The Art of Imitation in Lope's El bastardo Mudarra

Abstract

Lope's El bastardo Mudarra appears at first glance to be a simple reenactment of the historical-legendary material concerning the Siete Infantes de Lara. While this is, without doubt, one of the many levels of the play, other interpretations exist and are equally valid. If we as spectators view the play in light of the Medieval-Renaissance conception of history as a moral account of the world, in which God's purposes were made manifest, then the secular material functions to commemorate an Urform , the greater cosmological epic having to do with the Fall of Man and the Christian themes of temptation, transgression, atonement, salvation and regeneration. Lope's perception of the function of Mudarra in history differs significantly from that of the historical accounts. The dramatist invests the source material with a universal design that is teleologically oriented; thus Mudarra's purpose is not only to finalize the vengeance against Ruy Velázquez and Doña Lambra, but also, and more importantly, to establish a new beginning for Christendom in Spain, and thus for mankind. In this sense, then, the play imitates the greater Providential design at work within the universe.