Juan de Matos Fragoso
Encyclopedia
Juan de Matos Fragoso a Spanish
dramatist of Portuguese
descent, was born about 1608 at Alvito
(Alentejo). After taking his degree in law
at the University of Evora
, he proceeded to Madrid
, where he made acquaintance with Juan Pérez de Montalbán
, and thus obtained an introduction to the stage. He quickly displayed great cleverness in hitting the public taste, and many contemporaries of superior talent eagerly sought his aid as a collaborator. The earliest of his printed plays is La defensa de la Fè, y Principe prodigioso (1651), and twelve more pieces were published in 1658. His popularity continued long after his death on (January 4, 1689).
Matos Fragoso's dramas do not stand the test of reading. His emphatic preciosity and sophistical insistence on the point of honor are tedious and unconvincing; in La Vengauza en el despeno, in A lo que obliga un agravio, and in other plays, he merely recasts, albeit very adroitly, works by Lope de Vega
.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
dramatist of Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
descent, was born about 1608 at Alvito
Alvito (Portugal)
Alvito is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 264.8 km² and a total population of 2,708 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 2 parishes, and is located in Beja District.The current mayor is João Lança Trindade.-History:...
(Alentejo). After taking his degree in law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
at the University of Evora
University of Évora
The University of Évora is a public university in Évora, Portugal.-History:The University of Évora, the second oldest in Portugal, was founded in the 16th century by Cardinal Infante Dom Henrique , and by the Pope Paul IV, and it was delivered to the Society of Jesus.The Jesuit college...
, he proceeded to Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, where he made acquaintance with Juan Pérez de Montalbán
Juan Pérez de Montalbán
Juan Pérez de Montalbán , Spanish Catholic priest, dramatist, poet and novelist, was born at Madrid.At the age of eighteen he became a licentiate in theology, was ordained priest in 1625 and appointed notary to the Inquisition...
, and thus obtained an introduction to the stage. He quickly displayed great cleverness in hitting the public taste, and many contemporaries of superior talent eagerly sought his aid as a collaborator. The earliest of his printed plays is La defensa de la Fè, y Principe prodigioso (1651), and twelve more pieces were published in 1658. His popularity continued long after his death on (January 4, 1689).
Matos Fragoso's dramas do not stand the test of reading. His emphatic preciosity and sophistical insistence on the point of honor are tedious and unconvincing; in La Vengauza en el despeno, in A lo que obliga un agravio, and in other plays, he merely recasts, albeit very adroitly, works by Lope de Vega
Lope de Vega
Félix Arturo Lope de Vega y Carpio was a Spanish playwright and poet. He was one of the key figures in the Spanish Golden Century Baroque literature...
.