The re-creation of history in the Fernando and Isabel plays of Lope de Vega

Ostlund (Spanish, Portland State U., Oregon) analyzes five historical dramas in which Lope (1562-1635) dramatizes key moments in the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, which by his time were considered to have midwived Spain into a world power. She points out the basic patterns that guided his restructuring of history and the variations in each work, and examines his portrayal of Isabel and Fernando themselves and the implications of it for his own time. Assumes a reading knowledge of Spanish from the period. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR