Fuenteovejuna

Lope de Vega "single-handedly created the Spanish national theatre," writes Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria in the introduction to this new translation ofFuenteovejuna. Often compared to Shakespeare, Moliere, and Racine, Lope is widely considered the greatest of all Spanish playwrights, andFuenteovejuna(The Sheep Well) is among the most important Spanish Golden Age plays. Written in 1614,Fuenteovejunacenters on the decision of an entire village to admit to the premeditated murder of a tyrannical ruler. Lope masterfully employs the tragicomic conventions of the Spanishcomediaas he leavens the central dilemma of the peasant lovers, Laurencia and Frondoso, with the shenanigans of Mengo, thegraciosoor clown. Based on an actual historical incident,Fuenteovejunaoffers a paean to collective responsibility and affirmation of the timeless values of justice and kindness. Translator G. J. Racz preserves the nuanced voice and structure of Lope de Vega's text in this first English translation in analogical meter and rhyme. Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria surveys the history ofFuenteovejuna, as well as Lope's enormous literary output and indelible cultural imprint. Racz's compelling translation and Gonzalez Echevarria's rich framework bring this timeless Golden Age drama alive for a new generation of readers and performers.

Lope de Vega (1562–1635) wrote more than seven hundred plays and thousands of poems, and is widely considered the most important playwright of the Spanish Golden Age. G. J. Racz is Associate Professor in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature at Long Island University–Brooklyn and the translator of major works by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Benito Pérez Galdós, and Eduardo Chirinos. Roberto González Echevarría is Sterling Professor of Hispanic and Comparative Literature at Yale.