Vega, Lope de, << VAY gah, LOH pay day >> (1562-1635), was the most productive playwright of Spain’s Golden Age. He is credited with creating a Spanish national drama. Lope wrote more plays than any other author. Scholars generally agree that he wrote over 400 plays. The two largest categories are “cloak-and-sword” plays of intrigue, and historical plays, such as The Best Mayor, the King (1616?) and Fuenteovejuna (1619?).
Lope described his theory of drama in The New Art of Writing Plays (1609). He rejected the dramatic unities that restricted action to a single place during a specific length of time. He believed that the best themes were conflicts of passion and the Spanish honor code. His characters usually lack individuality, but his style is poetic and his situations are exciting.
Lope Felix de Vega Carpio was born on Nov. 25, 1562, in Madrid. He led an adventurous and troubled life. Several of his love affairs ended sadly, particularly his relationship with Marta de Nevares, whom he met after becoming a priest in 1614. He died on Aug. 27, 1635.
