The Knight of Olmedo

Spanish classical theater is very rich and a good proof of this is this full summary of El Caballero de Olmedo, which we meet in this lesson from a TEACHER. Thus, we make an approach to a novel baroque tragicomedy of the great writer Felix Lope de Vega. However, beyond the usual of the time, the author reflects in this text a somewhat dramatic scheme daring that serves to reflect very classic problems of the time, such as love and the ideals of the people.

To do this, we observe three common characters, which are the handsome knight protagonist, an example of courage and honesty, the beautiful lady who has very high love feelings, and the gallant's servant, who is usually counselor and funny, although not always well-intentioned. Let's see how the adventures of this classic scheme unfold.

Index

1. The Knight of Olmedo - Act I: Summary
2. Summary of El Caballero de Olmedo. Act ii
3. Act III of the Knight of Olmedo
4. More details about El Caballero de Olmedo

He already takes paper and pencil, which begins here the complete summary of El Caballero de Olmedo, starting in Act I. The play tells the story of Don Alonso, a nobleman from Olmedo who travels to the Medina fair in the company of his faithful servant, Tello.

Along the way, Don Alonso falls surrendered by the charms of a lady dressed as a farmer, Doña Inés. So, to get love from him, he hires Fabia, a pimp, who delivers a love letter to the lady.

In this other lesson we will discover the main and minor characters of the Knight of Olmedo.

Image: Slidehsar

We continue with the complete summary of El Caballero de Olmedo and we now focus on its development.

It is Fabia who delivers the letter to Doña Inés, with the excuse of being a cosmetics saleswoman. However, in the meantime, Don Rodrigo, his fiancée, appears along with his friend Don Fernando. Fabia gets Doña Inés to respond to the letter, which she takes to Don Alonso. Tello reads it first and knows that her lady accepts her love, and they must meet at her house with the excuse of handing over a ribbon.

At nightfall, at the lady's house, Don Alonso meets Don Rodrigo and Don Fernando, who first locate the ribbon, which they split in half, since the latter pretends to Doña Leonor, sister of Mrs. Ines. A couple of days later, on his way back to Medina, Tello tries to warn his master about the danger of romance, with another suitor for the lady and the pimp in between with his magic.

Doña Inés, knowing that she is engaged to Don Rodrigo, but in love with Don Alonso, asks her father, Don Pedro, to release her from the engagement, since she wants to be a nun and give her life to God, something to which her father agrees, although she really only wants to give herself to Don Rodrigo.

As Doña Inés wants to learn Latin and sing for the delivery of her to God, they get Tello and Fabia to be her respective teachers. Meanwhile, the Medina fair takes place, to which Don Alonso goes, despite having dreamed of his death there, and the king also approaches the event. However, Doña Inés cannot as she is a future nun.

Let's go with the final act of this baroque work by Lope de Vega. At this fair, Don Alonso shines as a bullfighter. Faced with his success, Don Rodrigo, jealous, also goes to work, but falls from his horse, the former having to save the latter's life, and provoking even more jealousy.

After the fair, Don Alonso goes to see Doña Inés before going back to Olmedo. However, along the way, he receives an unexpected visit, that of Don Rodrigo and Don Fernando. The protagonist does not feel danger, since he owes his life, however, it is not a sufficient reason, and Don Alonso is assassinated right there.

Tello finds his master dead, while Doña Inés tells the truth to her father, who agrees to marry Don Alonso. However, the servant returns to Medina leaving his deceased lord with his mourning parents, to find that Don Rodrigo and Don Fernando are on their way to ask again for the hand of Doña Inés and Doña Leonor.

So Tello decides to tell the king what happened, so the monarch orders both knights to be hanged for the death of Don Alonso.

Image: Slideshare

Within the complete summary of El Caballero de Olmedo, it is worth noting other details, such as that it is a work that is presented with a classical structure in three acts, with exposition, development and outcome. In addition, it is a baroque tragicomic mix, where they intersect noble and commoners characters.

It is also an introduction to popular dance and song, with a combination of stanzas with verses of various metrics, which deals with classic themes, such as love, death, rivalry or justice.

If you want to read more articles similar to El Caballero de Olmedo - Full Summary, we recommend that you enter our category of History of Literature.