Abstract

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, in Italy, the received view of Calderón’s theatrical works saw them in contrast with the prevailing classicism at the theoretical level. However, with the growing establishment of romanticism, there was an exploitation of the freedom of expression and exchange among national literatures. As a consequence, there was a new interest in the great Spanish playwright. We find the translations by Biagio Gamboa, Giacinto Battaglia, and particularly Pietro Monti: a remarkable and well- read parish priest from a small village nearby Como, who published the Italian translations of 14 dramas by Calderón between 1838 and 1855.We consider one of them, La aurora en Copacabana, to give an idea of the approach of this translator to Calderón’s text and of the influence of the Milanese milieu in which Monti lived.

Abstract

This article analyses the possible connection of La aurora en Copacabana by Calderón with the expansion of the cult of the Virgin of Copacabana in Spain, initiated by Miguel de Aguirre. This Augustinian monk arrived in Madrid in 1650, and throughout his life he placed various images of the American Virgin in Spain and Italy, as well as commissioned devotional books dedicated to spreading her history. In conclusion, it is proposed to date the composition of the play between 1664 and 1665.

Abstract

In this essay, I study different forms in which violence manifests in La Aurora en Copacabana by Calderón and its relation with two visions of the world that are in conflict during the entire 17th century: the Neo-Platonist vision personified by the character of Yupangui and the Aristotelian vision marked in specific moments of the First Act, and especially, during the entire Third Act. I expose how the sacrifice attempt of Guacolda, language violence (miscommunication among indigenous people and Spaniards) and displacements of protagonists’ names to Spanish names (Yupangui and Guacolda change their names to Francisco and María) form the connecting thread and the frame in which the representational conflict between the Aristotelian vision and the Neo-Platonist one produces. Even though Calderón seems to opt for Neo-Platonism (to favor the topic of Christian faith), nonetheless, the same representation of violence in this and other plays such as El médico de su honra or El pintor de su deshonra arises a continuous conflict due to perfection search through human relations and dramatic representation.