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Lope de Vega: «The Trial of Wits» / «La prueba de los ingenios»

Annotated Bilingual Spanish/English Edition

by Rafael Bejarano (Volume editor) Marcella Salvi (Volume editor)
©2025 Monographs XIV, 348 Pages
Series: Ibérica, Volume 53

Summary

This book presents an annotated edition, English translation, and an in-depth study of Lope de Vega’s La prueba de los ingenios. Through this translation, the authors aim to make this significant yet lesser-known work accessible to a wider audience, while providing scholarly insights into its historical, cultural, and literary contexts. The book's introduction explores themes of genre and gender hybridity, and socio-cultural self-fashioning, showcasing Lope's nuanced response to societal norms and his creative engagement with contemporary debates on authorship, professional theater, and gender issues. The annotations offer valuable commentary, guiding readers through the complex layers of Lope’s text and underscoring its relevance to both early modern and contemporary discussions on gender, sexuality, and social identity.

Table Of Contents


Marcella Salvi / Rafael Castillo Bejarano (eds)

Lope de Vega
The Trial of Wits
La prueba de los ingenios

Annotated Bilingual
Spanish/English Edition

New York – Berlin – Bruxelles – Chennai – Lausanne – Oxford

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress.

LCCN: 2025930066

Bibliographic Information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek

The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de.

Cover image:

Anonymous, “Woman Entering a Labyrinth,” in Jacob Cats’ Hovwelick, Dat Is: De gansche gelegentheyt des echten staets (Tot Middelburgh: Inde druckerye van Jan Pieterss vande Venne, anno 1625). Public Domain: https://hdl.handle.net/2027/gri.ark:/13960/t2s499p2x

Cover design by Peter Lang Group AG

ISSN 1056-5000

ISBN 978-1-63667-669-2 (Hardback)

E-ISBN 978-1-63667-670-8 (E-PDF)

E-ISBN 978-1-63667-671-5 (E-PUB)

DOI 10.3726/b21231

© 2025 Peter Lang Group AG, Lausanne, Switzerland

Published by Peter Lang Publishing Inc., New York, USA

info@peterlang.com

All rights reserved.

All parts of this publication are protected by copyright. Any utilisation outside the strict limits of the copyright law, without the permission of the publisher, is forbidden and liable to prosecution. This applies in particular to reproductions, translations, microfilming, and storage and processing in electronic retrieval systems.

This publication has been peer reviewed.

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Series Editor: A. Robert Lauer

This series of scholarly monographs focuses upon sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Hispanic theater. Ibérica welcomes historical and cultural studies as well as theoretical and critical texts that would enhance our understanding of the Comedia as a European phenomenon. Other typescripts may be considered at the editor's discretion. Manuscripts may be in English, Spanish or Portuguese, with a minimum of 200 pages.

TABLE OF CONTENT

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Bridging Cultures and Discourses: The Importance of Translating La prueba de los ingenios by Lope de Vega

The Hybrid Nature of the Comedia: Exploring Genre and Subgenre in La prueba de los ingenios

Plot Summary

Comedia palatina: Reflecting Courtly Culture and Lope’s Courtly Ambitions

Palatial Spaces and Environments

The Courtier in the Labyrinth of the Court

Portraying the Noble Ethos

A Showcase of Literary Subgenres of the Palace

Gender Fluidity and Social Hybridity in La prueba de los ingenios

Florela: A Challenge to Gender Norms and Intellectual Authority

From Page to Stage: Lope’s Authorial Presence Through Florela’s Ingenio

The Theatrical Spectacle as a Vehicle of Power

The Role of Hybridity in Lope’s Stage Success

Conclusion: Gender Politics and Theatrical Innovation in La prueba de los ingenios

Criteria for the Spanish Edition

Printed Editions of La prueba de los ingenios

Criteria for the Translation

Versification

La prueba de los ingenios / The Trial of Wits

Notes to the Text

Glossary

Works Cited

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig. 1. Teseo y Ariadna a la entrada del laberinto [Theseus and Ariadne at the Entrance of the Labyrinth]. Author: Virgil Solis - Ovidian Engraving ca. 1563 - Taken from Jorge de Bustamante, Las Transformaciones de Ovidio en lengua española: repartidas en quince libros, con las alegorías al fin dellos y sus figuras para provecho de los artífices (Antwerp, Pedro Bellero, 1595, Book VII, fol. 121r). In Biblioteca Digital Ovidiana, reproducing the copy housed in the Biblioteca Xeral of the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela. http://www.ovidiuspictus.es/en/imagenejemplar.php?clave=2061.

