Melissa Figueroa | Ohio University (original) (raw)
Peer-Reviewed Articles by Melissa Figueroa
Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies, 2020
Bulletin of Hispanic Studies, 2020
This article examines the subversion of the hagiographic genre in a biographical play from the se... more This article examines the subversion of the hagiographic genre in a biographical play from the seventeenth century about the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, written in Spain. In this essay I argue that the contradiction of using a theatrical genre intended to emphasize the holiness of Christian characters in a play about Muhammad unveils the historical tensions and anxieties of Spain's Muslim past. The disparity between form and content reveals the unconscious political aspect of the play and illustrates why it can be read from two opposite perspectives regarding the Islamic leader. Departing from Caroline Levine's use of the term 'affordance', and drawing on Fredric Jameson's concept of the political unconscious, I posit that Vida y muerte del falso Profeta Mahoma (1642) is more a reflection on Spain's hybrid and ambivalent religious culture than a dramatization of Muhammad's life.
MLN, 2020
(¿1609?), un grupo de descendientes de los musulmanes forzados a convertirse al cristianismo en E... more (¿1609?), un grupo de descendientes de los musulmanes forzados a convertirse al cristianismo en España a finales del siglo XV se reúne clandestinamente y bailan al ritmo de un romance morisco. 1 Con una extensión de 32 versos, el poema cuenta cómo la reina de Almería invita al moro Benjamín a su recámara y éste la rechaza porque está enamorado de la mora Ardayna. La reina se desmaya y, temiendo por su vida, Benjamín huye hacia Granada. La pieza poética refleja un grado de maurofilia; es decir, la tendencia a presentar al moro antes de la Conquista de Granada en 1492 inmerso en intrigas amorosas y con atributos positivos mientras sus descendientes sufrían de persecución religiosa durante la segunda mitad del siglo XVI. 2 Sin embargo, la discordancia entre el romance con el resto de la obra en la que aparece hace 1 El término 'morisco' se usa para designar al descendiente del musulmán forzado a convertirse al cristianismo a finales del siglo XV y sirve para distinguirlo de los musulmanes que invadieron la Península Ibérica en el siglo VIII o del término más general de 'moro'. Sin embargo, como L.P. Harvey ha observado, hay un sesgo ideológico inherente en la palabra. Según plantea, "Moro and morisco were names that other people had for them, not the name they used for themselves" (5). Énfasis en el original. 2 El término de 'maurofilia' literaria se refiere a la tendencia a presentar al moro antes de la Conquista de Granada en 1492 inmerso en intrigas amorosas y con atributos positivos mientras sus descendientes sufrían de persecución religiosa durante la segunda mitad del siglo XVI. Esta contradicción entre literatura e historia ha sido estudiada por
ehumanista/conversos, 2019
Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies, 2018
This paper explores how theater reminiscences helped Moriscos to strengthen their sense of commun... more This paper explores how theater reminiscences helped Moriscos to strengthen their sense of community in North Africa after their expulsion from Spain (1609-1614). Moriscos in exile remembered early modern Spanish theater so as to deal with the difficult circumstances of losing their land but also to highlight their sense of identity as distinct from that of other Muslims outside the Iberian Peninsula, who did not have a strong theater tradition. By tracing references to theater in two manuscripts written in Tunisia,
Bulletin of the Comediantes, 2014
Book and Theater Reviews by Melissa Figueroa
Renaissance Quarterly, 2020
tragedy in the Spanish Golden Age, and future scholars will find numerous ways to build upon and ... more tragedy in the Spanish Golden Age, and future scholars will find numerous ways to build upon and complement the erudition and theoretical contributions of Tragic Drama; in the meantime, we can celebrate Sullivan's indisputable achievement of providing a thought-provoking answer to the centuries-old question of how to recognize a Spanish tragedy when we see one.
