Sourced in Pedro de Ribadeneira’s Historia eclesiástica del scisma del reyno de Inglaterra (1588, 1593), Lope de Vega’s comedy, El amor desatinado, and Calderón de la Barca’s tragedy, La cisma de Ingalaterra, attenuate the monstrous portrayal of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn that distinguishes their source text. These changes can be attributed primarily to aesthetic choices and generic necessities, fi rst, because Lope echoes Ribadeneira’s monstrous characterization of Elizabeth and her parents in his poems, La Dragontea, La corona trágica, and Rimas humanas, but not in El amor desatinado. Furthermore, Lope changes Ribadeneira’s narrative of Henry and Anne to fit a comedic structure and characterization that is less scandalous and more ridiculous than that of the Historia. Similarly, Calderon’s adaptation of Ribadeneira’s account features a more complex and dignified Henry that corresponds with the tragic decorum necessary when representing monarchs on the stage.
Abstract
Sourced in Pedro de Ribadeneira’s Historia eclesiástica del scisma del reyno de Inglaterra (1588, 1593), Lope de Vega’s comedy, El amor desatinado, and Calderón de la Barca’s tragedy, La cisma de Ingalaterra, attenuate the monstrous portrayal of [...]