THE MODERN NATIONAL DRAMA The literary influence, which finally transformed the growths noticed above into the national dramas of Europe, was that of the Renaissance. Among the remains of classical antiquity which were studied, translated and imitated, those of the drama neces sarily held a prominent place. They now became subjects of devoted research and models for more or less exact imitation, first in Greek or Latin, then in modern tongues. This process it will be most convenient to pursue seriatim, in connection with the rise and progress of the several dramatic literatures of the West. For no sooner had the stream of the modern drama, whose source and contributories have been described, been brought back into the ancient bed, than its flow diverged into a number of national currents.
The priority in this as in most of the other aspects of the Renaissance belongs to Italy. In ultimate achievement the Italian drama fell short of the fulness of the results obtained elsewhere. The cause is doubtless to be sought in the social and political conditions of the period. Literature and the arts were by many considered a refuge from the harassing necessities of daily life, not an incentive to virtue and virtuous action. Violent strife between neighbouring States was followed by a brief period of peace (after 145 2) and then by foreign domination. Disgust was as deep as despair. Classical imitation was no help to origi nal creation and to the representations of a society that had no real connection with the society of Rome, and the realistic Italian genius seemed averse to the idealism of tragic characteri zation.
It is, of course, necessary to take Latin models into account in dealing with the Italian literature of the middle ages and the Renaissance; but learned imitations need not be overrated or mistaken as the only source of the Italian drama. No less than in other countries the religious ritual, particularly of the Holy Week, gave rise, locally to dramatic representations performed inside and outside the churches, and on these liturgical plays, which were originally in Latin, depended the earliest mystery plays in the vernacular. They are sometimes difficult to distinguish from the dramatic dialogues which sprang out of religious song in the vernacular (laudi) in the i3th and i4th centuries. The i4th century mystery plays of Cividale, Florence and Rome are traces of such early and rudimentary dramatic shows, and it is inter esting to note that they made their appearance independently in different parts of the country. Favourable conditions for the development of a national drama were, however, lacking. On the one hand the establishment of tyrannies in the place of feudal States and free cities, on the other the intentional imitation of the classics hindered spontaneous development and overshadowed such timid attempts as had been made. Intellectual life became centred in the courts, and courtiers and princes were fond of gorgeous shows and rare spectacles. There are records of com plex allegorical shows during the i 5th century which were partly based on the forms of the mystery plays. The daring innova tion of the i7-year-old Politian who composed a pastoral mystery play on a mythological instead of a Christian subject (Orfeo, 1470 should be connected with these allegorical shows. In the Orfeo, no less than in the allegorical shows, a considerable part is made over to musical interludes, thus pointing the way to the later transformation of pastoral drama into the modern opera. At the same time the refined and not a little sophisticated audiences at the courts showed some interest at first in the production of Latin plays of Terence and Plautus, in translations, mostly bad and verbose, of the same plays, and later in imitations. The revival of learning had before then stimulated university stu dents and learned scholars to write, and occasionally to perform, shapeless plays in which the technique of the classical comedy and of mystery plays was combined. Petrarch is said to have written a comedy (Philologia), Leonardo Bruni wrote the Poli scena, Piccolomini the Chrisis before he became Pope Pius II.; and many others could be cited, but none that achieved real success and was capable of influencing later works; and all were comedies. Tragedy had been in Italy a purely literary exercise from the beginning.
To the later middle ages classical tragedy meant Seneca and the first mediaeval follower of Seneca, Albertino Mussato (1261-133o), may in a sense be called the father of modern dramatic literature. Born at Padua, to which city all his services were given, he in 1315 brought out his Ecerinis, a Latin tragedy very near to the confines of epic poetry, intended to warn the Paduans against the designs of Cangrande della Scala. Other tragedies of much the same type followed during the ensuing century; such as L. da Fabiano's De casu Caesenae (1377) a sort of chronicle history in Latin prose on Cardinal Albornoz' cap ture of Caesena. Of G. Manzini della Motta's Latin tragedy on the fall of Antonio della Scala only a chorus remains. He died after 1389. Later plays in Latin of the historic type are the extant Laudivio de' Nobili's De captivitate Ducis Jacobi (the con dottiere Jacopo Piccinino, d. 1464) ; C. Verardi's Hzstoria Baetica and the same author's Ferdinandus (of Aragon) Servatus. Purely classical themes were treated in the Achilleis of A. de' Loschi of Vicenza (d. 1441), in the sketchy Progne of the Vene tian Gregorio Coraro (c. 1430), and in later Latin productions.
