.

Reviews
A highly valuable tool for Hispanists and those interested in early modern theatre. * MODERN LANGUAGE STUDIES *
Jonathan Thacker accomplishes what few are able to achieve by publishing and original and valuable study relevant to varying levels of comedia studies. A practical pedagogical resource that the most seasoned of professors will find simply outstanding. [...] It should most definitely be a required text of any graduate student of the comedia. Without hesitation, I would recommend that serious comedia scholars secure a copy for their collection, for this work is a vademecum of the first order. Its unique compilation of historical development with performance studies and helpful appendices makes this compilation top notch. * BULLETIN OF THE COMEDIANTES *
The book fulfils its purpose well. * HISPANIC RESEARCH JOURNAL *
Demonstrates a solid command of the material and a sense of the audience. [...]I strongly recommend A Companion to Golden Age Theatre. [...] A superb reference tool. * BULLETIN OF HISPANIC STUDIES *



Book Information
ISBN 9781855662094
Author Jonathan W Thacker
Format Paperback
Page Count 240
Imprint Tamesis Books
Publisher Boydell & Brewer Ltd