HARTZENBUSCH,
Juan Eugenio, Spanish dramatist, critic and poet: b. Madrid, 6 Sept. 1806; d. there, 2 August 1880. His father was German and his mother Spanish. His father intended him for the Church and the boy spent his earliee,years in a Jesuit college where he received a growl classi cal education and conceived a love feir'Spanish literature. He early began writing poems and set himself to study dramatic literature. But his father losing his reason in 1823, young Hartzenbusch resorted to the trade of carpen ter, which he had learned from his parent, to meet expenses. He continued his studies as best he could and made translations into Span ish from French and Italian dramatists. The death of his father in 1830 left him with his hands free. In 1831 he wrote two dramas based on classical models, neither of which re ceived any attention from the public. So he determined to seek a more popular medium. This he found in sentiment, love and human interest keyed to the age in which he lived, and embodied in
One of the most noted literary figures of the 19th century, Hartzenbusch was active in almost every field of literary endeavor. Be ginning tne translation of torergn plays into Spanish at the age of 15, he continued the work of translation or adaptation for years, thus enriching the field of the Spanish stage. Be coming dramatic critic in 1842, he did much for several years to improve the native drama and to free it from binding and harmful traditions of past dramatic endeavors. Had he given all
his time to the writing of dramas he might have been one of the most productive drama tists of Spain. But he liked to vary his liter ary work; for he had much of the antiquarian in his composition. His editions or prefaces thereto of the works of famous Spanish writ ers, published in the Rivadeneira Library ,of Spanish authors, display a wealth of knowl edge and a rare critical ability possessed by few Spanish literary critics. These cover 10 volumes and include the dramatic works of Tirso de Molino, Calderon, Alarcon and Lope de Vega. Hartzenbusch's dramatic works in dude 34 translations of foreign dramas, 10 dramas recast and 25 original dramatic pro ductions. Among the most notable of these are, in addition to those already mentioned, (Honoria) (1843);