Fig. 2. Gonzalo Pérez’s Emblem - Author: Battista Pittoni in Imprese di diuersi prencipi, duchi, signori, e d’altri personaggi et huomini letterati et illustri / con alcune stanze del Dolce che dichiarano i motti di esse imprese, [Venice, 1568?], fol. 23r (fragment). We reproduce the copy ER/4196(1) held in the Biblioteca Nacional de España.

Fig. 3. Tanta est fallacia tecti - Author: Sebastián de Covarrubias, Emblemas morales (Madrid, 1610), Emblem 31, First Century (fragment). We reproduce the copy ER/1334 held in the Biblioteca Nacional de España.

Fig. 4. Spanish astrolabe, 15th Century. Galleria Farnese (Museo di Capodimonte), Image license CC 3.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spagna,_astrolabio_con_dischi,_XV_sec,_AM112098.JPG.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We would like to thank our colleagues and friends in the Department of World Languages, Cultures, and Media for their encouragement throughout this project. We are especially thankful to Andrea Nate for reading the translation of La prueba de los ingenios and offering helpful feedback that contributed to the clarity of our work. We also gratefully acknowledge the Bulletin of the Comediantes for granting permission to use the following copyrighted material: Salvi, Marcella. “Hermafroditismo socio-cultural: Lope de Vega entre tradición e innovación en La prueba de los ingenios.” Bulletin of the Comediantes, vol. 69, no. 1, 2017, pp. 25–43.

INTRODUCTION Rafael Castillo Bejarano and Marcella Salvi

Bridging Cultures and Discourses: The Importance of Translating La prueba de los ingenios by Lope de Vega

Translating La prueba de los ingenios, first published by Lope de Vega himself in 1617, offers an opportunity to introduce one of Spain’s most influential playwrights to a wider audience. This bilingual edition aims to be a valuable resource for English-speaking readers who may not be familiar with the Spanish language, making Lope’s play accessible to new readers. By adding to the existing body of English translations of Lope’s comedies, this work seeks to broaden the understanding of his diverse oeuvre. It is intended to benefit students of Spanish language and culture, as well as theater enthusiasts with an interest in classical plays. The translation is versatile and could be used in a variety of settings, including theatrical productions, academic courses, or personal reading, thereby extending the reach of Lope de Vega’s work.

One of the key benefits of this translation is its potential to contribute to the expanding community of scholars addressing the debates surrounding sexual, gender, and social issues during Lope’s time. The growing number of university courses on related topics and the increase in academic publications highlight the rising interest in these subjects. By providing an English version of La prueba de los ingenios, this bilingual edition will enable non-Spanish speaking scholars and students to engage with these important discussions. It will facilitate a deeper understanding of the historical and cultural context of the play, fostering a more inclusive academic environment.

Moreover, translating La prueba de los ingenios into English will contribute to the global appreciation of Lope de Vega’s literary genius. As one of the most prolific and influential playwrights of the Spanish Golden Age, Lope’s work deserves recognition beyond the Spanish-speaking world. This bilingual edition will not only preserve the original text but also provide a comprehensive understanding of its themes and cultural nuances, bridging the gap between Spanish and English literary traditions. By making this significant work accessible to English-speaking readers, the translation will ensure that Lope de Vega’s contributions to literature and theater continue to inspire and educate future generations.

The play’s exploration of significant themes further underscores the importance of its translation. Lope de Vega’s work delves into the concept of self-representation and the hybrid condition of theater professionals during early modern Spain. These themes are particularly relevant today as they offer insights into the evolving nature of identity and professional roles. Additionally, as we will explore in detail, the play addresses hybrid sexualities and the intellectual capabilities of women, with the character of Florela, the female protagonist, serving as a reflection of Lope himself. The translation of this work is crucial for contemporary discussions, not only in academic circles but also in broader societal contexts.

