Narciso Serra (24 February 1830 - 26 September 1877) was a Spanish poet and dramatist.

Life

Narciso Saénz Díez Serra was born in Madrid. According to his birth registration he was the son of the businessman Alejandro Saénz Díez and his future wife, Carlota María Petra Serra Ortega. His paternity is widely ascribed to the soldier-writer

Antonio Ros de Olano Antonio José Teodoro Ros de Olano y Perpiñá (9 November 1808 – 24 July 1886) was a Spanish writer, politician and military officer who served in the First Carlist War and the Spanish–Moroccan War. Biography Born in Caracas, Captaincy ...

, however. After he grew up Narciso Serra decided to dispense with his paternal surname which, under Spanish naming conventions, would otherwise have been included as part of his own full name. He published his first comedy, "Mi mamá" (''"My Mum"'') in 1848. The play had its stage premier the same year and achieved success with audiences, although Serra did not succeed in establishing his own theatre company. It was also in 1848 that he published a volume of lyric poetry. As a young man he served in the army,Pascual, Pedro; Martínez Pascual (1994). Escritores y editores en la Restauración canovista, 1875-1923 2. Ediciones de la Torre. . ending up as a cavalry officer. Serra participated in the Spanish Revolution of 1854 joining the generals Dulce, Ros de Olano and O'Donnell on 28 June 1854. He was wounded in the action against royalist troops at Vicálvaro. Subsequently, during the years of uneasy truce between the parties that began in 1856, he was rewarded by

Queen Isabela II Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successio ...

with a military promotion. The next year he was made a "Knight of Isabella the Catholic". In 1859, having reached the rank of a cavalry officer, he applied for and was granted an absolute discharge from the army. The cause was a progressive paralysis, attributed in some sources to a "brain ailment" (''"dolencia de cerebro"''). The circle of his theatrical friends included

Juan Eugenio Hartzenbusch Juan Eugenio Hartzenbusch (6 September 1806 – 2 August 1880) was a Spanish dramatist. He was the Director of the National Library of Spain until he retired in 1875. Biography Hartzenbusch was born in Madrid, Spain. His father was a German furni ...

Julián Romea Julián Romea Yanguas (Murcia, February 16, 1813Loeches, August 10, 1868) was a Spanish theater actor and writer. He heads a theatrical dynasty that also includes his nephew Julián Romea Parra and his son Alberto Romea Catalina. Biography B ...

and

Francisco Camprodón Francisco Camprodón y Safont (4 March 1816 – 16 August 1870) was a Spanish playwright, poet, politician and librettist, originally from Catalonia. Biography Provenance and early years Francisco Camprodón was born in Vic Vic (; es, ...

. As a young man he became known for a somewhat "Bohemian" lifestyle, known as a reveller with a weakness for women and gambling. In November 1861 he suffered an attack of Hemiparesis, apparently in the context of some degenerative condition, which left the left side of his body paralysed. Florencio Moreno Godino wrote in 1895 that "his whole body was paralysed except for the head and the right arm" (''"quedóse paralítico de todo el cuerpo, excepción hecha de la cabeza y del brazo derecho"''). He was confined to a wheel chair. None of this prevented him from continuing to publish, however.Gies, David Thatcher (1996) The Theatre in Nineteenth-Century Spain. Cambridge University Press. He now entered government service, obtaining a ministry job. In 1864 he was elected to the position of theatre censor, a post from which he resigned in November 1866. He was reappointed in January 1867 and continued in post till censorship was abolished as part of the "Glorious Revolution" in 1868. Serra's financial situation deteriorated after 1868 and he died in relative poverty on 26 September 1877. His funeral took place at Madrid's Sacramental de Santa María (cemetery) during a day of heavy rain. Madrileños in attendance from the world of the arts included

José Zorrilla José Zorrilla y Moral () was a Spanish poet and dramatist, who became National Laureate. Biography Zorrilla was born in Valladolid to a magistrate in whom Ferdinand VII placed special confidence. He was educated by the Jesuits at the Real Se ...

Ramón de Campoamor y Campoosorio Ramón María de las Mercedes de Campoamor y Campoosorio (September 24, 1817 – February 11, 1901), known as Ramón de Campoamor, was a Spanish realist poet and philosopher. Life He was born at Navia ( Asturias) on September 24, 1817. Aband ...

José Echegaray José Echegaray y Eizaguirre (19 April 183214 September 1916) was a Spanish civil engineer, mathematician, statesman, and one of the leading Spanish dramatists of the last quarter of the 19th century. He was awarded the 1904 Nobel Prize in Lit ...

, Cecilia Francisca Josefa Böhl de Faber (Fernán Caballero) and

Eusebio Blasco Eusebio Blasco Soler (1844–1903) was a Spanish journalist, poet and playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, ...

. On 24 February 1878 the city council named a street after him, the "calle de Narciso Serra", in Madrid's Pacífico quarter.

Works

Evaluated in the context of the

Alta comedia Alta or ALTA may refer to: Acronyms * Alt-A, short for Alternative A-paper, is a type of U.S. mortgage * American Land Title Association, a national trade association representing the land title industry * American Literary Translators Associatio ...

tradition, which peaked during the third quarter of the nineteenth century, at least one commentator believes that Serra is among those who have been "unjustifiably forgotten", although while he was alive, at the height of his career, he enjoyed prestige and success. He collaborated with writers such as Miguel Pastorfido and Salvador María Granés and also, between 1848 and 1854, trod the boards as an actor. His dramatic output received positive reviews from writers such as

Juan Valera y Alcalá-Galiano Juan Valera y Alcalá-Galiano (18 October 1824 – 18 April 1905), was a Spanish realist author, diplomat, and politician. Life He was born at Cabra, in the province of Córdoba, and was educated at Málaga and at the University of Granada, w ...

and Francisco Miquel y Badía. His plays include "La boda de Quevedo" (''"The marriage of Quevedo"'') and "Don Tomás o El loco de la guardilla" (''loosely "Don Thomas or the crazy guardsman"'').

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Serra, Narciso 19th-century Spanish dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Spanish poets 19th-century male writers Writers from Madrid 1830 births 1877 deaths