Lope de Vega, "A dog in the manger": a brief summary. "Dog in the manger": characterization of heroes, reviews

When analyzing dramatic works, it is often difficult to retell their summary. "The dog in the manger", despite the apparent simplicity and uncomplicated plot, however, differs in a serious and profound implication, which is not as unambiguous as it might seem at first reading. The fact is that in his famous and already cultic play Lope de Vega showed readers not only an easy and uncomplicated love story, but also reflected the most important social problems of his time.

Features of the author's work

The main principles of the playwright's skill can be traced by analyzing his main plays and their short content. "Dog in the manger" in this respect is the best model for criticism and literary analysis.

The writer and playwright became famous for creating works in the classical genre of "cloak and sword", which was so popular in the European countries of the early modern era. In this style, wrote many writers, poets, but it was Lope de Vega who became his recognized master. This, in the end, brought him world fame and glory. A light, elegant syllable, a laid-back narrative, a dynamic and famously twisted plot made the works of de Vega famous throughout the world.

Another reason for the popularity of the playwright is the light, graceful, but most importantly, witty dialogues that inform extra vivacity and dynamism in the development of the narrative. The above mentioned features were especially clearly manifested in the play under consideration, which became so popular that it was even screened.

Plot

Features of the composition of the work in question can be traced by analyzing its brief content. "Dog in the manger" begins with a seemingly very minor incident, which, however, according to the canon of the genre, was sufficient for the whole intrigue.

The protagonist - the secretary of the proud Countess of Diana - Teodoro, along with his friend Tristan, enters the mansion on a date with her maid Marcela, however, the hostess finds out about his visit and starts to be jealous of a handsome and intelligent young man. It turns out that she herself is in love with him, but the class prudence prevents her from overcoming class prejudices.

The development of the action is devoted to revealing the emotional experiences of the heroine, which literally rushes between its pride and a sense of love. She then gives the young man the hope of reciprocity, then rejects it.

The withdrawn Teodoro again begins to care for Marcel, which further irritates Diana. Finally, the protagonist decides to go to foreign lands in order to seek happiness away from his cruel lover, but at this critical moment he is literally saved by Tristan, who found him a rich and noble "father." The play ends with a happy ending, as befits the works of this genre.

main characters

A consecutive characteristic of the heroes of the work is to continue its brief content. "The dog in the manger" is a typical example of the play of the genre "cloak and sword", but the originality of the image of the characters, their humorous interpretation, and most importantly, the humanistic meaning of their images ensured the creation of de Vega immortal fame.

At first glance, the arrangement of the characters is quite typical for comedies of this kind. The author traditionally opposes serious personalities to comedic characters. The first category refers, in the first place, Teodoro and Diana, although in the image of the latter, the comic elements are slipping. But of course the comedic is the hero Tristan, the servant of the countess, the scoundrel and the cunning, who thanks to his agility and agility helps the protagonist.

Minor characters

"Dog in the manger", the summary of which, is the subject of this review, built according to the classical rules of the comedy of the XVII century. So, the image of the Countess's maid is quite traditional: the girl, according to the canon, seems to shade the main, the main love line.

The author also brought two fans of the main character - Count Frederico and the Marquis of Ricardo, who do not disdain anything and are even ready to kill, only to eliminate the unwanted rival. These are typical for the Spanish comedy heroes, however, painted so vividly that they survived their time. The fact that De Vega often used in his works elements of folklore, focusing on folk works, songs, customs and customs, which allowed him to overcome the literary conventions and the canonical framework of the narrative.

In this respect, the most successful is the image of Tristan - a simple man from the people who, with a sober and clear mind, often literally saves the situation in favor of his master.

The image of the countess

"The dog in the manger", whose brief content is interesting in that, in a concise form, shows the writer's skill in revealing the intrigue and character characteristics, presents a whole gallery of colorful representatives of the modern author of the era.