This dramatic revival was confined to the learned class, and it hindered rather than helped the spontaneous growth of Italian drama from mystery plays.
It was realized at the end of the i6th century that Italian tragedians could claim no outstanding success, and this feeling, becoming ever stronger during the following century, was partly responsible for an activity as feverish as it was unsuccessful. Lacking genius and inspiration, tragedians tried to win fame by technical innovations and changes in the subject matter. Next to tragedies composed in the strictest adherence to classical models, there were plays of romantic adventure and love. Be sides ancient subjects religious subjects were favoured, particu larly by the Jesuits, among whom Ferrante Pallavicino and Scam macca may be mentioned; also historical subjects were treated, if with little respect for historical truth, and with them could be classed many tragedies dealing with contemporary events. The scene was seldom placed in Italy; it was mostly in Asia as being conveniently remote and unknown, occasionally it was in Spain and in England (e.g., Graziani's Cromuele, Savaro's Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda). In romantic and sacred tragedies the influence of the Spanish drama is clearly traceable, but in the course of time French influence triumphed. As if all hopes of an Italian masterpiece were abandoned, at the end of the 17th century only poor imitations and bad translations of French neo-classical plays were produced.
At the beginning of the 18th century a strong reaction set in against such an influence; it took the form of searching criti cism and advocated a return to the spirit of the classics com bined with a more liberal interpretation of classical rules. Before long the marquis S. Maffei with his Merope (first printed in 1713) achieved one of the most brilliant successes recorded in the history of dramatic literature. This play, which is devoid of any love-story, long continued to be considered the masterpiece of Italian tragedy. A. Conti (1677-1749) comes next to Maffei in importance; he much admired the French and was familiar with the Shakespearian drama. Among the lesser tragedians P. J. Martelli (1665-1727), V. Gravina (1664-1718) and V. Bet tinelli (1718-1808) may be mentioned. The influence of Voltaire had now come to predominate over the Italian drama ; and, in accordance with the spirit of the times, greater freedom pre vailed in the choice of tragic themes. Thus the greatest of Italian tragic poets, Count V. Alfieri (1749-1803), found his path prepared for him. Alfieri, an adventurous and romantic man, accepted the most rigid interpretation of the "rules" as expounded by Voltaire, but he aimed at freeing the Italian drama from French influence, at creating a rugged style suited to the expression of patriotic sentiments, and above all at inspir ing love of freedom and hatred of political tyranny. Despite formal defects he certainly achieved his end, for his influence was lasting on modern Italian literature in general and particu larly strong on Foscolo and Carducci. Among his numerous plays (21), Merope and Saul, and perhaps Mirra, are accounted his masterpieces.
The political colouring given by Alfieri to Italian tragedy re appears in the plays of U. Foscolo and A. Manzoni, both of whom are under the influence of the romantic school of modern liter ature ; and to these names must be added those of S. Pellico and G. B. Niccolini (1785-1861), Paolo Giacometti (b. 1816) and others, whose dramas treat largely national themes familiar to all students of modern history and literature.
Meanwhile, the Latin imitations of ancient comedies early led to the production of Italian translations, several of which were performed at Ferrara in the last quarter of the 15th century, whence they spread to Milan, Pavia and other towns of the north. Contemporaneously, imitations of Latin comedy made their appearance. The earliest plays still gave a large part to the mythological and pastoral elements (e.g., Boiardo's Timone and G. del Carretto's Tempio d'Amore), but soon a regular comedy was produced by P. F. Mantovano (Formicone, 1506) who was almost immediately followed by Ariosto (Cassaria, 1508). Ariosto mostly kept close to his Latin models. His plots are cleverly arranged, but he seldom shows real gifts of dramatic characterization and vis comica; among his six completed come dies the Negromante (15 20) and the Lena (15 28) are considered the best. Comedies on plots from the classics or the novelists were written by J. Nardi, B. Dovizi (Calandria, 1513) and others. Machiavelli's Mandragola (1513) stands out as by far the best of all and gives a wonderful picture of the corruption of his day. While many discussed the nature of drama, it was P. Aretino who excelled as a playwright, two among his comedies (Corti giana, 1525, and Marescalco, 1527) being good fun and true to life. Among the countless comedians of the age may be men tioned L. Alamanni (1495-1556), L. Groto (1541-85), Lorenzino de' Medici (1514-48), G. F. Grazzini, called I1 Lasca (1503-84), whose Strega and Spiritata were known in England and whose Assiuolo is rightly celebrated, the prolific G. B. della Porta (1535– '615), imitated by Tomkins and Ruggle, and finally G. Bruno, the philosopher, whose pessimistic views of life found a masterly expression in Candelaio (1582).
