Cervantes Bones

[matthew cissell]

    So if you went back to the very early 1600's in Madrid the
literary man of the moment was NOT Cervantes, but Lope de Vega. (Later
they were very serious rivals.) Lope wrote poetry and drama which
commanded both greater cultural and economic capital. Cervantes'
writing, and above all El Quijote, were popular but took their place
in letters over time. (The novel would take time to displace the
theatre from the place of honor in european culture.) Lope did quite
well writing works upon request (and for pay) and eventually became
secretary to a Duke and finally took religious orders. As such, when
he died he was immediately put on a pedastal.

  Poor Miguel had a rather different lot; he was rather poor. It
speaks volumes that his bones were lost for many years. (The street of
the house where he died was not named after him until 1833.) Worse,
his final resting place, Convento Trinitarias Descalzas,  was on a
street named.... yep, Lope de Vega. Talk about rolling in your grave.

  You may know Miguel and Shakes died on the same "date" (different
calendars so...) and thus UNESCO has made Apr 23 International Book
Day. Moreover, Don Quijote is supposedly the most published and
translated book after the bible. It would seem that time has favored
Cervantes over the long hall.

   This was not a diss on Lope de Vega. No "punking" going on here.
Some here mya like his sonnets. Or seem may lean towards Miguel's
talking dog story. But as they say in Spain: "Para los gustos son los
colores."

agur
mc otis
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