Manuel Bretón de los Herreros (19 December 17968 November 1873) was a Spanish

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...

Biography

He was born in Quel (

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), and was educated at

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. Enlisting on 24 May 1812, he served against the French in

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and

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, and retired with the rank of corporal on 8 March 1822. He lost his left eye in a duel he held in 1818 in

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. He obtained a minor post in the civil service under the liberal government, and on his discharge determined to earn his living by writing for the stage. This cites: * Marqués de Molíns, ''Bretón de los Herreros, recuerdos de su vida y de sus obras'' (Madrid, 1883) * ''Obras de Bretón de Herreros'' (5 vols., Madrid, 1883) * E. Piñeyro, ''El Romanticismo en España'' (Paris, 1904) His first piece, ''Á la vejez viruelas'', was produced on 4 October 1824, and proved the writer to be the legitimate successor of the younger Moratín. His industry was astonishing: between October 1824 and November 1828, he composed thirty-nine plays, six of them original, the rest being translations or recasts of classic masterpieces. In 1831, he published a translation of

Tibullus Albius Tibullus ( BC BC) was a Latin poet and writer of elegies. His first and second books of poetry are extant; many other texts attributed to him are of questionable origins. Little is known about the life of Tibullus. There are only a few r ...

, and acquired by it an unmerited reputation for scholarship which secured for him an appointment as sub-librarian at the

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. But the theatre claimed him for its own, and with the exception of ''Elena'' and a few other pieces in the fashionable romantic vein, his plays were a long series of successes. His only serious check occurred in 1840; the formerly more liberal government had grown conservative, and when in ''La Ponchada'' the author ridiculed the National Guard. He was dismissed from the national library, and for a short time was so unpopular that he seriously thought of emigrating to

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; but the storm blew over, and within two years Bretón de los Herreros had regained his supremacy on the stage. He became secretary to the

Royal Spanish Academy The Royal Spanish Academy (, ; ) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with national language academies in 22 other Hispanophon ...

, quarrelled with his fellow-members, and died at Madrid. He is the author of some 360 original plays, twenty-three of which are in prose.

Legacy

According to the ''

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'', " Spanish dramatist of the nineteenth century approaches him in comic power, in festive invention, and in the humorous presentation of character, while his metrical dexterity is unique. that ''Marcela, o ¿a cuál de los tres?'' (1831), ''Muérete y verás!'' (1837) and ''La Escuela del matrimonio'' (1852) still hold the stage s of 1911 and are likely to hold it so long as Spanish is spoken". The Theatre of Bretón de los Herreros in

is named after him.

Selected works

*''A la vejez, viruelas'' (1817) (In Old Age, Chickenpox) *''Los dos sobrinos o la escuela de los parientes'' (1825) *''A Madrid me vuelvo'' (1828) *''El ensayo'' (1828) *''El rival de sí mismo'' (1828) *''El ingenuo'' (1828) *''El templo de Himeneo'' (1829) *''Achaques a los vicios'' (1830) *''La sorpresa'' (1830) *''La falsa ilustración'' (1830) *''Marcela o ¿a cuál de los tres?'' (1831) *''Elena'' (1834) *''Todo es farsa en este mundo'' (1835) *''Me voy de Madrid'' (1836) *''La redacción de un periódico'' (1836) *''Muérete, ¡y verás!'' (1837) *''Don Fernando el Emplazado'' (1837) *''Vellido Dolfos'' (1839) *''El pelo de la dehesa'' (1840) *''La Ponchada'' (1840) *''Don Frutos en Belchite'' (1845) *''El valor de la mujer'' (1852) *''La escuela del matrimonio'' (1852) *''La niña del mostrador'' (1854) *''Al pie de la letra'' (1855) *''El abogado de pobres'' (1866) *''Los sentidos corporales'' (1867)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Breton De Los Herreros, Manuel 1796 births 1873 deaths Spanish male dramatists and playwrights Spanish reporters and correspondents Spanish literary critics Spanish poets Members of the Royal Spanish Academy Spanish male poets 19th-century Spanish poets 19th-century Spanish dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Spanish male writers Spanish duellists