MORETO Y CABALA, ma'ra'to ę kfi-ba' nya, Augustin, Spanish dramatist: b. Madrid, 9 April d. Toledo, 28 Oct. 1669. Return ing home from the University of Alcala, where he had just been graduated in law, he began writing successfully for the stage (1640). In Madrid he soon found a friend and patron in Calderon. He was very prolific, turning out drama after drama until he finally passed the 100 mark before he had reached middle age.
His popularity was immense and he was rated as the equal, if not the superior, of Lope de Vega, by his admirers, among whom were the best critics of the age. Posterity, however, while recognizing the genius of Moreto and his valuable contributions to the Spanish drama, has not sustained this high verdict of his con temporaries. One reason is that Moreto was ri not original in the sense that Lope de Vega was. His dramas or °Comedias de caps y while clever in themselves and instinct. with the dramatic spirit, have more than an echo of Vega and Calderon, from whom he frequently borrowed and sometimes improved upon, as in (El desden con el desden,' which is generally considered to be his masterpiece. In addition to of he also produced historical dramas and wrote consider able lyrical poetry and autos sacrementales. Moreto's incursion into the field of historical drama was probably occasioned by the decree of the Royal Council and Chamber of Castile which, in 1644, educed the numbers of dramas and comedies licensed and ordered that, in the future, the dramatists should turn their atten tion to historical drama and plays based on the lives of the saints. He found a new field in recasting old dramas, comedies and other plays and making them conform to the requirements of the censor, who was, in reality, controlled by the Church authorities who had dictated the new move for restricting the activities of the drama and the stage. Like Shakespeare, Moreto put so much of himself into this work of recon struction that many of the new-made dramas were more deservedly his than the work of their first creators. He excelled in painting certain human passions and feelings, among them all the shades of love, including undying passion, disdain, the suffering of unrequited love, jealousy, friendship, faithfulness, unfaithful ness, intrigue in love and in the ordinary affairs of life. In this field he surpassed his prede cessor and master, Lope de Vega, and led the way for true and delightful character painting in which the Spanish drama and novel have since shown such power and realism combined with idealism. Moreto painted people of more re fined feelings, sentiments and position in life than did Lope de Vega, probably because he was better acquainted with upper class society than was the older dramatist. The complicated complexion of Spanish court life with its in trigues, ambitions, plots and insincerity is well pictured in the dramas of Moreto who swept into his dramatic net every character and con dition that he met in his march through life. While he lacks invention and made use, without conscience, of his predecessors and followed the style of drama made popular by Lope de Vega, he gave the Spanish drama characteriza tion and artistic development that it had not previously possessed. He rejuvenated old plays
and scenes, breathing into them the breath of life, and he polished his work as no Spanish dramatist had done before his day. He thus pointed the way to the successes that have since his time, been achieved by dramatists and novelists in Spain. Spanish literature, there fore, owes him much. What he lacked in originality of invention be made up in his knowledge of the stage and in his ability to reconstruct the scenes and thoughts of others. His plots move along with rapidity, satisfactory development and wonderful management of dialogue which is ever fluid and graceful. He surpasses his contemporaries in the number and variety of characters which he handles with great skill in his realistic pictures of the extrava gances, customs and vices of the life of his day; so that he has made himself the greatest of the Spanish writers of character drama. In this field he shows his deep and wide knowledge of the world and his power to analyze character ers and motives, passions and prejudices. Yet, on the whole, his plays are in better taste and superior in morality to those of any of his contemporaries. Comparatively early Mpreto entered a convent, embracing monastic life. From there he sent out numerous plays that became the delight of Madrid and other Spanish theatrical audiences for 10 years or more. Among his more notable plays are 'De fuera vendra quien de casa nos echara,' Trampa adelante, 'Los Jueces de Castilla,' Franco de sena,' fuerza del natural,' 'El undo don Diego,' parecido,' Rosa del Peril,' desden con el desden,' (Rico hombre de Alcala' and many autos sacremen tales.
Carrara, E., sul teatro ispano-veneto di Carlo-Gozzi' (Caghari 1910) ; Clarke, H. B., 'Spanish Literature' (London 1909) ' • Fernandez-Guerra y Orbe, Luis, 'Augustin Moreto y Cabafia' (Biblioteca de autores espafioles, Vol. XXXIX) ; also in Vol. LVIII of the same work for 'Autos Sac rementales' of Moreto; Fitzmaurice-Kelly, History of Spanish Literature' (New York 1898) ; Giyas, E. og Essays' (Copen hagen 1898) ; Mariscal de Gante, Jaime, autos sacramentales desde sus origines hasta mediados del silo XVIII' (Madrid 1911) ; Perez Pastor, Cristobal, 'Bibliographic Mad rilena' (part 3, Madrid 1907) ; Ticknor, G., of Spanish Literature' (New York 1854).
BAY, Australia, on the east coast of Queensland, formed inside the islands of Moreton and Stradbroke, is 40 miles long by 17 broad ; its south half is dotted with islands and sandbanks. It receives six con siderable rivers, including the Brisbane, with the important city of Brisbane at its outlet. The entrance at the north end is practicable at all times for vessels of the largest size; the entrance between Moreton and Stradbroke islands is narrow and less safe. Moreton Bay was discovered by Captain Cook in 1770, and explored by Flinders in 1799.