The new art of writing plays — Background and Themes

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Authors: Vega, Lope de, 1562-1635, Matthews, Brander, 1852-1929 [Author of introduction, etc.], Brewster, W. T. (William Tenney), 1869-1961 [Translator] Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2025 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Drama -- Technique Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

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Words 13,953

Reading time 61 min

Text sections 2

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Source: Project Gutenberg record #76719

Lope de Vega's 1609 verse manifesto defends popular playwriting against classical rules, blending self-mockery with practical advice. This edition pairs Brewster's translation with Brander Matthews's introduction, which compares Lope to Shakespeare and situates the work within the simultaneous rise of Spanish and English drama.

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PAPERS ON PLAY-MAKING

The New Art of Writing Plays

TRANSLATED BY WILLIAM T. BREWSTER

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY BRANDER MATTHEWS

Printed for the Dramatic Museum of Columbia University _in the City of New York_ MCMXIV

Introduction by Brander Matthews

The New Art of Writing Plays by Lope de Vega

By a significant coincidence the marvellous outflowering of the drama is simultaneous in Spanish literature and in English. Spain almost exhausted her immense resources in fitting out the invincible Armada; and England strained every nerve to compass the defeat of the dread fleet. Lope de Vega, the foremost of the Iberian playwrights, actually sailed as a soldier on the fatal voyage to the English channel; and it is dimly possible that Shakspere also saw service on blue water; the year of the running sea fight is one of those in his biography about which we have no information, and his use of sea-terms has been declared by an expert to be scientifically accurate. In this simultaneous development of the drama in England and in Spain at the moment when the energy of the two peoples was aroused to the utmost, we have a confirmation of Brunetière's theory that the foundation of our pleasure in the playhouse is the assertion of the human will.

Shakspere came forward after the English drama had already developed a variety of forms; and he found the road broken for him by Marlowe and Kyd, by Lyly and Greene. At first he followed in their footsteps, however far beyond them he was to advance in the end. Lope de Vega, on the other hand, was a pioneer; he it was who blazed the new trails in which all the succeeding playwrights of Spain gladly trod. Shakspere seems to have cared little for invention, borrowing his plots anywhere and everywhere, and reserving his imagination for the interpretation of tales first told by others. Lope, on the other hand again, abounded rather in invention than in the interpreting imagination; he was wonderfully fecund and prolific, unsurpassed in productivity even by Defoe or Dumas. It was he who made the pattern that Calderon and all the rest were to employ. It was he who worked out the formula of the Spanish _comedia_, often not a comedy at all in our English understanding of the term, but rather a play of intrigue, peopled with hot-blooded heroes who wore their hearts on their sleeves and who carried their hands on the hilts of their swords.

Where Lope de Vega and Shakspere are again alike is that they both wrote all their plays for the popular theater, apparently composing these pieces solely with a view to performance and caring nothing for any praise which might be derived from publication. Martinenche, in his study of the 'Comedia Espagnole' (p. 243, note) dwells on Lope's carelessness for the literary renown to be won by the printing of his dramatic poems; in his non-dramatic poems he took pride, just as Shakspere seems to have read carefully the proofs of his lyrical narratives altho he did not himself choose to publish a single one of his plays. And Molière, it may be noted, tells us frankly that he was completely satisfied with the success of his earlier pieces on the stage, and that he had been content to leave them unprinted until his hand was forced by a pirate-publisher.

Shakspere is abundant in his allusions to the art of acting and reticent in his illusions to the art of playmaking. In fact, there is no single recorded expression of his opinion in regard to the principles or the practice of dramaturgy; and here he is in marked contrast with Ben Jonson, who had a body of doctrine about the drama, which he set forth in his 'Discoveries' and in his prologs, as well as in his conversations with Drummond of Hawthornden. In general Lope's attitude toward dramaturgic theory is the same as Shakspere's; but on one occasion he was induced to discuss the principles of the art he adorned, and to express his opinions upon its methods. This single occasion was when he was persuaded to deliver a poetic address upon the 'New Art of Making Plays in This Age.'

