Three Major Plays Read Online Free PDF Page A

xvii-xviii.
    -xxi-

seems attributable less to a dishonest intention than to the force of
his passion and a certain lack of foresight. Again, though brave, he
seems to be over-conscious of his good name and reputation, and it is a
fear of possibly being branded a coward which leads him to ignore all
the warnings against venturing forth on the road to Olmedo, and which
therefore leads to his death. In short, the spectacle of an
essentially good man destroyed by flaws in his character which are in
no way evil and a combination of circumstances -- his falling in love
with Inés, which in turn fires the hatred of Rodrigo -- allows us to
feel for him that deep sense of pity demanded by tragedy. The same is
largely true of Inés, for she is an essentially good and beautiful young
woman, yet such is the strength of her feelings for Alonso and her
dislike of Rodrigo, that she engages in a duplicity which, though
understandable in the circumstances, ultimately contributes to Alonso's
death and her own empty future. Lope concluded the play with the words:
'So ends the tragic history of | The Knight from Olmedo' (3.759-60), a
clear enough indication of how he intended his play to be regarded.
    Another much-discussed aspect of the play concerns the time in which
it is set: the reign of Juan II of Castile in the first half of the
fifteenth century. As far as history is concerned, the period from
1420 to 1445 was one in which Juan II constantly faced the threat of
attack from the Infante Enrique of Aragon and King Juan II of Navarre,
and in which Castilian nobles began to support either Juan II of
Castile or his enemies. Throughout this period Medina, one of the two
focal points of the play, was often visited by the Castilian King and
became a centre of support for him, while Olmedo became associated with
support for the Infante of Aragon and the King of Navarre. The outcome
of this rivalry proved to be the first Battle of Olmedo, which took
place in 1445 on the plains between Olmedo and Medina.
    In The Knight from Olmedo Lope emphasizes the fact that Alonso's
presence distinguished the marriage celebrations of Juan II of Castile
(1.688-700), which points, perhaps, to the fact that Alonso, unlike
most people from Olmedo, was a supporter of the Castilian King.
Indeed, in the course of the play Alonso travels from Olmedo to Medina
specifically in order to pay homage to him, as the Constable indicates:
'He comes to | The fiesta, I believe, intent | On serving you'
(2.604-6). And the King, in turn, thinks highly of Alonso's
    -xxii-

loyalty, bravery, and sense of honour. It has been suggested,
therefore, that Lope clearly wished to establish a link between Alonso
and the King in terms of those particular qualities. 18 The argument has also been advanced that the envy and jealousy of
Rodrigo towards Alonso, the principal source of which is the latter's
love for Inés, are further fanned by the very fact that Alonso comes
from Olmedo, which was traditionally hostile to Juan II of Castile. In
these circumstances it would be particularly galling for Rodrigo to
discover that Alonso has not only stolen the affections of Inés, but
has also been favoured and honoured by the King. In short, Lope has
placed the traditional story of a knight from Olmedo murdered by an
enemy from Medina in the context of the historical rivalry between the
two towns, accounts of which he would have found in various
chronicles of the time. Although the historical background to the play
is neither as extensive nor as crucially important as that of Fuente Ovejuna, it nevertheless serves to link the various elements of the plot, as
well as to highlight particular themes -- honour, loyalty to the King,
political divisions -- which were just as relevant to the Spain in
which Lope lived.
    As far as
characterization is concerned, Alonso is to some extent a stereotype
-- the traditional lover, noble, dashing, good-looking, and