When analyzing dramatic works, it is often quite difficult to retell their summary. “Dog in the Hay”, despite the apparent simplicity and straightforwardness of the plot, nevertheless, has a serious and deep subtext, which is not as clear as it might seem at first reading. The fact is that in his famous and already cult play Lope de Vega showed his readers not only an easy and uncomplicated love story, but also reflected the most important social problems of his time.
Features of the author
The main principles of the playwright’s mastery can be traced by analyzing his main plays and their brief content. “Dog in the Hay” in this respect is the best example for criticism and literary analysis.
The writer and playwright became famous for creating works in the classical genre of "cloak and epee", which was so popular in European countries of early modern times. Many writers and poets wrote in this style, but it was Lope de Vega who became his recognized master. This, in the end, brought him world fame and glory. A light, elegant syllable, a laid-back narration, a dynamic and famously twisted plot made de Vega's works known to the whole world.
Another reason for the playwright's popularity is the light, elegant, but most importantly, witty dialogs that convey additional liveliness and dynamism to the development of the narrative. The above features are especially clearly manifested in the play under consideration, which became so popular that it was even filmed.
Plot
Features of the composition of the work in question can be traced, analyzing its summary. “Dog in the Hay” begins with a seemingly very minor incident, which, however, according to the canon of the genre, turned out to be sufficient for the whole intrigue.
The main character - the secretary of the proud Countess Diana - Theodoro, along with his comrade Tristan, enters the mansion on a date with her maid Marcela, but the hostess finds out about his visit and begins to be jealous of a handsome and intelligent young man. It turns out that she herself is in love with him, but class arrogance prevents her from overcoming class prejudices.
The development of the action is dedicated to the disclosure of the emotional experiences of the heroine, who literally rushes between her pride and a sense of love. It either gives the young man hope for reciprocity, then rejects it.
Pissed off, Theodoro begins to look after Marcela again, which annoys Diana even more. Finally, the main character decides to go to foreign lands in order to seek happiness away from his cruel lover, but at this critical moment he is literally saved by Tristan, who found him a rich and noble “father”. The play ends with a happy ending, as befits works of a similar genre.
main characters
A consistent description of the heroes of the work is necessary to continue its brief content. “Dog in the Hay” is a typical example of the play of the “cloak and sword” genre, however, the original image of the characters, their humorous interpretation, and most importantly, the humanistic meaning of their images ensured immortal fame to de Vega.
At first glance, the arrangement of heroes is quite typical for comedies of this kind. The author traditionally contrasts serious personalities with comedic characters. Theodoro and Diana primarily belong to the first category, although elements of comicism slip in the image of the latter. But unconditionally comedic is the hero Tristan, the servant of the countess, the rogue and the cunning, who, thanks to his dexterity and agility, helps the protagonist.
Minor Characters
“Dog in the Hay”, the summary of which is the subject of this review, was built according to the classic rules of the 17th century comedy. So, the image of the Countess's maid is quite traditional: the girl, according to the canon, as it were, sets off the main, main love line.
The author also brought out two fans of the main character - Count Frederico and the Marquis of Ricardo, who do not disdain anything and are even ready to kill, only to eliminate the unwanted opponent. These heroes typical of the Spanish comedy, however, are so vividly outlined that they survived their time. The fact is that de Vega often used elements of folklore in his works, focusing on folk works, songs, mores and customs, which allowed him to overcome the literary conventions and canonical framework of the story.
In this regard, the most successful is the image of Tristan - a simple person from the people who, having a sober and clear mind, often literally saves the situation in favor of his master.
Countess image
“Dog in the Hay,” a brief summary of which is interesting in that it summarizes the writer's skill in revealing the intrigues and characteristics of the characters, represents a whole gallery of colorful representatives of the contemporary author of the era.
First of all, the reader’s attention, of course, is attracted by the image of Countess Belflor, which means “beautiful flower”. Indeed, Diana is unusually beautiful, she has many fans, whom she, however, almost leaves no hope of reciprocity. The young woman is extremely proud, arrogant, class prejudices and aristocratic arrogance speak very loudly in her. And nevertheless, she immediately, literally from the very first lines, causes sincere sympathy among readers. What is the reason for this paradox?
