Visions of the New World in the Drama of Lope de Vega

This study examines Lope de Vega's three extant plays concerning Spain's activity in America in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries with the intention of revealing the dramatist's thought concerning his nation's overseas enterprise and his attitudes toward the conquerors and natives of America. To determine Lope's opinions, the author has compared each play with its sources, showing where the dramatist has followed his sources and where he has departed from them. Lope's attitudes are most probably perceived when he departs from information offered by his sources.