The comic dramatists of the 17th century are grouped as fol lowers of the classical and of the romantic school, G. B. della Porta (q.v.) and G. A. Cicognini being regarded as the leading representatives of the former. But neither of these largely inter mixed groups of writers could prevail against the competition of the musical drama, of the popular farcical entertainments and of those introduced in imitation of Spanish examples. Italian comedy had fallen into decay, when its reform was undertaken by the wonderful theatrical genius of C. Goldoni. One of the most fertile and rapid of playwrights (of his 15o comedies 16 were written and acted in a single year), he at the same time pur sued definite aims as a dramatist. Disgusted with the conven tional buffoonery, and ashamed of the rampant immorality of the Italian comic stage, he drew his characters from real life and succeeded best when he employed the Venetian dialect instead of the literary language. Goldoni met with a severe critic and a temporarily successful rival in Count C. Gozzi (17 2 2-1806) , who sought to rescue the comic drama from its association with the actual life of the middle classes, and to infuse a new spirit into the figures of the old masked comedy by the invention of a new species which has found favour with recent writers.
For a time comedians continued in Goldoni's tracks, as G. G. de' Rossi (17 7), G. Giraud (1776-1834) and A. Nota 7 7) ; later from France there was imported a new form of drama which partook of tragedy and comedy, and aimed at a realistic representation of life. In a land in which dialects were regularly spoken even by the educated classes, realism neces sarily led to the purely dialectal drama such as Goldoni had long since written; thus P. Ferrari (18 2 began by writing com edies in Modenese dialect, later he won success with historical comedies (Goldoni, Parini), and later still, prompted by the ex ample of contemporary French writers, he brought social prob lems on to the stage (II duello). With him contemporary drama may be said to begin. Stress was laid on social conditions and psychological problems by G. Verga (184o-1928), G. Giacosa (1847-1906), E. A. Butti (1865-1911) and with less force by G. Rovetta. The same subjects on a more realistically described background were treated in dialectal plays by the Venetian G. Gallina (1852-97), by Milanese, Piedmontese, Florentine, Neapol itan and Sicilian playwrights. During the last years of the i9th century the dialectal drama appeared to be losing ground, but it has since revived, particularly in some regions, as in Naples where it has been helped by so gifted a writer as S. di Giacomo (b. 186o). The fortunes of dialectal drama depend as much on the actors as on playwrights, a circumstance of some relevance for Italian drama in general; at different periods during the 19th century great actors such as G. Modena, C. Rossi, T. Salvini, A. Ristori, E. Duse, E. Novelli and E. Zacconi have exercised a notable influence on the taste of the public and of the play wrights themselves. Among dialectal actors E. Ferravilla, F. Benini, G. Grasso should be remembered. D'Annunzio (1864 1938) tried without success to force the fashion of lyrical tragedy (e.g., Citta morta, 1898, Francesca da Rimini, 1901) by sheer beauty of staging and literary skill; and he found followers in Butti (Castello del sogno, 191o), S. Benelli (Cena delle beffe, 1909), E. A. Morselli (Orione, 191o). Much interest was aroused by R. Bracco's plays, in which psychological problems are studied from an intellectual angle not unlike Ibsen's (Piccola fonte, 1905, Piccolo santo, 1912), and by the work of the prolific L. Pirandello (1867-1936) who succeeded by great technical skill in making his challenge to reality a source of interest to his audiences. This "cerebral" drama has had imitators in L. Chiarelli (La maschera e it volto, 1917), L. Antonelli, F. M. Martini and others. BIBLIOGRAPHY.