Lope de Vega y el poder monárquico: una puesta al día

The essay tries to outline the ‘state-of-the-art’ about the relationship between Lope deVega and the contemporary monarchic power. After some early studies merely concerning the politicaltheory present inside the texts, the scholars have started to analyze his historical theater in relation withhis construction of the Spanish Empire mythology, even if only recently some of them have realized thatthis glorification of both the Austrias and the Spanish nobles gets on with Lope’s self-promotionstrategies, in order to obtain an official post at court. On the contrary, some scholars, mainlyAnglosaxon, have tried to interpret his works in a critical and satyrical perspective, without consideringthe necessary contextualization of his theater. The reception theory may help studying this controversialmatter, only if it tries to match in the right way both the historical and cultural context of the authorand the cultural background of the contemporary audience.