Literary press and the «passion of love» in eighteenth century Spanish theatre

Abstract

The object of this article is to show how eighteenth century Spanish literary press conveys the Neo-classical ideas about the presence of love in theatre and its pernicious consequences. The study of El Pensador and Diario estrangero, as well as other journals, shows that the critics of that time consider the omnipresence of the theme of love on stage to be a threat to Spaniards' moral rectitude. Indeed, they claim that instead of improving the spectators’ morality by purging them of their passions, plays glorify these emotions by showing obscene examples of love overco­ming all obstacles standing on its way. This article thus examines these fierce criticisms along with the various suggestions of amendment put forward in the literary press. Furthermore, we try to understand the reasons why Neo-classical authors chiefly focus on dramatic works by assessing how accessible eighteenth century Spanish theatre is and by analyzing how powerfully its representations affect the audience.