Abstract

Francisco de Rojas Zorrilla was one of the poets most favoured by the Court, even more than Calderón de la Barca. That royal favour gave him a creative freedom that lead to experiment with new methods, genres and motifs. That was the case of Persiles and Sigismunda, not only a mere adaptation of the cervantine novel, but also an attempt to surpass the model that Lope de Vega had created for the byzantine comedy, adding new formulas to a genre considered closed.