-For the popular comedy of the Renaissance see W. Smith, La commedia dell' arte (1912) ; P. Duchartre, La comedie italienne (1927) ; L. Mortier, Ruzzante (1927). The history of the modern Italian drama, in its various stages, is treated by L. Riccoboni, Histoire du theatre italien (2 vols., Rome, 1728-31) ; A. d'Ancona, Origini del teatro italiano (2nd ed., 2 vols., Turin, 1891) ; J. Dornis, Le Theatre italien contemporain (19o4) ; H. Lyonett, Le Theatre en Italie (1900) ; W. M. A. Creizenach, Geschichte des neueren Dramas (Halle, 1909) ; I. Sanesi, La commedia (Milan, 1911) ; E. Carrara, La poesia pastorale (Milan, s.a. [Iwo]) ; E. Bertrana, La Tragedia (Milan, s.a. ; C. Levi, Le Teatro (bibl. only, 1919) ; A. Tilgher, Studi sul Teatro contemporanes; G. Ruberti, II teatro contemporanea in Europa (Bologna, 192o) ; L. Saya, La letteratura italiana dal 187o ad oggi (Florence, 1928) . (X.) Dramas began to be composed from the beginning of the 19th century, but those early works were literary rather than dramatic, and their obvious imitation of the ancient tragedies makes them rather lifeless. The only tragic poet of this early period worthy of the name is I. Zamkelios. About the middle of the century there were signs of theatrical life in Athens. Aliex ander Rizos Rhangabes cultivated all its branches, writing corn edies and historical dramas not devoid of interest. But the best and only surviving work of the Othonian age is the Babylonia of Byzantios, a graceful representation of the dialects and cus toms of the different Greek provinces. The dramatic movement was somewhat systematized during the last decades of the i9th century; two species were specially cultivated—the metrical Byzantine drama (inspired by the German and French roman ticists with mediaeval plots), and the comedy of manners. The leading representative of the former was Demetrios Bernardakes ; of the latter, Demetrios Koromelas. About the beginning of the 2oth century there was a great movement, suggesting the "busy '9os" of the English theatre. King George founded the Royal National) theatre, and K. Chrestomanos the "New Stage"— both short-lived foundations, but nevertheless training-schools for actors and authors. During the 1st decade of the 2oth century were played remarkable metrical works of Bernardakes, Kleon Rhangabes and I. Polemes, historical comedies describing the political history of 183o-8o (of which the best was the Occupation, i.e., the Anglo-French occupation during the Crimean War, by Bokos), and many social comedies. This last class has alone sur vived the World War, its three chief representatives being Spyros Melas, Gregorios Xenopoulos and Penteles Horn. At the present moment there are several good dramatists and many good actors; Greece possesses in Kotopoule and Kybele two great actresses. But the general belief is that the Greek theatre requires the foundation of a State playhouse or, at least, of one unconnected with the earning of profits.
See G. Bocerdon, Le theatre grec contemporain (1892) ; A. M. Andreades, Le Theatre grec contemporain (Geneve, 1927).
(W. M.) Spain is the only country of modern Europe which shares with England the honour of having achieved, at a relatively early date, the creation of a genuinely national form of the regular drama. The tragicomedy of Calisto and Melibea by F. de Rojas, which was completed (in 21 acts) by became famous under the name of Celestina. But the father of the Spanish drama was J. de la Enzina, whose representaciones under the name of "eclogues" were dramatic dialogues of a religious or pastoral character. His attempts were imitated by the Portuguese Gil Vicente, who wrote for the stage in the period 1502-36, and used both Spanish and his native tongue. A further impulse came, as was natural, from Spaniards, resident in Italy, and especially from B. de Torres Naharro, who in 1517 published, as the chief among the "firstlings of his genius" (Propaladia), a series of eight comedies—a term generally applied in Spanish literature to any kind of drama. He claimed some knowledge of the theory of the ancient drama, divided his plays into jornadas (to correspond to acts), and opened them with an introyto (prologue). Bible plays continued to be acted in church and square, sometimes with elaborate stage scen ery. Though the universities produced both translations from the classical drama and modern Latin plays, these exercised very little general effect ; but in 1528 H. Perez de Oliva published La V en ganga de Agamenon, a Spanish adaptation of the Electra of Sophocles. Juan Perez's (Petreius') posthumous Latin comedies were mainly versions of Ariosto.
