Lope Felix de Vega Carpio

Lope Félix de Vega Carpio was born in Madrid in 1562. He initially studied with the Theatines (a religious order) and later at the renowned University of Alcalá de Henares. His talent emerged very early, as he translated a poem by Claudian as a young child and wrote his first play at the age of just thirteen. Lope de Vega is the most prolific writer in Spanish literature. The total number of his theatrical works amounts to 1,800 secular and 400 religious dramas. Of the secular works, 426 have survived to this day, and of the religious ones, 42, all written in verse with meter and rhyme. Only his novellas are written in prose. As a poet, Lope de Vega is compared to the two greats of the 17th century, Góngora and Quevedo.