Spanish and English Literature of the 16th and 17th Centuries Studies in Discretion, Illusion and Mutability

Edward M. Wilson's reputation as a scholar of Calderón, and of classical Spanish literature in general, is almost unrivalled. He was also an expert in English works of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and in the popular literature of both languages. These essays, written at various stages of Wilson's career, reflect his scholarship in all these fields. They also reveal the recurrent themes which Wilson found in the literature of this period: discretion and the dangers of rashness, and desengaño, the need to rid oneself of worldly illusions. Eight of the fourteen articles concentrate on different aspects of Calderón's work, revealing the playwright's consistency of outlook. The essays on Lope de Vega deal with three of his most important plays. Wilson's study of Othello shows the special insight that may be gained into Elizabethan drama by a scholar of the contemporary Spanish theatre.

Preface; Sources and acknowledgements; A list of the publications of Edward M. Wilson; 1. The four elements in the imagery of Calderón; 2. Fernando: the Constant Prince; 3. On La vida es sueño; 4. The discretion of Don Lope de Almeida; 5. Towards an appreciation of El pintor de su deshonra; 6. The cloak and sword plays, Plate: frontispiece of Psalle et sile, first edition; 7. A key to Calderón's Psalle et sile; 8. Calderón's dramatic poetry; 9. Images and structure in Peribáñez; 10. 'Quando Lope quiere, quiere'; 11. The exemplary nature of El caballero de Olmedo; 12. A Hispanist looks at Othello; 13. Tragic themes in Spanish ballads; 14. Spanish and English religious poetry of the seventeenth century; Notes; Index of names and titles of works.

Edward M. Wilson's reputation as a scholar of Calderón, and of classical Spanish literature in general, is almost unrivalled. He was also an expert in English works of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and in the popular literature of both languages. These essays, written at various stages of Wilson's career, reflect his scholarship in all these fields.