When he turns to comedy, which he fre quently does, Castro lays bare the follies, vices and customs of his age. Life as he knows it he put on the stage. For the most part, the life of his day was not a good life; and Castro makes it no better than it actually was. Hence his plays have been condemned for their immorality and his detractors have lost sight of his vast and many-sided contributions to the stage, in their efforts to discredit him, which unfortunately were, for a time, only too successful. His dramatic work covers the whole wide dramatic field. His most noted historical dramas are: mocedades del ; 'La justicia en la piedad> ; 'Pagar en propia moneda'; 'Alla van leyes do quieren reyes' ; 'La humanidad soberbia y el amor constante. To his romantic dramas belong 'El Conde de Alarcos' ; 'El nacimiento de Montecino0; and 'El desengafio dichoso' while to the capa y espada class belong (El narciso en su opinion' ; 'La fuerza de la cos tumbre' ; and 'Los mal casados de Valencia.' His dramas of costumbres y caracteres in which he displays criminal loves, intrigues and, in general, the follies of his day, and holds the mirror up to life in a masterly manner, include 'El curioso impertinent& ; 'Don 'La verdad averiguada y engafioso casamiento> ; 'El pretender con pobreza' ; 'En gariarse engailado' ; and 'El perfecto caballero'. His freedom in depicting society as he found it has placed his dramas on the taboo list in most Protestant countries. Mythology, too, met with skilful and sympathetic treatment at the hands of Castro in the drama 'Progne y Filomena.> The semi-mystical, semi-religious
drama he also handled better than his prede cessors in mejor esposo San Jose' ; 'Las maravillas de Babilonia' ; 'El prodigio de los montes y mario del cielo Santa Barbara> and 'La degollacibn de San Juan Bautista'. He has attempted heroic tragedy with considerable success in 'Did°Eneas.) Among his other dramas are 'El nde de Mos' ; 'Los enemi gos hermanos' ; 'Cuando se estima el vicio de los extremos> ; fuerza de la sangre.' The following works have also, with apparently good reason, been attributed to Castro: caballero bob& ; (El dudoso en in venganza); qngratitud por amor' ; nieto de su 'Donde no esti su dueflo esti su duel& ; enamorado mudo' ; (Quien malas manas ha' ; 'Qui& no se and 'La tragedia por los celos.' He also wrote dramas in collaboration with other dramatists. In two of these, 'La manzana de la discordia,' and robo de Elena,' he worked with Mira de Mescua. In 1621 'La primera parte de las comedias de don Guillen de Castro' was pub lished at Valencia; and the second part four years later at the same place. See POEM OF THE Cm. Consult 'Biblioteca de autores espafioles Vol. XLIII> (which contains seven of his plays); Fcerster, W., 'Las mocedades del Cid' (Bonn 1878) ; Merime, E., 'Premiere partie des mocedades del Cid' (Toulouse 1890) ; Rennert, H. A., 'Ingratitud por amor' (Philadelphia 1899).