Blood Wedding And Yerma

Description: Federico Garcia Lorca was born near Granada in 1898. Initially set on studying music in Paris, after his piano teacher died in 1916 he became involved in a literary and artisitc group, including H G Wells and Rudyard Kipling. This move towards a more literary life eventually paid off. Blood Wedding (Bodas de Sangre) was written in 1932, and was first performed in Madrid in March 1933. It proved to be the popular and critical success he'd been waiting for. When the play was staged in Buenos Aires he even found himself confronted with the prospect of wealth - a prospect that soon became a reality. This prosperous, happy spell was short-lived though, as the political situation in Spain altered under Franco, putting an end to this time, and ultimately, his life. Lorca was executed on August 18th 1936. Blood Wedding is based around the story of a young woman who, unable to wed her lover is made to marry a more suitable man. On the day of her wedding, however, La Novia (The Bride) runs away with her lover (Leonardo), who is married with children. A series of events ensues... Leonardo is the only character in the play to have a name, the others all being identified by their role: El Novio (The Groom), La Suegra (The Mother-in-Law). As with many of Lorca's plays, symbolism is key, with the moon and death personified.
This is the first play in Lorca's trilogy of rural tragedies, with Yerma and The House of Bernarda Alba being second and third.

Yerma (meaning 'Barren') is one of three tragic plays about peasants and rural life that make up Lorca's 'rural trilogy'. It is possibly Lorca's harshest play following a woman's Herculean struggle against the curse of infertility. The woman's barrenness becomes a metaphor for her marriage in a traditional society that denies women sexual or social equality. Her desperate desire for a child drives her to commit a terrible crime at the end of the play. This Student Edition comes complete with a full introduction; plot synopsis; commentary on characters, context and themes; bibliography; chronology, and questions for study.