Lope de Degas, "Fuente Ovejuna": a summary

A good work can change a person's life, help him look at the world with different eyes. Are there many such creations in the history of literature?

Literature in human life

Literature takes an honorable place in the life of each person, and there are many reasons for that. The stories from the books allow you to see the world from the outside, to understand what other people think and how they feel. Thanks to a good book, a person can grow spiritually and morally, find the ground under his feet. Often a person finds himself lonely, as he does not find like-minded people among his surroundings, but reading books, he understands that all people are different, and everyone has his own unique inner world.

Spanish Literature

Spanish literature arose only in the XII century, when language began to develop. Before that time, Latin was used in Spain. The entire history of the literature of this country can be divided into 4 large time intervals, each of which presented the world with wonderful literature reminders. The first period was marked by the fact that you could write in Spanish units, and only the first timid attempts appeared. The second stage is the heyday, the era of Lope de Vega and Cervantes. The third stage was a decline, and the fourth promised a revival of Spanish literature.

Acquaintance with the author

Lope de Vega is a representative of the Golden Age of Spain, a playwright, prose writer and poet. His pen has more than 2,000 plays, and only about 400 have survived to the present day intact. The boy was born in a gold-embroidered family. From the earliest years he showed interest in art. Already in 10 years he made his first translation of an artistic text. Lope de Vega entered the University of Alcalá, and was well known for his romances. The writer was convinced that nature must always prevail over art.

He was expelled from the university, and was forced to leave Madrid for 10 years. The reason was a bitter satire on the family of the girl who rejected him. Then the writer returns to the capital for the sake of a new beautiful lady. Soon he moved to Valencia, where he created a number of literary works in order to financially support the family. The flowering of dramatic creativity fell on the period of his life as the secretary of the Duke of Alba. Lope de Vega was also a servant of the Inquisition, lost two wives, and almost all children. His last love was a 20-year-old girl, whom he sang in a series of poems. The last years of the creator were full of personal drama.

Fuente Ovejuna

The drama tells about the events that took place in a small village in Spain. Commander of the Order comes to the master in order to pacify the rebellious people. The master turns out to be a youngster, who recently received the title from his father. Commander Fernand Guzman offers his army, and Master Rodrigo Chiron accepts his help. Residents of Fuente Ovehun look forward with anticipation to the departure of the evil commander, who is notorious for his love of other women. No one can deny him, fearing revenge. Recently, Commander Fernand Guzman is chasing the daughter of the Alcalde - Laurencia, who is in love with a simple guy.

The master and the commander win, completely suppressing the rebels. Fuente Ovejuna meets Fernand Guzman with gifts, but he does not need anything except Laurencia and her friend. Time passes, and Laurencia meets with Guzman on the creek. The Commander decides that this is his last chance, and stubbornly wants to get his. However, he does not know that the lover of Laurencia - Frondoso, follows them. Wishing to protect his girlfriend, Frondoso threatens the commander with weapons, and hides himself. The insulted commander promises cruel revenge for such humiliation. He comes to the girl's father, and demands to send her to him. However, the mayor explains to the insolent Guzman that commoners also have the honor. In the meantime, the king of Castile has learned about the suppression of resistance by the master and the commander, and sees this as a certain threat. To understand, he calls them to himself. Only this circumstance saves the poor peasants from the punishment of an angry tyrant. During the absence of Fernand Guzman, Laurencia and Frondoso play a wedding. In the midst of the events, he returns humiliated by military failure and remembers the past grievances of the commander, and orders that Frondoso be imprisoned. Laurencia is also taken into custody, because she dared to protect her beloved. Fuente Ovehuna gathers a veche in which opinions are divided: someone does not want a riot, and someone wants justice. At the meeting, the disheveled Laurencia resorts, talking about the tortures and humiliations she experienced, and also about the fact that Frondoso will soon be killed. This becomes the last straw, and the people go to Guzman's house. The enraged crowd simply tramples down the commander, who does not even have time to recover.