Thus the foundation of the Spanish national theatre was re served for a man of the people. Cervantes has vividly sketched the humble resources which were at the command of Lope de Rueda, a gold-beater of Seville, who with his friend the book seller Timoneda, and two brother authors and actors in his stroll ing company, succeeded in bringing dramatic entertainments out of the churches and palaces into the public places of the towns, where they were produced on temporary scaffolds. The manager carried about his properties in a corn-sack ; and the "comedies" were still only "dialogues, and a species of eclogue between two or three shepherds and a shepherdess," enlivened at times by inter mezzos of favourite comic figures, such as the negress or the Biscayan. Rueda is now remembered for the lively brief scenes of his pasos.
Lope de Vega.—The Sevillian J. de la Cueva gave the Spanish drama an ampler and more national expression and thus paved the way for Lope de Vega, one of the most astonishing geniuses the world has known. His fertility, which was such that he wrote about 1,80o plays, besides 40o dramatic works classed as autos sacramentales and entremeses, and a vast series of other literary compositions, has indisputably prejudiced his reputation with those to whom he is but a name and a number. Yet as a dra matist Lope more fully exemplifies the capabilities of the Spanish theatre than any of his successors, though as a poet Calderon may deserve the palm. With all its inventiveness and vigour, the genius of Lope primarily set itself the task of pleasing his public, —the very spirit of whose inner as well as outer life is accordingly mirrored in his dramatic works.
The plays of Lope, and those of the national Spanish drama in general, are divided into classes which it is naturally not always easy, and which there is no reason to suppose him always to have intended, to keep distinct from one another. After composing, in his early youth, eclogues, pastoral plays, and allegorical morali ties in the old style, he began his theatrical activity at Madrid about 1590, and the plays which he thenceforth produced have been distributed under the following heads. The comedias, all of which are in verse, include (1) the so-called c. de cape y espada not comedies proper, but dramas in which the principal personages are taken from the class of society that wears cloak and sword. Gallantry is their main theme, an interesting and complicated, but well-constructed and perspicuous intrigue their chief feature; and this is usually accompanied by an underplot in which the gracioso (the comic servant domesticated in the Spanish drama by Lope) plays his part. Their titles are frequently taken from the old proverbs or proverbial phrases of the people, upon the theme suggested by which the plays often constitute a kind of gloss (glosa) in action. This is the favourite species of the national Spanish theatre; and to the plots of the plays belonging to it the drama of other nations owes a debt almost incalculable in extent. (2) The c. lieroicas are distinguished by some of their personages being of royal or very high rank, and by their themes being often historical and largely (though not invariably) taken from the national annals, or founded on contemporary or recent events. Hence they exhibit a greater gravity of tone ; but in other respects there is no difference between them and the cloak-and-sword comedies with which they share the element of comic underplots. Occasionally Lope condescended in the opposite direction, to (3) plays of which the scene is laid in common life, but for which no special name appears to have existed. After a few dramas on scriptural subjects he turned to the legends of the saints ; and the comedias de santos, of which he wrote a great number, became an accepted later Spanish variety of the miracle-play. True, how ever, to the popular instincts of his genius, he threw himself with special zeal and success into the composition of another kind of religious plays—a development of the Corpus Christi pageants, in honour of which all the theatres had to close their doors for a month. These were the famous autos sacramentales (i.e., solemn "acts" or proceedings in honour of the Sacrament), which were performed in the open air by actors who had filled the cars of the sacred procession. Of these Lope wrote about 400.
He wrote for a popular audience at Madrid, where the first permanent theatre, the Teatro de la Cruz, was established in In his Arte Nuevo de hater comedias (1609) he showed that theoretically he favoured the unities but deliberately locked up these rules in obedience to popular demand. Against this over whelming popularity the protests of Cervantes and L. L. de Argen sola, who advocated a more serious, less fantastic drama, were unavailing.
