Benavente, Jacinto, << `bay` nah VAYN tay, hah THEEN toh >> (1866-1954), was the outstanding Spanish playwright of the early 1900’s. He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1922. His plays reveal a skillful use of dialogue, a sense of irony, and psychological insight into his characters. He excelled in writing farces, satirical comedies, and plays for children. One of his characters says, “Life is a comedy, and it is foolish to try to make it a drama.” His masterpiece, The Bonds of Interest (1907), ridicules self-seeking social types of Madrid for their worship of wealth and status. His other important plays include the rural dramas Senora Ama (1908) and The Passion Flower (1913). He wrote more than 80 plays.
Jacinto Benavente y Martínez was born on Aug. 12, 1866, in Madrid. He died on July 14, 1954.
