Leandro Fernández de Moratín (; 10 March 1760 – 21 June 1828) was a Spanish dramatist, translator and neoclassical poet.

Biography

Moratín was born in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

the son of Nicolás Fernández de Moratín, a major literary reformer in Spain from 1762 until his death in 1828. Distrusting the teaching offered in Spain's universities at the time, Leandro grew up in the rich literary environment of his father and became an admirer of Enlightenment thought. In addition to translating works of

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

and

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

into Spanish, he himself was a major poet, dramatist and man of letters whose writings promoted the reformist ideas associated with the

Spanish Enlightenment The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment ( es, Ilustración) came to Spain in the 18th century with the new Bourbon dynasty, following the death of the last Habsburg monarch, Charles II, in 1700. The period of reform and 'enlightened despotism' un ...

. Early in his career, he was supported by statesman and author

Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos (born Gaspar Melchor de Jove y Llanos, 5 January 1744 – 27 November 1811) was a Spanish neoclassical statesman, author, philosopher and a major figure of the Age of Enlightenment in Spain. Life and influence of ...

, who, in 1787, arranged for him to study for a year in Paris. In 1792, the Spanish government provided the funds for him to travel to England in order to extend his education. In 1790 he published his first comedy ''El viejo y la niña'' (''The Old Man and the Young Girl''), a sombre work which attacked the consequences of arranged marriages between people of differing ages. Two years later, in 1792, he wrote the play ''La comedia nueva'' (''The New Comedy''), a dramatic attack on the extravagant plots used by other contemporary playwrights. A

supporter In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up. Early forms of supporters are found in medieval seals. However, unlike the coro ...

Joseph Bonaparte it, Giuseppe-Napoleone Buonaparte es, José Napoleón Bonaparte , house = Bonaparte , father = Carlo Buonaparte , mother = Letizia Ramolino , birth_date = 7 January 1768 , birth_place = Corte, Corsica, Republic ...

, whose rule had allowed far more expression of liberal thinking than Spain's Bourbon monarch Carlos IV was willing to tolerate, Moratín was given the post of royal librarian. However, his 1805 comedy ''

El sí de las niñas ''The Maidens' Consent'' ( es, El sí de las niñas ) is a play by the Spanish playwright Leandro Fernández de Moratín. It was written in 1801 and first performed in 1806. The play is a satirical commentary on Spanish social norms of the time a ...

'' (''The Maidens' Consent'') was denounced upon the reinstatement of the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

when Ferdinand VII regained the throne after the fall of the Bonapartes, and he had to abandon playwriting and was forced into exile in France. Moratín died in Paris and was buried there in the

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (french: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise ; formerly , "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (). With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figure ...

. However, at the turn of the 20th century, his remains were brought back to Spain for interment in Madrid's '' Panteón de Hombres Ilustres'' (''Pantheon of Illustrious Men'').

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez De Moratin, Leandro 1760 births 1828 deaths Writers from Madrid Spanish dramatists and playwrights Spanish male dramatists and playwrights 18th-century Spanish poets Afrancesados Age of Enlightenment Members of the Royal Spanish Academy Translators to Spanish Royal Order of Spain members Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Spanish male poets 18th-century male writers