The Audience

Context of The Play

• Written during the Spanish Golden Age (1550-1700)
• Lope De Vega 1562-1635
• Redefines comedia- closer to reflecting Spanish history, folk traditions, religious convictions, and social mores
• Written around 1610's
• Based on a real historic uprising in the actually town of Fuenteovejuna in 1476, which is coincidentally where the play is set

• Original Audience of The Period
• Somewhat tailored for the Spanish audience of the period
• Catholicism/ The Church
• Nod to the Lord's Prayer line 240 (Laurencia)
• "I bet the priest who christened her laid on the salt , fist after fist!"-Mengo (Haha inside Catholic joke- referring to put salt on a baby's lips after baptism to symbolize purification & wisdom)
• When met with the issue of answering the question,"What is Love?" if all else fails ask the priest
• "I took my licks, thanks much! The welts are red as cardinals on my back"-Mengo (LOL another one- in reference to the Scarlet hats/garments ranked cardinals in the church wear)
• Reference to the archangel St. Michael that guides souls to heaven
• GOD & Praying - literally anytime there is a dilemma or violent situation at hand
• The Importance of the Monarchy
• The King and the Queen are always right
• They are appointed by God (more religion)
• The King and the Queen are always right

• Direct Address
• There is one key point that Lope De Vega uses key address and that is with Frondoso and the bow scene for an aside that I think helps to point out the "innocence and purity" of the townspeople
• Indirect Staging
• The audience virtually never sees violence.

• Context of Today
• Focus more on the direct plot; the people vs. a tyrannical power
• Ideals of democracy and the whole towns solidarity
• Some examples where this plot has been impactful:
• Post French Revolution
• Soviet Union
• Etc.

“Lope De Vega.” The Norton Anthology of Drama, by J. Ellen Gainor et al., W. W. Norton & Company, 2018, pp. 1085–1148.