The genius of Cervantes was not technically more dramatic than that of Argensola, although his Numancia still holds the reader by its vigorous national spirit, and his short entremeses display his wonderfully graphic delineation of types. The real rivals and peers of Lope were J. Ruiz de Alarcon and the Mer cenarian friar Gabriel Tellez, who adopted the pseudonym Tirso de Molina. The latter, author of the famous El Burlador de Sevilla y Convidado de Piedra, composed over 40o plays in 20 years; in terse versification, natural presentment of scenes and characters, comic force and in studies of women he can equal and excel Lope himself. The Mexican Ruiz de Alarcon disdained to woo the crowd ; he wrote few but masterly plays, marked by care ful finish and a serious moral purpose. By the side of these giants, other playwrights who would otherwise have taken first rank almost fade into insignificance. Lope's most devoted disciple, J. P. de Montalban died mad at the age of 36 in 1638, seven years after Guillen de Castro, whose Las Mocedades del Cid was the basis of Corneille's play. A. Mira de Amescua's plays were constantly laid under contribution by contemporary dramatists ; and a greater playwright, F. de Rojas Zorrilla, was largely plundered by the French dramatists of the latter half of the century. His play Del rey abajo ninguno is as celebrated as the historical play La Estrella de Sevilla, which is now definitively known not to be by Lope and is tentatively ascribed to P. de Cardenas.
Calderon.—The glories of Spanish dramatic literature reached their height in P. Calderon de la Barca, though in the history of the Spanish theatre he holds only the second place. He elaborated some of the forms of the national drama, but brought about no changes of moment in any of them. Even the brilliancy of his style, glittering with a constant reproduction of the same family of tropes, and the variety of his melodious versification, are mere intensifications of the poetic qualities of Lope. In fertility Cal deron was inferior to Lope (for he wrote not many more than plays) ; but he surpasses the elder poet in richness of style, and more especially in fire of imagination. In his autos (of which he is said to have left not less than 73), Calderon probably attained to his most distinctive excellence; some of these appear to take a wide range of allegorical invention, while they uniformly possess great beauty of poetical detail. Other of his most famous or interesting pieces are comedias de santos. In his secular plays he treats as wide a variety of subjects as Lope, but it is not a dissimilar variety ; nor would it be easy to decide whether a poet so uniformly admirable within his limits has achieved greater success in romantic historical tragedy (El Principe constante), in the comedy of amorous intrigue (La Dama duende), or in a dramatic work combining fancy and artificiality in such a degree that it has been diversely described as a romantic caprice and as a philosophical poem (La Vida as sueno).
The autos continued to flourish till in 1765 (shortly before the expulsion of the Jesuits from Spain) their public representation was prohibited by royal decree. In the world of fashion, the opera had reached Spain already during Calderon's lifetime, to gether with other French influences, and the great dramatist had himself written one or two of his plays for performance with music. But the regular national drama continued to command popular favour, and A. Moreto (1618-69), although imitative, achieved notable success with his comedies de figuron and with his masterpiece, El desden con el desden.
Later Dramatists.—Af ter the end of the 17th century the Spanish drama suffered half a century of eclipse. The earliest Spanish comedy in the French form (a translation only, though written in the national metre) Luzan's La Razon contra la mode (1751), and the first original Spanish comedy on the same model, Nicolas Moratin's Petimetra, printed in 1726 with a critical dis sertation, failed to effect any change in the popular theatre, which was raised from its deepest degradation by R. de la Cruz, a fertile author of light pieces of genuine humour, especially sainetes, depicting the manners of the middle and lower classes. The corn edies of the younger Moratin, e.g., El Si de las ninas (in prose), raised him to the foremost position among the dramatists of his age.
In the hands of the Romantics the Spanish drama produced a series of brilliantly effective first nights rather than a perma nent literature. The Don Alvaro (1835) of the duke of Rivas, the El Trovador (1836) of A. Garcia Gutierrez, the Los Amantes de Teruel (183 7) of J. E. Hartzenbusch, can scarcely be said to have worn well, although they are still famous ; but the Don Juan Tenorio (1844) by the later Romantic poet J. Zorrilla retains its popularity. The tradition of Moratin the younger was continued in the genuine comic vein and brilliant versification of M. Breton de los Herreros and in the vigorous irony of Ventura de la Vega; while M. Tamayo y Baus lives chiefly in his remarkable Un Drama Nuevo (186 7) in which Shakespeare is represented on the stage. He was the author of many other plays which held the stage until the advent in 1874 of J. Echegaray (1832-1916), mathematician, political economist and playwright, the powerful effects of whose El Gran Galeoto (1882) and El Loco Dios (1900) are now almost forgotten but who dominated the Spanish stage during the last quarter of the 19th century.