Realizing that responsibility can not be avoided, the people decide to answer the judge's questions equally: the commander killed Fuente Ovehun. The judge strictly interrogates everyone, and the suspects are imprisoned in jail, not sparing women and children. However, the peasants do not admit. They write to the king about all the mockery of the former commander, and also that they are happy and ready to live under the guidance of their beloved king. Unable to prove anyone's guilt, the King of Castile forgives the peasants, and takes the village under his own leadership.

Historical background of the book

It's no secret that the drama "Fuente Ovejuna", a summary of which was discussed above, was written on the basis of a real historical event that took place in 1476 in Spain. Lope de Vega completely preserves all the details, names, places and heroes. The uprising of the inhabitants did indeed take place in the village of Sheep Key, and it was directed to the commander of the Order of Calatrava, Fernán Gómez de Guzman. However, the historical chronicle considers this incident as a brutal revolt of ungrateful inhabitants who dared to raise their hand to the magnanimous ruler. The writer considers the whole situation as it was in reality - retribution for bullying and abuse. The history of the creation of "Fuente Ovejuna" is rooted in the political situation in Spain.

Spain of that time was very typical feudal tyranny, which found its reflection in the writings of many writers. The drama Lope de Vega "Fuente Ovehuna", the summary of which was discussed above, is just another spark that testifies to the excesses of the feudal lords in Spain, which has suffered from arbitrariness.

Fuente Ovehuna: analysis of the work

For Lope de Vega, the ideal was the union of a monarch and a people who loved and valued him. The writer was quite satisfied with the estate monarchy in Spain, but he believed that the rights of each estate should be clearly defined. Definitely one can say that de Vega was anti-feudal, and this problem of Spain extremely worried him. However, did he understand the utopian nature of his worldview? Studying his other works, you can see that he understood how far away antifeudal Spain is from the present.

The main questions that Lope de Vega posed in the work of Fuente Ovejuna are "What would have happened if the culprit was found" and "What would have happened if the commander had fled?" Indeed, how far the alms of the King of Castile would have gone, and Would she be at all? The author does not answer the question, but simply accentuates that it is worth pondering.

The image of Laurencia

The drama of Lope de Vega "Fuente Ovejuna" would have been impossible without the main female image - Laurencia. The author believed that the female role should always be bright. Therefore Laurnessia is a wayward and beautiful girl. It belongs to simple peasants, but at the same time is the daughter of the mayal, which gives her the right to be considered a noble virgin. It is she who raises all the villagers to rebel against the brutal commander. Laurencia has the honor and courage, since many times she refused to intrusive and impudent commander Fernand Guzman, who tried to achieve her location by cunning, force and gifts. In the works of Lope de Vega, the image of the peasants is always a bit idealized, since he considered them the keepers of traditions and moral principles.

The image of Laurencia is not very real, as it is described as kind, beautiful, bold, intelligent and noble. This combination of qualities is not very characteristic of a simple rural girl. It is unlikely that a real peasant woman could boast of a great mind, and raise an entire village to an uprising against the power of a person who has power. Nevertheless, "Fuente Ovehuna", whose plot is constantly intriguing, touches the strings of the human soul in a female way - bold, disobedient and kind.

Relevance

The relevance of the "Fuente Ovehuna" to date is significant, because the issues of the relationship between the authorities and the common people are always open. Outwardly, the situation has changed, but the essence remains the same. The methods of "massacre" and control have changed, but has the modern rulers gone so far from their previous prototypes?

Other works of the author

Other works of the author also clearly show his mood against the feudal system. The peasant writer considers it an indicator of the common spirit and morality of the country. In all the works of the author, the image of even the most insignificant peasant hero has always been brighter and warmer than the image of any king or ruler. The plays of Lope de Vega (for example, "The Stars of Seville") show his deep concern over the political and social state of his country.