Tirso de molina biography
Biography of Tirso de Molina
Tirso de Molina, a significant figure in Spanish literature, was a playwright, poet, and monk whose works have left an indelible mark on the world. Known mainly for his dramatic plays, he is remembered for his complex characters and innovative storytelling techniques.
Early Life and Education
Born as Gabriel Téllez in Madrid in , Tirso de Molina led a fascinating early life. He joined the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy at a young age and later studied theology at the University of Alcalá de Henares. This background in religious studies profoundly influenced his literary works.
Career and Main Works
Molina's career as a playwright began while he was still in the monastery. His works often tackled complex themes of morality, religion, and human nature. Some of his most notable plays include:
- El Burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra: This play introduced the legendary character of Don Juan.
- La prudencia en la mujer: A historical play focusing on Queen María of Aragón.
- El condenado por desconfiado: A religious allegory about the dangers of despair.
Literary Style and Themes
Molina's writing style is known for its wit, complexity, and exploration of deep philosophical themes. He often used comedia, a form of Spanish drama that combines both comedic and serious elements, to question social and moral norms.
Tirso de Molina: The pen name of Gabriel Téllez, a renowned Spanish playwright and poet.
Influence and Legacy
Tirso de Molina's work had a lasting influence on Spanish and global literature. His creation of Don Juan, a character that symbolises the archetypal seducer, has appeared in countless literary works, operas, and films. His plays continue to be performed and studied, underscoring his enduring legacy.
An example of Molina's influence is Mozart's opera Don Giovanni, which is based on the character of Don Juan created by Molina.
Molina'
Tirso de Molina
Spanish Mercedarian friar and noted dramatist, born Gabriel López y Téllez (–)
For the Madrid Metro station, see Tirso de Molina (Madrid Metro).
Gabriel Téllez, O. de M. (24 March &#;&#; 20 February ), also known as Tirso de Molina, was a Spanish Baroquedramatist and poet, as well as a Mercedarianfriar, and Catholic priest. He is primarily known for writing The Trickster of Seville and the Stone Guest, the play from which the character Don Juan originates. His work also includes female protagonists and the exploration of sexual issues.
Life and career
Gabriel Téllez was born in Madrid to Andrés López and Juana Téllez, servants of the Count of Molina. As a youth, he studied at the University of Alcalá]]. He joined the mendicant Order of Our Lady of Mercy on 4 November , by whom he was sent to the Monastery of San Antolín at Guadalajara to begin his period of novitiate on 21 January He had been ordained as a priest by
Téllez had been writing plays for ten years when he was sent by his superiors on a mission to the West Indies in ; as a result, he resided in the Spanish colony of Santo Domingo from to After returning to Europe, he resided at the Mercedarian monastery in Madrid, where he took part in the proceedings of the Medrano Academy, competed in the literary tournaments, and wrote for the stage.
Tellez' first publication, the incomplete Cigarrales de Toledo (a work licensed in , but not published until ), is a miscellany of short tales, novellas, verses, and three plays. One of the novellas, Los tres maridos burlados, which may have been derived from Francesco Cieco da Ferrara's Mambriano, and the play entitled El vergonzoso en palacio are considered to demonstrate wit and ingenuity. The preface to Cigarrales de Toledo states that Tirso de Molina had already written three hundred plays.
Téllez opposed culteranismo in the Cigarral The Spanish dramatist Tirso de Molina (), to whom is attributed the initiation of the Don Juan theme, ranks as one of the three greatest dramatists of Spain's Golden Age of literature. The identity of the family of Tirso de Molina and most of the facts of his life remain obscure. Born Gabriel Téllez in Madrid, he studied at the University of Alcalá and in entered the Order of the Merced as a monk. He probably initiated his career as a dramatist about with El vergonzoso en palacio (The Bashful Man at Court). After representing his order in Santo Domingo in the West Indies from to , he returned to Madrid, where in he published his first book, Los cigarrales de Toledo (The Orchards of Toledo), a miscellany. Tirso was chronicler of the Order of the Merced in and prior of a monastery in Soria in In his writings Tirso portrayed human foibles and vices with such scatological humor that in he was ordered silenced by the Council of Castile—an order he disobeyed—and was exiled to remote rural monasteries. Although his self-styled nephew, Francisco Lucas de Ávila, claimed that Tirso wrote more than plays, only 55 authentically assigned to him are extant. Some 28 other plays he probably wrote in collaboration. Tirso's work encompasses most of the subjects prevalent in the 17th-century Spanish theater: Spanish and Portuguese history and tradition, biblical material, contemporary customs, and palace intrigues—as well as one-act religious plays called autos sacramentales. Conjugal honor preoccupied him less than it did his contemporaries. He has generally been classified with Lope de Vega and Pedro Calderón as a member of the triumvirate of foremost 17th-century Spanish dramatists. Pending definite proof of Tirso's authorship of El burlador de Sevilla (The Love Rogue) and El condenado por desconfiado (The Man Condemned for Little Faith), his position in the triumvirate remains debatable. El burlador de Sevilla initiated the Don Jua Fray Gabriel Téllez, the playwright known to the world as Tirso de Molina, was born in Madrid in and died in Almazán, Soria, in Tirso’s biography was obscure until Luis Vázquez Fernández, O.M., unearthed many valuable details that had lain buried for centuries, which document Tirso’s whereabouts from cradle to grave and sketch the contours of his long, productive life. Although Vázquez provided the outlines of Tirso’s many and sundry involvements, achievements and experiences, the biography of one of the greatest dramatists ever to write in Spanish deserves to be revealed and reconstructed much more completely. Henry W. Sullivan and Jane W. Albrecht now fill this lacuna in the cultural history of Spain and European drama, exploring Tirso’s complex identity as a renowned author, tireless Mercedarian, bold traveler, beloved son and brother, steadfast friend and fearless foe. They survey his life’s foundations in the home of his parents, Portuguese refuges living and serving in a noble house in Madrid, and wider kinship network; his cultural edification among the wealthy Madrid elite, maturation and formal education; and his religious vocation devoted to the Order of Mercy and parallel, dazzling professional career dedicated to delighting and teaching the audiences of corrales and private theatrical spaces. In addition, Sullivan and Albrecht confront a number of mysteries that make Tirso such a singular author and eventually converge on answers to several points at issue. Where did his faculty for language come from? What led to his decision to profess in the Order of Mercy? Why did Fray Gabriel Téllez, the only Golden-Age figure who wrote under a pseudonym, adopt the unique nom de plume Tirso de Molina? And, how could he write so stridently about all manner of sexual situations and impulses? TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures 1. The Birth of Gabriel Téllez in Madrid & His Baptism on March 29, 2. Fray Gabriel T
Tirso de Molina
Don Juan
Preface & Acknowledgments