Lope de Vega
Lope de Vega
Lope de Vega is considered one of the greatest Spanish writers that has lived, upstaged only by Cervantes. Born in 1562, he was a Baroque playwright who created a vast amount of productions. He was noticed as young as five for having advanced abilites, such as being able speak his Spanish and Latin. In his later years he was enrolled at the Colegio Imperial, where his talents were noticed by a priest, who felt the young man's talents were good enough to enroll at the University of Alcala. There, he almost became a priest but wasn't so keen on the celibacy that went along with it.
His love affair began with Elena Osorio, though awhile into their relationship she changed suit and chose another man over him. Ovbiously this was quite traumatic for Lope and he was exiled for eight years due to his attacks on her and her family. During this time he signed up for a tour of duty with the Spanish Navy and got married, which is quite productive in anyone's books! He was one of the few who returned from that tour. Once his exile was over he headed straight to Toledo, as he had been offered a job as the secretary to the Duke of Alba. During this period he wrote several sonnets; he went on to pen some of his best work in the 1600's.
Some of his best work includes:
- El Acero de Madrid
- El Perro del Hortelano
- El Anzuelo de Fenisa
- La Circe
- Rimas
- La Filomena
- La Gatomaquia
