in full Lope Félix de Vega Carpio
born Nov. 25, 1562, Madrid, Spain
died Aug. 27, 1635, Madrid
Spanish playwright, the outstanding dramatist of the Spanish Golden Age.
After serving with the Spanish Armada, he lived in Madrid, serving as secretary to a series of nobles, including the duke of Sessa (from 1605). Called the "Phoenix of Spain," the phenomenally prolific Vega wrote as many as 1,800 plays, of which 431 survive, and established the comedia (tragicomic social drama), which typified the new Golden Age drama. He wrote two major types of drama, both Spanish in setting: the historical play based on a national legend (e.g., Peribáñez and The King, the Greatest Alcalde ) and the "cloak-and-sword" drama of contemporary manners and intrigue, which turned on some "point of honour" (e.g., The Gardener's Dog ). He established the comic character, or gracioso , as a commentator on the follies of his social superiors. All Citizens Are Soldiers is his best-known work outside Spain. He also wrote 21 volumes of nondramatic works in verse and prose, including The New Art of Writing Plays (1609).