Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) is Spain's most famous author primarily because of his celebrated novel EDon QuixoteE. His first love however was the theater for which he wrote extensively. His EInterludesE published 400 years ago in 1615 are short comic plays that explore the underbelly of Renaissance Spanish society. Their characters include hillbillies and con artists pimps and prostitutes adulterous wives and jealous husbands and an array of other comical figures. Cervantes's treatment of them is simultaneously critical and sympathetic. Although interludes tend to be works of light comedy Cervantes often imbues his with deeper themes.THCharles Patterson a scholar of Hispanic theater has created translations of the EInterludesE that are true to the earthiness of the originals but designed to be readily playable for today's actors and accessible to modern audiences. This book includes an introduction that places the plays in context briefly describing the life of Cervantes theater in early modern Spain Cervantes's interludes and Patterson's approach to translating them. Casual readers theater and literature students and professional actors alike will delight in these comedic gems that reveal a less familiar side of one of history's greatest writers.

About the Author
CHARLES PATTERSON (Bellingham, WA) teaches Spanish language, culture, and literature at Western Washington University. He has published scholarly articles on Hispanic playwrights such as Cervantes, Lope de Vega, and Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, and has edited a student edition of Lope de Vega's play La dama boba. His current research focuses on modern translations and adaptations of early Hispanic theater.


Book Information
ISBN 9781495013034
Author Miguel de Cervantes
Format Paperback
Page Count 144
Imprint Applause Theatre Book Publishers
Publisher Hal Leonard Corporation
Weight(grams) 177g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 135mm * 9mm