Bulletin of the Comediantes

vengo yo a hacer delitos. (508b) By this act of intended justice, Basilio sets in motion the episodes which will bring Segismundo to glory. Clotaldo, too, may claim credit, since it is he who convinces Segismundo of the need to "obrar bien." Rosaura has compassion on him when they first meet, thereby awakening in the unfortunate prince a similar feeling of tenderness: Tu voz pudo enternecerme, tu presencia suspenderme, y tu respeto turbarme. (503b) Thus begins the attraction which Segismundo feels toward Rosaura, and which will continue through the palace scenes to the battle scene. Here, Rosaura 's determination and truthfulness, as well as her helplessness, complete the protagonist's awakening process. Three main characters, then, share in Segismundo's conversion. He could not have become so violent alone; neither could he have risen alone to such heights of nobility. The poetic imagination of Calderón has provided the tragic vision of diffused responsibility; in La vida es sueño, he has explored as well the affirmative possibilities of human solidarity, the intuition of a positive aspect in man's interdependence. NOTES 1 "Segismundo and the Rebel Soldier", BHS, XLV (1968), 189-200. See also, by the same author, "Poetic Justice in La vida es sueño: A Further Comment", BHS, XLVI (1969). 2 "Calderóne Rebel Soldier and Poetic Justice", BHS, XLVI (1969), 120 ff. 3 "La vida es sueño", RUBA, 3a época, IV (1946), 61-78. Reprinted in English in Critical Essays on the Theatre of Calderón, ed. Bruce Wardropper (N. Y., 1965), 63-89. * Obras completas, vol. I, Dramas, 5th ed., A. Valbuena Prat, 504a. 5 Professor Wilson has traced this movement clearly in the aforementioned article, Wardropper edition, pp. 76-77. 6 "The Ego and Its Relation to Others", Homo Viator, (N. Y., 1962), trans. Emma Crauford, p. 22. 7 "Calderón's Rebel Soldier and Poetic Justice", BHS, XLVI, 1969. 8 Forum for Modern Language Studies, Vol. II, April, 1966, 100-113. 9 "Towards a Definition of Calderonian Tragedy", BHS, XXXIX (1962), 222-237. POSSESSIONS AND PERSONALITY IN EL GALAN DE LA MEMBRILLA OF LOPE DE VEGA Bruce St. John, University of the West Indies (Barbados ) Dedicated to Jack H. Parker All those who are interested in Lope de Vega's theatrical works must be grateful to Professors Diego Marin and Evelyn Rugg for their edition of El galán de la Membrilla, another of the Fenix's autograph plays.' In addition to a fine literary analysis of the play (36-59), there is an analysis of the versification (59-74), which along with Professor Marin's Uso y función de la versificación dramática en Lope de Vega2 is of great help to those who are eager to understand the finer points of Lope's dramatic art. Professor Marin, in his literary analysis , quite rightly states that "el conflicto dramático se produce por la objeción del padre a casar a Leonor con un pobre hidalguillo y por su preferencia de un pretendiente mejor acomodado."3 On examining closely the reason for this objection, we observe that the impact in the play of the value given to personal possessions is considerable, and 15 that this aspect plays an important part in our understanding the meaning of the work. In the ensuing pages, I shall try to point out how this materialistic attitude to life informs the play. In this not too well known work, Tello, a rich labrador and cristiano viejo of Manzanares has a beautiful daughter Leonor whose hand is being sought by rich Ramiro of Jewish descent, also of Manzanares, and by Don Felis of Membrilla , a poor hidalgo of great military skill. The father, unwilling to allow any stain in his lineage, or to have a poor suitor for his daughter, decides in favour of Don Felis, provided he receives hábito y renta from the King. Ramiro's jealousy and indignation at Tello's refusal and the reason for it lead him to publicly insult the old man in a song which refers to Leonor's elopement with Don Felis. With his wife Laurenzia and friend Fabio, Ramiro is banished by the King, while after...