Our examination focuses on how hybrid sexuality in the comedia symbolizes the ambiguous status of the professional playwright in early modern society. Lope, as a professional writer, engages with the dual nature of theater, both as a literary genre and as a social institution. The play specifically addresses the tension between Lope, the professional playwright, and academic amateurs. Lope faces condemnation from the cultural elite of his time, who reject the foundational principles of his comedia nueva. This official culture denounces the anti-classicist stance of the Spanish author, a stance he elaborates in his Arte nuevo de hacer comedias (1609), the manifesto of his theatrical revolution, where he discusses both practical and theoretical aspects of the comedia.

La prueba de los ingenios illustrates the condition of dependence experienced by the professional writer, whose creative choices are influenced by two main forces: the public theater audience and the courtly patrons who validate the artist’s work, thereby securing his social and cultural approval. One of the key aspects of this translation is its ability to illuminate the complexities of the Spanish Golden Age theater, particularly the hybrid nature of the comedia. Lope expresses the hybridity of the comedia genre and the social hybridity of the playwright through the concept of sexual hybridity.

The Hybrid Nature of the Comedia: Exploring Genre and Subgenre in La prueba de los ingenios

When the humanist Francisco de Cascales attempted to classify the genre of theatrical works in his time in his Tablas poéticas (1617), he found that they did not fit neatly into the categories of tragedy or comedy as defined by Aristotelian orthodoxy.1 Thus, the works of the comedia nueva introduced by Lope constituted what Cascales described as “unos hermafroditos, unos monstruos de la poesía” [“hermaphrodites, monsters of poetry”] (194)2 due to their celebrated hybridity of the comic and the tragic, as Lope himself noted in his Arte Nuevo: “Lo trágico y lo cómico mezclado” [“To mix the tragic and the comic,” New Rules] (v. 176). This blending of genres not only pertained to themes or episodes but also influenced the types of characters and the language they used, contrasting sharply with Aristotelian prescriptions.3 For these reasons and more, the Aristotelian definitions of comedy and tragedy are deemed ineffective for studying the performing arts of the Golden Age, leading to the use of the generic term comedia to encompass the full range and variety of the genre.

Taking into account the heterogeneity of the comedia format and its capacity to integrate disparate elements, it is important to approach the typology of La prueba de los ingenios by analyzing its constituent elements.4 Menéndez Pelayo, the creator of the first taxonomic system for the comedia of the Golden Age, categorized it among the novelescas (novelesque), that is, those whose stories adapted or reproduced plots similar to the short novels that enjoyed widespread popularity during the period.5 The rendering of stories in the comedia format or in the novela format was so similar that some playwrights, like Lope or Tirso de Molina, transformed stories into novelas when they were unable to write them as comedias during periods when theater was restricted. Although no direct source has been identified, La prueba de los ingenios shares thematic traits and types of episodes with some novelas, such as the deceived female character who travels disguised (sometimes as a man) to reclaim her honor and her husband. Examples of this include the novela ejemplar, Las dos doncellas and the episode of Dorotea and Fernando in Cervantes’ Don Quixote. The cases of love and honor and the type of characters, noblemen or high-ranking knights, bring our comedia closer to that type of narrative, which similarly shares the premise that women have the same right to honor as men.

However, just like comedy, the novel genre also presents a great thematic diversity (pastoral, Moorish, Byzantine, picaresque, urban, etc.), making the term novelesque insufficient for an in-depth generic characterization of a particular case. The same could be said for the term comedia de fantasía (fantasy comedy), which would be the most appropriate for La prueba de los ingenios in the taxonomic system proposed by Bruce Wardropper.6 More interesting, however, is relating our play to the subgenre of the comedia palatina (palace comedy), introduced by Marc Vitse in his genre classification. Vitse defines its characteristics as a geographically and temporally distant setting, an interaction between characters of very high social rank (kings, princes, great lords, etc.) and others of humble origin (secretaries, peasants, etc.) connected through a complicated plot of romantic entanglements (330), with Lope’s El perro del hortelano as one of its paradigms.7 Building on this definition, Miguel Zugasti has distinguished between the comic comedias palatinas and the serious ones, the latter primarily dealing with potentially tragic themes such as honor and poor governance, although in both, the conflicts are resolved happily. Eva Rodríguez García (123n) includes La prueba de los ingenios among Lope’s comedias palatinas, and Castrillo Alaguero specifically categorizes it as a comic one (230). Although the 17th-century comedia palatina softened and made more palatable certain tragic elements of earlier genres of palace plays, they still retain serious and conflicting themes, such as honor or abuse of power, and portray the capricious social and political life of the elites, softening the criticism through the strategy of a remote setting and a happy ending.8

