born Feb. 21, 1817, Valladolid, Spain
died Jan. 23, 1893, Madrid
Spanish poet and dramatist.
Zorrilla first gained notice in 1837 with his recitation of an elegy at the funeral of the satirist Mariano José de Larra. The major figure of the nationalist wing of the Spanish Romantic movement, he made his name with verse leyendas ("legends") about remote times and places, notably in Cantos del trovador (1841). His greatest success was Don Juan Tenorio (1844), the most popular play of 19th-century Spain. His works are considered quintessentially Spanish in style and tone. In 1889 he was crowned the national poet.