BRETON DE LOS HERREROS, MANUEL (17961873)

This article appears in Volume V04, Page 502 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: BOS-BRI

BRETON DE LOS HERREROS, MANUEL (17961873) , Spanish dramatist, was born at Quel (Logrono) on the 19;.h of December 1796 and was educated at Madrid. Enlisting on the 24th of May 1812, he served against the French in Valencia and Catalonia, and retired with the rank of corporal on the 8th of

March

1822. 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. His first piece, A la vcjez viruelas, was produced on the 14th of October 1824, and proved the writer to be the legitimate successor of the younger Moratin. His industry was astonishing: between October 1824 and November 1828, he composed thirty-nine plays, six of them

original

ORIGINAL

, the rest being translations or recasts of classic master-pieces. In 1831 he published a

translation

TRANSLATION

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

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

of successes. His only serious check occurred in 1840; the former liberal had grown conservative with age, and in La Ponchada he 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 America; but the

storm

blew over, and within two years Bret6n de los Herreros had regained his supremacy on the stage. He became secretary to the Spanish

Academy

ACADEMY, GREEK
ACADEMY, ROYAL

, quarrelled with his fellow-members, and died at Madrid on the 8th of November 1873. He is the author of some three hundred and sixty

original

ORIGINAL

plays, twenty-three of which are in

prose

PROSE

. No 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. Marcela o a cual de los iris? (1831), Muerete; y vends! (1837) and La Escuela del matrimonio (1852) still hold the stage, and are likely to hold it so long as Spanish is spoken.
See Marques de Molfns,

Breton

BRETON,
BRITTON
- BRITTON
- BRITTON, JOHN (1771–1857)
BRETON, JULES ADOLPHE

de los Herreros, recuerdos de su vida y de sus obras (Madrid, 1883) ; Obras de

Breton

BRITTON
- BRITTON
- BRITTON, JOHN (1771–1857)
.html">BRETON, BRITTON
BRETON, JULES ADOLPHE

de Herreros (5 vols., Madrid, 1883) ; E. Pineyro, El Romanticismo en Espana (Paris, 1904). (J. F.-K.)

End of Article: BRETON DE LOS HERREROS, MANUEL (17961873)

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/BOS_BRI/BRETON_DE_LOS_HERREROS_MANUEL_.html">
BRETON DE LOS HERREROS, MANUEL (17961873)
</a>

(Previous)
BRETEUIL, LOUIS CHARLES AUGUSTE LE TONNELIER, B...

(Next)
BRETON, BRITTON

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email