Virtuous Labor, Courtly Laborer: Canonization and a Literary Career in Lope de Vega's Isidro
In the course of one of early modern Europe's longest and most prolific literary careers, Lope de Vega (1562-1635) wrote numerous hagiographies, typically upon commission from a city council, an aristocrat, or a court official. Yet his saints' lives have received far less critical attention than his cloak-and-dagger comedias or his love lyrics.' Scholars, in general, have emphasized questions about how creative authorial energies shaped or altered literary forms that enjoy high prestige in our own time. Lope's arte nuevo that transformed the comedia de capa y espada fits this preference, while his numerous hagiographies represent a now marginal literary form. Moreover, the devotional works written on commission highlight Lope as a writer whose pen bolstered or depended upon political and religious
The Magnificent Fountain: literary Patronage in the Court of Philip III
Con el reinado de Felipe III y la transformacion de la austera corte del Rey ?Prudente? en una sociedad cortesana, caracterizada por nuevas estructuras de poder y por nuevas formas de influencia, se observa una correspondiente y dramatica redefinicion del mecenazgo literario. En un periodo de muy pocos anos, una tierra ?tan seca que no hay hoja ni fruta en los arboles,? como dijera Alonso de Barros, se vio convertida en ?una primavera de abundancia? por ?la fuente de . . . magnificencias? del Rey y de su favorito, el Duque de Lerma, que sirviera de ?canal? para repartir los frutos del favor real. Algunos, como Lope de Vega y Luis Velez de Guevara, supieron aprovecharse de la proteccion de nobles bien colocados en la corte. El hecho de que Cervantes no consiguiera disfrutar de los beneficios y favores de un poderoso mecenas puede ser la causa, o incluso el efecto, de su visible ambivalencia hacia el mecenazgo.
The Political Unconscious: Narrative as a Socially Symbolic Act
In this ground-breaking and influential study Fredric Jameson explores the complex place and function of literature within culture. At the time Jameson was actually writing the book, in the mid to late seventies, there was a major reaction against deconstruction and poststructuralism. As one of the most significant literary theorists, Jameson found himself in the unenviable position of wanting to defend his intellectual past yet keep an eye on the future. With this book he carried it off beautifully. A landmark publication, The Political Unconscious takes its place as one of the most meaningful works of the twentieth century.century.