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Brander Matthews's introduction immediately draws a parallel between the simultaneous flourishing of drama in Spain and England, noting that Lope de Vega sailed with the Armada while Shakespeare may have served at sea. This framing positions Lope not as a remote theorist but as a practicing playwright who, unlike Shakespeare, 'blazed the new trails' for Spanish drama. The introduction emphasizes Lope's fecundity—he claims to have written 483 comedies—and his carelessness for publication, writing solely for the popular theater.

Lope's poem itself begins with a paradoxical address: he is asked to explain the art of writing plays that please the crowd, yet he admits his own works 'gravely sin against art.' This tension between classical precepts and popular success drives the entire piece.

A Poet's Apology for Breaking the Rules

Lope opens his verse treatise by acknowledging that he studied ancient rules—'Plautus and Terence'—but chose to lock them away. He writes for the paying public, not for critics: 'since the public pay, 'Tis just, methinks, I by their compass steer.' This is not a theoretical manual but a personal defense of his practice. He admits that only six of his hundreds of plays follow classical precepts, yet he defends their popularity. The poem's tone is wry and self-deprecating, as when he calls himself 'more barbarous than all' for defying art. Readers should note that Lope's argument is not a rejection of all rules but a pragmatic embrace of what works on stage.

Practical Advice Amid Self-Mockery

Despite its apologetic frame, the poem offers concrete guidance. Lope discusses stage properties—'drops, trees, cabins, houses, and simulated marbles'—and costume, criticizing anachronisms like 'a Turk wearing the neck-gear of a Christian.' He insists that comedy should reflect life: 'How Comedy reflects this life of man, / How true her portraiture of young and old.' The advice is interspersed with boasts about his productivity, such as finishing a play in a week. This blend of instruction and personal anecdote makes the treatise feel like a conversation with a seasoned practitioner rather than a dry textbook.

The Introduction's Comparative Lens

Brander Matthews's introduction provides historical context that shapes how readers encounter Lope's poem. He contrasts Lope's inventiveness with Shakespeare's reliance on borrowed plots, and notes that Lope 'worked out the formula of the Spanish comedia.' Matthews also highlights the influence of Lope's line about locking up Plautus and Terence, which Victor Hugo quoted in his preface to Cromwell. This framing encourages readers to see Lope's poem not in isolation but as part of a broader European debate about dramatic rules versus popular taste. The introduction also clarifies that the Spanish comedia is not necessarily comic, but a play of intrigue.

Reading the Poem as a Performance

Lope's verse is itself a kind of performance: it argues for a theater that pleases the crowd while simultaneously critiquing its own compromises. The poem's structure—a direct address to an academy of young writers—mimics a public lecture. Readers should pay attention to the shifts in tone: from humble apology to defiant self-justification, from practical tips to boasts about output. The translation by William T. Brewster preserves the poem's conversational rhythm, and the notes by B. M. (Brander Matthews) supply references to classical sources and later echoes. Approaching the text as a dramatic monologue rather than a systematic treatise reveals its enduring liveliness.

This edition offers two entry points: Matthews's introduction for historical context and Lope's poem for the playwright's own voice. Readers may find it useful to read the poem first, then return to the introduction to see how later critics have interpreted Lope's defiance. The notes provide helpful glosses on classical references without overwhelming the text. Whether one agrees with Lope's defense of popular taste or not, his candor about the gap between artistic ideals and practical success remains strikingly relevant.

Holding Lope’s old verse manifesto, I felt the busy shuffle of his playhouse, yet my mind drifted to a quieter study, to The Recreations of a Country Parson — Themes and Context. Both men wrote with their whole lives—one among crowds, one among hedgerows—and both found their truest voice in whatever room they were given.