The vogue of the genero chico began at the Teatro del Recreo in 1868 and continued for 4o years, during which several thou sands of these light, one-hour pieces, brief as the entremes or satirical sainete, were composed by scores of popular authors, including T. Luceno, R. de la Vega, J. de Burgos and C. Arniches. The best of them contained sharply etched popular types recalling those of R. de la Cruz. A revolution was effected by the intro duction of the philosophical theatre of ideas by J. Benavente, whose first play was El Nido Ajeno (1894) and who, with the more lyrical G. Martinez Sierra, during the first quarter of the 2oth century replaced the melodramatic art of Echegaray by a subtle "drama of double planes." They had a rival in the witty M. Linares Rivas, but both his society plays and other contem porary work, the poetical plays of E. Marquina, the political drama of Perez Galas, were eclipsed in popularity by the charm ing dramatic sketches, nearly 200 in number, of the brothers S. and J. Alvarez Quintero. A noticeable feature of all this 2oth century dramatic work is that, despite the excellence of the actress Maria Guerrero (d. 1928), who rivalled the popularity of the great actor Maiquez of a century earlier, it loses comparatively little by being read instead of seen on the stage.
The Portuguese drama in its earlier phases, especially before the nation completely achieved its independence in the latter part of the 14th century, seems to have followed much the same course as the Spanish ; and the religious drama in all its prevailing forms and direct outgrowths retained its popularity even by the side of the products of the Renaissance. In the later period of that movement translations of classical dramas into the vernacular were stimulated by the cosmopolitan example of George Bu chanan, who for a time held a post in the University of Coimbra. The rather vague title of "the Plautus of Portugal" is accorded to an earlier comic writer, the celebrated Gil Vicente, who died about 1536, after producing 42 plays of great variety and charm. In order to counteract the popularity of Vicente's farces F. de Sade Miranda wrote comedies on the classic model (Os Estrangei ros, Os Vilhalpandos) and a classical tragedy, Cleopatra (c. of which only a few lines survive. A few years later A. Ferreira produced the most celebrated tragedy in Portuguese literature, Ines de Castro (c. Among Vicente's most gifted suc cessors are A. Ribeiro, called Chiado, who died in 159o; his brother Jeronymo, B. Dias, A. Prestes and J. Pinto. The dramatic efforts of the illustrious poet Luis de Camoes (Comoens) are relatively of slight importance ; they consist of one of the many modern versions of the Amphitruo, and of two other comedies, of which the earlier (Filodemo) was acted at Goa in 1553, the subjects having a romantic colour. The prose plays of Jorge Ferreira de Vasconcellos, which bear some resemblance to the Spanish Celestina, are valuable as pictures of contemporary manners in city and court.
In the 18th century Alcino Mycenio (1728-70), known as Domingos dos Reis Quita in everyday life, was remarkably suc cessful with a series of plays, including an Ines de Castro, which in a subsequent adaptation by J. B. Gomes long held the national stage. Another dramatist, of both merit and higher aspirations, was Lycidas Cynthio (alias Manoel de Figueiredo, 1725-1801). But the romantic movement was very late in coming to Portugal. Its chief representative, the viscount da Almeida Garrett, after writing the plays Merope and Catao (1821) in his student days, turned to national themes in Um Auto de Gil Vicente (1835) and 0 Al f ageme de Santarem (1842), and in 1844 produced a romantic tragedy of real power, Frei Luiz de Sousa. His plays are remarkable for the excellence of their prose. The best known of the dramatists of the latter half of the century were D. Joao da Camara, who wrote with insight and charm, M. Mesquita, and H. Lopes de Mendonca, who achieved success in both historical and contemporary themes. E. Biester and G. Lobato wrote sparkling comedies of contemporary man ners, their successors in the 2oth century being Augusto de Castro and E. Schwalbach. But the most prominent dramatist of the 2oth century was J. Dantas, who excelled in literary charm, technical skill and variety of subject. Numerous younger dram atists cropped up, but despite these constant efforts Portuguese literature retained its essentially undramatic character.