The new art of writing plays: Play Guide and Free Edition
The new art of writing plays: author and translator credits, catalogue synopsis, subjects and links to the Gutenberg reading formats.
The new art of writing plays is catalogued by Project Gutenberg with author credits for Vega, Lope de (1562–1635). The listed translation credits are Brewster, W. T. (William Tenney) (1869–1961).
Catalogue synopsis
Project Gutenberg supplies this automated synopsis of the opening text:
"The new art of writing plays by Lope de Vega" is a dramaturgical treatise in verse from the Spanish Golden Age, likely the early 17th century. It outlines how to craft stage plays that satisfy audience taste while engaging with classical theory, blending practical stagecraft with a poet’s reflections on comedy and tragedy. The book opens with a contextual introduction that sets the author alongside the great innovators of popular theater and frames his core paradox: he knows the classical rules yet openly breaks them to please the paying crowd. The central poem addresses an academy, briefly surveys the origins of comedy and tragedy, and then offers concise, practice-first guidance: choose a single, coherent action; build plays in three acts; compress time where possible; keep the stage seldom empty; delay the resolution until the final moments; and mix tragic and comic tones for variety. It advises writing the plan in prose before versifying, matching speech to character and situation, and using distinct verse forms for different purposes (for lament, narration, high matters, or love). It favors themes of honor and virtue, warns against impossibilities and open satire, prescribes moderate length, and urges decorum and plausible costume. The author closes by acknowledging his own vast, rule-breaking output and defending it on the grounds that playwrights must live by pleasing the public.
Book and edition facts
- Title: The new art of writing plays
- Author credits: Vega, Lope de (1562–1635)
- Catalogue language: English
- Translator credits: Brewster, W. T. (William Tenney) (1869–1961)
Catalogue subjects
- Drama -- Technique
Gutenberg collections
- Category: Classics of Literature
- Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches
- Category: How To ...
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View the complete Gutenberg catalogue record. Project Gutenberg identifies this edition as public domain in the United States; that designation does not establish its copyright status in every country.
Source notes
Catalogue metadata is public domain and is supplied through Gutendex, which imports Gutenberg's machine-readable catalogue. The automated synopsis is source-supplied, not an independently verified review. Author dates above describe the credited people; no ebook release date is presented as the book's original publication date.
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