Character
All this thanks to the undoubted mastery of the psychological image of the characters for which Lope de Vega is famous. “Dog in the Hay”, the brief content of which allows revealing the main features in the characters of the characters, attracts readers' attention, first of all, with its humanistic pathos. This can be seen in the evolution of the image of Diana. Despite her pride and arrogance, the countess is nonetheless honest with herself and her conscience.
According to monologues, we see how strong the emotional torment of the heroine is due to the fact that, due to her nobility and generosity, she cannot afford to combine her fate with the person she loves. For this, the reader is ready to forgive a lot for her: both daring antics, and mocking attacks on Theodoro, Marcela and Tristan, and even her naive deception.
The writer has created, perhaps, one of the most colorful images in world literature. His heroine is a passionate woman by nature, cruel in her love, but she has generosity and nobleness of soul.
Theodoro
The play “Dog in the Hay” presents the reader with a whole galaxy of colorful characters. A brief summary of the chapters of this essay should be continued with a description of the protagonist, the secretary of the countess - an intelligent, educated, but not noble young man who has made his way in life exclusively by his hard work, talent and zeal.
This character is a traditional type of hero who, despite his simple origin, behaves honestly, noble and straightforward. His inner world is no less interesting than the experiences of the countess. He is as proud as she is, he is also afraid of his feelings, because he says, by his own admission, a kind of pride of the poor who does not want to use the grace of a rich lady.
Tristan
A summary of Vega's comedy “A Dog in the Hay” involves the disclosure of another important character - the friend of the protagonist and the servant of the countess. Tristan is a true embodiment of folk humor, optimism and sanity. Romantic passages and sentimental reasoning are completely uncharacteristic of him, and he confronts the main characters with this character trait, bringing a significant share of humor and irony to the plot. It is thanks to him that the play ends with a happy ending. Theodoro also owes his life to him: after all, none other than Tristan saved him from the intrigues of Diana's fans who decided to kill the young and talented secretary as soon as they noticed the countess's favor for him.
Marcela
The summary of the book “Dog in the Hay” is inconceivable without the analysis of the Countess’s servant Marcela. And although this girl does not play as important a role in the development of the plot as Tristan, nevertheless, she is typically a work of this genre, when comedic characters are traditionally opposed to a romantic couple.
This is exactly what Marcela is. She is jealous, quick-tempered, but despite these qualities in her character, she becomes the object of Teodoro's love interest. She is attractive to the reader with her mocking character, quickness and liveliness. However, such character traits are probably inherent in every maid in plays of this kind.
Earl and Marquis
Talking about the play "Dog in the Hay" by De Vega Lope, the brief content of the work cannot miss the images of secondary heroes, fans of Diana - Count Frederico and Marquis Ricardo. They are interesting in that the author embodied in them typical for his time traits of representatives of the so-called blue blood. These spoiled, arrogant, proud nobles who do not disdain anything to achieve their goal. Thus, Lope de Vega ridiculed the vices of high society, boldly choosing a traditional love story and easy intrigue for his attacks.
The meaning of the play: reviews from critics
We hope that you will be able to get an idea about the work of the para-story of the play “Dog in the Hay” (summary). Reviews about it are enthusiastic and testify to the author’s skill in building the composition and plot. The aforementioned title was rightfully included in the golden fund of world literature, thanks to its humanistic pathos, which was generally characteristic of the author’s works.
The playwright was also praised by his contemporary Cervantes, who noted the great importance of the compositions of Lope de Vega for the development of the Spanish national theater. Leading literary scholars and critics (K. Derzhavin, Z. Plavskin and others) in their reviews and reviews primarily indicate that the humanistic meaning of the composition lies in the ability of love to overcome class prejudices. They also draw attention to the fact that the ideal form of constructing a play has become an important stage in the development of Spanish literature and theater.