Because the AHCT seeks to foster appreciation and raise awareness of early modern Iberian and Latin American drama, theater, and performance, and because we want to engage the broader public through pedagogy and other forms of outreach, we provide this webpage with links to materials that can be used in elementary, secondary, and university classrooms to introduce students to the Comedia and other early modern Spanish texts.
Scenes from comedias edited for classroom use
These scenes have been edited to include a short introduction, a glossary and/or footnotes to help with difficult vocabulary, and discussion questions. These scenes can be used in Spanish language classrooms for L2 learners, in theater classes in which instructors and students speak some Spanish, and in lower-division college-level literature classes. We hope students will have the opportunity to see a comedia in performance, and these scenes can help prepare them for the experience.
HOW TO USE THESE SCENES IN THE CLASSROOM (SOME SUGGESTIONS):
- Have students look for different grammar concepts they are learning in the scenes. Have them circle examples of present tense, preterit and imperfect, ser and estar, subjunctive, prepositions, etc.
- Choose a scene that is written in the present tense and have the students rewrite it in the past.
- Have the students read one of the scenes and discuss the characters. What are they like? What do they look like? What are their likes and dislikes? Which character would they want to be friends with and why? Who do they know who acts like each of the characters?
- Have the students choose one character and write a story about him or her in Spanish.
- Have the students draw pictures of all the costumes for one of the scenes.
- Have the students draw a set design for one of the scenes.
- Have the students make a list of all the props that would be needed for one of the scenes.
- Divide the class into groups along gender lines. Have them perform a scene for each other with an all-girl or an all-boy cast. Then have them discuss gender norms and expectations.
- Teach the students the difference between consonant and assonant rhyme and have them find examples in the scenes.
- If you teach an advanced Spanish literature class, consider assigning the students to create more scenes for this website.
THE SCENES:
CALDERÓN DE LA BARCA, PEDRO
La vida es sueño – [docx] [pdf]
CERVANTES, MIGUEL DE
El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (a dramatized scene from the novel) – [docx]
[pdf]
TIRSO DE MOLINA (GABRIEL TÉLLEZ):
El burlador de Sevilla – [docx] [pdf]
VEGA CARPIO, LOPE FÉLIX DE
Castelvines y Monteses [docx] [pdf]
Peribánez y el comendador de Ocaña (a scene from Act 1) [docx] [pdf]
Peribánez y el comendador de Ocaña (a scene from Act 3) [docx] [pdf]
Storyboard and/or Comic Book Versions of comedias
These storyboards and comics were prepared to offer illustrated and simplified Spanish or English versions of the plotlines of Spanish classical texts. These versions can help student audience members follow what is happening as they watch the performance of a comedia. Consider having your students create their own comic books based on plot summaries of famous comedias.
THE COMIC BOOKS:
AZEVEDO, ÂNGELA DE
El muerto disimulado
CASTRO Y BELLVIS, GUILLÉN DE:
El Narciso en su opinión
MARCELA DE SAN FÉLIX:
La muerte del apetito (a coloquio espiritual or convent play)
MORETO Y CAVANA, AGUSTÍN:
“El retrato vivo” (an entremés)
ROJAS ZORRILLA, FERNANDO DE:
Donde hay agravios no hay celos, Acto 1
Lo que quería ver el Marqués de Villena, Acto 1
VEGA CARPIO, LOPE FÉLIX DE
El caballero de Olmedo
ZAYAS Y SOTOMAYOR, MARÍA DE
El juez de su causa (a novella from her Novelas amorosas)