First of all, the attention of the reader, of course, attracts the image of Countess Belflor, which in translation means "a beautiful flower." Indeed, Diana is unusually good-looking, she has many admirers to whom she, however, leaves little hope of reciprocity. A young woman is extremely proud, arrogant, she is very loudly spoken of class prejudices and aristocratic pride. And nevertheless, it immediately, literally from the very first lines, causes sincere sympathy among the readers. What is the reason for this paradox?

Character

All this is due to the undoubted skill of the psychological depiction of characters to whom Lope de Vega is famous. "Dog in the manger", the brief content of which allows us to identify the main features in the personalities of the actors, attracts the attention of the readers, above all, with their humanistic pathos. This can be traced to the example of the evolution of the image of Diana. Despite her pride and arrogance, the Countess, however, is honest with herself and with her conscience.

According to monologues, we see how strong the emotional tortures of the heroine are due to the fact that she, by her nobility and gentility, can not afford to unite her fate with the person she loved. For this the reader is ready to forgive much for her: bold antics, and mocking attacks on Teodoro, Marcel and Tristan, and even her naive deceit.

The writer created, perhaps, one of the most colorful images in the world literature. His heroine - a woman passionate by nature, cruel in her love, but she has the generosity and nobility of the soul.

Teodoro

A whole galaxy of colorful characters presents the reader with the play "A Dog in the Manger". The summary of the chapters of this work should be continued by the character of the main character, the Countess's secretary-an intelligent, educated but not noble young man who struck his way in life solely with his diligence, talent and diligence.

This character is a traditional type of hero, who, despite a simple origin, behaves honestly, nobly and straightforwardly. His inner world is no less interesting than the experiences of the countess. He is just as proud as she is, he is also afraid of his feelings, for in him he says, by his own admission, the pride of the poor who does not want to use the grace of the rich lady.

Tristan

A brief description of Vega's comedy "The Dog in the Manger" suggests the disclosure of another important character - the friend of the protagonist and the servant of the Countess. Tristan is a true embodiment of people's humor, optimism and sanity. He is completely uncharacteristic of romantic passages and sentimental reasoning, and this character trait is opposed to the main characters, bringing a significant proportion of humor and irony to the plot. It is thanks to him that the play ends with a happy ending. Teodoro also owes him his life: no one else like Tristan saved him from the wiles of Diana's fans who decided to kill the young and talented secretary as soon as they saw the Countess's favor.

Marcela

The summary of the book "The Dog in the Manger" can not be imagined without the analysis of the handmaidess of the Countess - Marcela. And although this girl does not play an equally important role in the development of the plot, as Tristan, however, she is a typical work of this genre, when the romantic couple is traditionally opposed to comedic characters.

This is exactly what Marcela is. She is jealous, quick-tempered, but despite these qualities in her character, becomes the object of Teodoro's love interest. She is sympathetic to the reader with her mocking temper, briskness and liveliness. However, such traits of character are inherent, probably, to every servant in plays of this kind.

Count and marquis

Talking about the play "Dog in the Manger" by De Vega Lope, the summary of the work can not miss the images of the secondary heroes, Diana's admirers - Count Frederico and the Marquis of Ricardo. They are interesting because the author embodied in them the typical features of the so-called blue blood for their time. These spoiled, arrogant, proud nobles, who do not disdain to achieve their goal. Thus, Lope de Vega ridiculed the vices of high society, boldly choosing for their attacks a traditional love story and an easy intrigue.

The meaning of the play: critical reviews

We hope that you will be helped to get an idea of the performance of the pereskaz play "The Dog in the Manger" (summary). Reviews about him are enthusiastic and show the skill of the author in building composition and plot. Named preobrazhenie rightfully entered the golden fund of world literature, thanks to its humanistic pathos, which was generally characteristic of the author's works.

The dramatist was also praised by his contemporary Cervantes, who noted the great importance of the works of Lope de Vega for the development of the Spanish national theater. Leading literary critics and critics (K. Derzhavin, Z. Plavskin, etc.) in their reviews and reviews primarily indicate that the humanistic meaning of the composition lies in the ability of love to overcome class prejudices. They also draw attention to the fact that the ideal form of constructing the play has become an important stage in the development of Spanish literature and theater.