orig. Gabriel Téllez
born March 9?, 1584, Madrid, Spain
died March 12, 1648, Soria
Spanish playwright.
As a friar of the Mercedarian Order from 1601, he wrote its official history (1637). Inspired by Lope de Vega , he drew upon a wide range of sources and styles for his dramas. Tirso wrote a vast number of works, of which only about 80 have survived. His best-known play, the tragedy The Seducer of Seville (1630), introduced the legendary hero-villain Don Juan . Noted for portraying the psychological conflicts of his characters, he also wrote the tragedy The Doubted Damned (1635) and Antona García (1635), which analyzed mob emotion. Though he also excelled in comedy, he was the greatest Spanish tragedian of his time.