VEGA, LOPE DE

in full Lope Flix De Vega Carpio, byname The Phoenix Of Spain, Spanish El Fnix De Espaa born Nov. 25, 1562, Madrid died Aug. 27, 1635, Madrid outstanding dramatist of the Spanish Golden Age, author of as many as 1,800 plays and several hundred shorter dramatic pieces, of which 431 plays and 50 shorter pieces are extant. Additional reading An excellent edition of the works in Spanish is Obras de Lope de Vega, 15 vol. (18901913), supplemented by a new edition with the same title, 13 vol. (191630). Biographical and critical works include C.A. de la Barrera y Leirado, Nueva biografa (1890, reissued in 2 vol., 197374), the first biography of the poet, and the basis for most of the later works; Hugo Albert Rennert, The Life of Lope de Vega (15621635) (1904, reprinted 1968), the classic biographical study and a fundamental source; Joaqun de Entrambasaguas, Estudios sobre Lope de Vega, 3 vol. (194658), a full biography; Francis C. Hayes, Lope de Vega (1967), a general but well-balanced introduction to Vega's life and works, with a good basic bibliography; Alan S. Trueblood, Experience and Artistic Expression in Lope de Vega: The Making of La Dorotea (1974), a study of his genius and the creative process; Donald R. Larson, The Honor Plays of Lope de Vega (1977), an examination of his development as a dramatist; Rudolph Schevill (ed.), The Dramatic Art of Lope de Vega, Together with La Dama Boba (1918, reissued 1964), an excellent treatment of Vega's technique as playwright; Angel Flores, Lope de Vega, Monster of Nature (1930, reprinted 1969), a somewhat popularized treatment of Vega's life and times; and Dian Fox, Refiguring the Hero: From Peasant to Noble in Lope de Vega and Caldern (1991), which demolishes the notion that Vega portrayed a democratic equality between peasants and nobles.