Damaso Luis Martínez Eguílaz y Eguílaz (20 August 1830 – 22 July 1874) was a Spanish writer and dramatist, father of playwright Rosa de Eguílaz y Renart.

Biography

Luis de Eguílaz was a disciple of the humanist and unfrocked friar Juan María Capitán. He found his dramatic vocation early; at age 14 he premiered the one-act comedy ''Por dinero baila el perro'' in

Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera () or simply Jerez, also cited in old English-language sources as , is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Sp ...

. He studied law in Madrid and began his literary career with a critical study of the novel ''Clemencia'' by

Fernán Caballero Fernán Caballero (24 December 1796 – 7 April 1877) was the pseudonym of Spanish novelist Cecilia Francisca Josefa Böhl de Faber y Ruiz de Larrea. She was daughter of German writer Johann Nikolaus Böhl von Faber and Spanish writer Frasqui ...

. He sometimes used the pseudonym ''El Licenciado Escribe'' (the graduate writer), a play on the name of the famous French dramatist

Eugène Scribe Augustin Eugène Scribe (; 24 December 179120 February 1861) was a French dramatist and librettist. He is known for writing "well-made plays" ("pièces bien faites"), a mainstay of popular theatre for over 100 years, and as the librettist of man ...

. In court he defended Eugenio de Ochoa, the man of letters and illegitimate son of . Thanks to him, Eguílaz was able to release his first serious work, ''Verdades amargas'', in 1853, the success of which placed him among the most popular authors of the time. In the last years of his life he directed the National Historical Archive. He died on 22 July 1874 in his home on San Agustín Street in Madrid, and was buried in the . The news greatly affected

Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo (; 3 November 1856 – 19 May 1912) was a Spanish scholar, historian and literary critic. Even though his main interest was the history of ideas, and Hispanic philology in general, he also cultivated poetry, transl ...

, who was spending that summer in Santander, and composed a poem in Eguílaz's memory dated 5 August 1874. There is an oil portrait of Luis de Eguílaz in the Ateneo de Sanlúcar de Barrameda.

Works

Luis de Eguílaz's dramatic works are vigorously conceived, with well-defined characters, but have an excessive and perhaps inflexible lyricism. His theater is that of traditionalist ideology, and indoctrinates through the procedures of ''

costumbrismo ''Costumbrismo'' (in Catalan: ''costumisme''; sometimes anglicized as costumbrism, with the adjectival form costumbrist) is the literary or pictorial interpretation of local everyday life, mannerisms, and customs, primarily in the Hispanic sce ...

''. His works can be divided into three groups: # Semi-historical works with lyrical features, such as ''Las querellas del rey Sabio'' (1858), where he utilizes a good imitation of the medieval ''fabla''; ''El patriarca del Turia'' (1874), in which he refers to the writer ; ''La vaquera de la Finojosa'' (1874), inspired by the famous

serranilla A serranilla is a genre of short poem in Spanish literature which focus on commonplace subjects, the best known authors of which were Juan Ruiz also known as the Arcipreste de Hita (''Por la ruta serrana del Arcipreste'') and Íñigo López de Men ...

Íñigo López de Mendoza Inigo is a masculine given name deriving from the Castilian rendering (Íñigo) of the medieval Basque name Eneko. Ultimately, the name means "my little (man)". While mostly seen among the Iberian diaspora, it also gained a limited popularity ...

; ''El caballero del milagro'', where he dramatizes the life of the baroque writer

Agustín de Rojas Villandrando Agustín de Rojas Villandrando (August 1572 – c. 1618) was a Spanish writer and actor. Early years Rojas Villandrando was born in Madrid. He served as a soldier in France and was a prisoner in La Rochelle. He was persecuted in Italy for killi ...

; ''Los dos camaradas'', in which

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( ; ; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelist ...

and

John of Austria John of Austria (, ; 24 February 1547 – 1 October 1578) was the illegitimate son of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Charles V recognized him in a codicil to his will. John became a military leader in the service of his half-brother, King Phi ...

are the main characters; ''Miguel de Cervantes'', the first part of which was left without an ending by at his death, which Eguílaz finished and added a dramatic one-act

proem __NOTOC__ A preface () or proem () is an introduction to a book or other literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a ''foreword'' and precedes an author's preface. The preface often closes ...

titled "Un hallazgo literario" which explains the genesis of the work; ''Alarcón'' (1853), about the Mexican playwright

Juan Ruiz de Alarcón Juan Ruiz de Alarcón (c. 1581 – 4 August 1639) was a New Spain, New Spanish writer of the Spanish Golden Age, Golden Age who cultivated different variants of dramaturgy. His works include the comedy ''La verdad sospechosa'' (:es:La verdad so ...

; ''Una aventura de Tirso'' (1855), about the celebrated comedy writer Gabriel Téllez; ''Una broma de Quevedo''; ''Cuando ahorcaron a Quevedo''; ''Lope de Rueda''; etc. # Works of moralizing and practical tenor, such as ''Mentiras dulces'' (1859), ''Verdades amargas'' (1853), ''Los soldados de plomo'' (1865), ''La cruz del matrimonio'' (1860; his greatest success), ''Grazalema'', ''Quiero y no puedo'', ''La vida de Juan Soldado'', etc. #

Zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name o ...

librettos: ''El salto del pasiego'' (1878; posthumous, with music by

Manuel Fernández Caballero Manuel Fernández Caballero (Murcia, 14 March 1835 – Madrid, 26 February 1906) was a Spanish composer, notably of zarzuelas. His works were seminal works in the young Género chico form of zarzuela. The success of ''Los bandos de villafri ...

), ''El molinero de Subiza'' (1870; music by

Cristóbal Oudrid Cristóbal (Carlos Domingo Romualdo y Ricardo) Oudrid y Segura (, 7 February 1825 – 13 March 1877) was a Spanish pianist, conductor, and composer. He is noted for his many contributions to the formation and development of the zarzuela ge ...

, undoubtedly his greatest success in this genre), ''El esclavo'' (1857), etc.

Biography

Works

Notes

References

Further reading