We can use the concise definition of the subgenre offered by Joan Oleza9 to highlight some of its main characteristics, which we will identify in La prueba de los ingenios: first, a) the setting in an unreal time and place, far from the Madrid of the Habsburgs, allowing for bold plot inventions; second, b) the action takes place in the environment of the palace and court, with a social universe composed of royalty and high nobility, assisted by high-ranking officials, secretaries, and servants; third, c) it contains a central episode involving the concealment of identity, either due to ignorance or the strategic decision of a character, often arising from some social or moral disorder, which will be revealed once harmony is restored; and fourth, d) the masking of identity allows the character to explore alternative identities, alternative ways of being, or alternative social statuses, while also providing a view, often through a comic-satirical lens, of the dark side of the court, its corruptions, the moral decay of courtiers, the weaknesses of rulers, or abuses of power.

Plot Summary

At this point, it is interesting to outline a synopsis of the comedia, highlighting the key elements that characterize it as a comedia palatina. The action takes place in an Italy vaguely contemporary with or prior to Lope’s time, specifically in the loosely depicted ducal court of Ferrara, which does not feature any real historical figures but invents Italian or Latin names accepted within the genre’s convention, along with noble titles reminiscent of others frequent in history. The protagonist, Florela, is a lady of Mantua of extraordinary intelligence and erudition, whose lover, none other than Duke Alejandro, has abandoned her to try to marry the heiress of the duchy of Ferrara. Florela is not only heartbroken but also dishonored, as under the promise of marriage, she has already had sexual relations with Alejandro, and in the novelistic and theatrical convention of the period, they are, even in secret, husband and wife.

Alejandro, much like the stereotype of Don Juan, takes advantage of his social position to seduce and deceive a woman of lower status, abandoning her when a better prospect appears. This behavior reflects a critique of the immoral conduct of courtiers of the time, and the restoration of her honor becomes the driving force for Florela to travel incognito to Ferrara to thwart the plans of her lover-husband.

Meanwhile, in Ferrara, Laura, the heiress to the duchy, anxiously witnesses the arrival of great princes from neighboring states who are drawn not by love but by the inheritance of the duchy. Her elderly father has summoned them to settle the matter of his succession before his death, but he has left the choice of her husband to his daughter—not out of a belief that a woman should choose, but to avoid the enmity of the rejected princes. Amid this turmoil, Laura receives a courtesy visit from Florela, who, under the assumed name of Diana, claims to be on a pilgrimage to the sanctuary of Loreto. Laura is so impressed by Florela/Diana’s intelligence and discretion that she takes her into her service as a secretary, advisor, and eventually, as an intimate friend with whom she spends most of her time, much to the astonishment of everyone.

Details

Pages
XIV, 348
Publication Year
2025
ISBN (PDF)
9781636676708
ISBN (ePUB)
9781636676715
ISBN (Hardcover)
9781636676692
DOI
10.3726/b21231
Language
English
Publication date
2025 (July)
Keywords
Lope de Vega Spanish Comedia Gender Politics Baroque Spanish Theater Scholarly Translation Feminist Literary Analysis Baroque Literature
Published
New York, Berlin, Bruxelles, Chennai, Lausanne, Oxford, 2025. XIV, 348 pp., 4 b/w ill. 1 tables.
Product Safety
Peter Lang Group AG

Biographical notes

Rafael Bejarano (Volume editor) Marcella Salvi (Volume editor)

Marcella Salvi is the Lewis Professor of Spanish and Italian at St. Lawrence University. Her research focuses on sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Spanish and Italian theater, with an emphasis on the connections between these traditions, and also explores the politics of memory in contemporary Spanish and Italian literature. Rafael Castillo Bejarano is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Spanish in the Department of World Languages, Cultures, and Media at St. Lawrence University. His research interests focus on the relationship between poetry and the court in Early Modern Iberia, as well as the transatlantic connections among Hispanic literatures.

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