The Spanish comedia nueva was one of the most popular theatrical genres in the seventeenth-century Low Countries. The adaptations of these plays were performed in Dutch and Flemish theatres. This... Show moreThe Spanish comedia nueva was one of the most popular theatrical genres in the seventeenth-century Low Countries. The adaptations of these plays were performed in Dutch and Flemish theatres. This study aimed to explain the popularity of this genre. The conclusion is that the emotional effects were responsible for the popularity of these plays that were translated from Spanish. These tragicomedies by Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio and Pedro Calderón de la Barca offered a drastic alternative for the emotional prescriptions found in the oeuvre of Jacob Cats, Joost van den Vondel, and Pieter Cornelisz Hooft. This way, comedia nueva offered Dutch and Flemish spectators a refuge from emotional and social expectations. Show less
In this article, the two parallel adaptations in Dutch of Calderón’s El mayor encanto, amor are discussed for their textual and scenographic changes. The first adaptation is the mythical play Ulyss...Show moreIn this article, the two parallel adaptations in Dutch of Calderón’s El mayor encanto, amor are discussed for their textual and scenographic changes. The first adaptation is the mythical play Ulysses in’t eylandt van Circe by the playwright Claude de Grieck, published in Brussels in 1668. The tragedy De toveres Circe is the second adaptation. It was translated by the playwright Adriaen Bastiaensz de Leeuw in Amsterdam in 1670. The main argument of this article is that the Dutch authors changed theatrical and scenographic elements of the original by Calderón on the basis of the Italian opera Ulisse all’isola di Circe (performed in Brussels in 1650 and another time in 1655) by the Italian composer Gioseffo Zamponi on the one hand, and the horrific tragedy Medea by the Dutch playwright Jan Vos on the other hand. Therefore, this article proposes that El mayor encanto, amor by Calderón was disseminated differently in Brussels than in Amsterdam with regards to the emotional effects, the scenography of both works and the ideas about an adequate poetics to move the spectators. Show less
The articles included in the present issue of the Journal of the LUCAS Graduate Conference, titled Animals (Un)tamed. Human–Animal Encounters in Science, Art, and Literature, are the result of the... Show moreThe articles included in the present issue of the Journal of the LUCAS Graduate Conference, titled Animals (Un)tamed. Human–Animal Encounters in Science, Art, and Literature, are the result of the diverse and interdisciplinary research on our multifaceted relationship with animals which is currently taking place. The fifth biennial LUCAS Graduate Conference, held in April 2019, shared this same theme. This conference on “Animals: Theory, Practice, and Representation” gave PhD and Master students the opportunity to present, exchange and discuss their research relating to animal studies with participants from diverse backgrounds. The resulting exchange focused on a re-examination of the relationship between humans and animals, and the definitions involved. Many of the articles in the present issue are result of the lively debate which took place during this conference. The contributions to this issue of JLGC reflect the wide variety of approaches in animal studies. Show less
The two parallel adaptations of Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s El mayor encanto, amor, a retelling of Circe’s and Ulysses’ story from Homer’s Odyssey, put animals onstage. However, the animals were... Show moreThe two parallel adaptations of Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s El mayor encanto, amor, a retelling of Circe’s and Ulysses’ story from Homer’s Odyssey, put animals onstage. However, the animals were certainly not all live animals, for the lions, bears, and tigers that feature in the two adaptations were too dangerous. Therefore, actors performed some animals via costumes. The article considers not only how this was a practical solution, but also how the costumes reflected the transformations that Circe performed on the Greek crewmen accompanying Ulysses. The transformations were incomplete, since even as animals the crewmen retained their ability to reason and, in some cases, even their speech. As such, the plays challenged the early modern understanding of animals as creatures without reason, solely led by their natural impulses. In their animal appearances, they failed to communicate with the human characters, but remained intelligible to the audience, disrupting the fiction of the play. Thus, the adaptations of El mayor encanto, amor questioned whether humans and animals are all that different. Show less
In the seventeenth-century Netherlands, drama and politics were interwoven with one another. This was also the case with the controversial morality and allegorical play Tieranny van Eigenbaat ... Show moreIn the seventeenth-century Netherlands, drama and politics were interwoven with one another. This was also the case with the controversial morality and allegorical play Tieranny van Eigenbaat (Tyranny of Egoism, 1679), which opposed the House of Orange, and especially William III, Stadtholder of the Netherlands and King of England (who was, according to the writers of the play, a true example of uncontrolled egoism). Although the main character Eigenbaat (Egoism) disguises himself as a warrior woman (an Amazon) to seize power, his cross-dressing has not been discussed in relation to rumors surrounding William’s alleged sexual preferences. By “reading against the grain,” this article discusses the so-called fault lines, where the characters display same-gender passions for each other. The article focusses on two examples of such relationships: Egoism, who seduces Lady Will, while in female disguise, and the intimate nature of Egoism’s relationship with his male servant and slave, Vice. As such, the article offers an elaboration on the thesis that Tieranny van Eigenbaat was used by the republican authorities of Amsterdam as a propaganda play to discredit William III for rule, as well as his offspring. Show less
