Notes on the theater of Cervantes and his Numancia: from denigrated to innovative

Abstract

Why has Cervantes' theater gone unrecognized, even denigrated at certain times, until well into the twentieth century? What were the characteristics of that first Cervantes' theater (1581-1586), specifically of Numancia, and where has his work been placed among contemporary critics? Through an exhaustive bibliographical review of relevant sources, a set of answers will be organized around several themes: the first references to Cervantes' theater, the first academic studies, his place in Renaissance tragedy, his distancing from Aristotelian postulates, his approach to Seneca's tragedy, and finally, some notes on the innovative character of Numancia.