The purpose of this annotated edition is twofold: to simplify
the reading of Benavente's Lo cursi for American college students and
to give the reader a greater appreciation of Benavente's contribution
to the Spanish theater. The introduction includes a summary of
Benavente's life, his political and moral philosophies, and his
relationship to current literary trends. A classification of his
works is made based on "El lugar escenico." Lo cursi is then
analyzed in relation to Benavente's techniques and style in his
other plays. In the annotation innuendoes and witticisms are
explained in the footnotes, while on the right hand side of the
printed text words which might provide difficulty for the English
reader are defined.