Comedia Performance, 2019
Hipogrifo: Revista de literatura y cultura del Siglo de Oro, 2019
Latin American Literature Today, 2016
With the publication of Arboretum, Jotacé López offers his readers two dystopian stories that tak... more With the publication of Arboretum, Jotacé López offers his readers two dystopian stories that take place in an island besieged by the interests of tourism and the coffee industry. These tales
![Research paper thumbnail of El poeta morisco. De Rojas Zorrilla al autor secreto de una comedia sobre Mahoma [The Morisco Poet. From Rojas Zorrilla to the Secret Author of a Play about Muhammad], by Rhida Mami.](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/67872507/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](Gestos. Revista de teoría y práctica del teatro hispánico, 2013
Book Chapters by Melissa Figueroa
Social Justice in Spanish Golden Age Theater, edited by Tania de Miguel Magro, Mina García-Soormally, Erin Cowling, and Glenda Nieto-Cuebas., 2021
Living the Comedia. Essays Celebrating Amy Williamsen, edited by Esther Fernández, and J. Yuri Porras, 2020
Female Amerindians in Early Modern Spanish Theater , edited by Gladys Robalino., 2014
Creative Writing by Melissa Figueroa
Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies, 2020
Bulletin of Hispanic Studies, 2020
This article examines the subversion of the hagiographic genre in a biographical play from the se... more This article examines the subversion of the hagiographic genre in a biographical play from the seventeenth century about the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, written in Spain. In this essay I argue that the contradiction of using a theatrical genre intended to emphasize the holiness of Christian characters in a play about Muhammad unveils the historical tensions and anxieties of Spain's Muslim past. The disparity between form and content reveals the unconscious political aspect of the play and illustrates why it can be read from two opposite perspectives regarding the Islamic leader. Departing from Caroline Levine's use of the term 'affordance', and drawing on Fredric Jameson's concept of the political unconscious, I posit that Vida y muerte del falso Profeta Mahoma (1642) is more a reflection on Spain's hybrid and ambivalent religious culture than a dramatization of Muhammad's life.
MLN, 2020
(¿1609?), un grupo de descendientes de los musulmanes forzados a convertirse al cristianismo en E... more (¿1609?), un grupo de descendientes de los musulmanes forzados a convertirse al cristianismo en España a finales del siglo XV se reúne clandestinamente y bailan al ritmo de un romance morisco. 1 Con una extensión de 32 versos, el poema cuenta cómo la reina de Almería invita al moro Benjamín a su recámara y éste la rechaza porque está enamorado de la mora Ardayna. La reina se desmaya y, temiendo por su vida, Benjamín huye hacia Granada. La pieza poética refleja un grado de maurofilia; es decir, la tendencia a presentar al moro antes de la Conquista de Granada en 1492 inmerso en intrigas amorosas y con atributos positivos mientras sus descendientes sufrían de persecución religiosa durante la segunda mitad del siglo XVI. 2 Sin embargo, la discordancia entre el romance con el resto de la obra en la que aparece hace 1 El término 'morisco' se usa para designar al descendiente del musulmán forzado a convertirse al cristianismo a finales del siglo XV y sirve para distinguirlo de los musulmanes que invadieron la Península Ibérica en el siglo VIII o del término más general de 'moro'. Sin embargo, como L.P. Harvey ha observado, hay un sesgo ideológico inherente en la palabra. Según plantea, "Moro and morisco were names that other people had for them, not the name they used for themselves" (5). Énfasis en el original. 2 El término de 'maurofilia' literaria se refiere a la tendencia a presentar al moro antes de la Conquista de Granada en 1492 inmerso en intrigas amorosas y con atributos positivos mientras sus descendientes sufrían de persecución religiosa durante la segunda mitad del siglo XVI. Esta contradicción entre literatura e historia ha sido estudiada por
ehumanista/conversos, 2019
Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies, 2018
This paper explores how theater reminiscences helped Moriscos to strengthen their sense of commun... more This paper explores how theater reminiscences helped Moriscos to strengthen their sense of community in North Africa after their expulsion from Spain (1609-1614). Moriscos in exile remembered early modern Spanish theater so as to deal with the difficult circumstances of losing their land but also to highlight their sense of identity as distinct from that of other Muslims outside the Iberian Peninsula, who did not have a strong theater tradition. By tracing references to theater in two manuscripts written in Tunisia,
Bulletin of the Comediantes, 2014
Renaissance Quarterly, 2020
tragedy in the Spanish Golden Age, and future scholars will find numerous ways to build upon and ... more tragedy in the Spanish Golden Age, and future scholars will find numerous ways to build upon and complement the erudition and theoretical contributions of Tragic Drama; in the meantime, we can celebrate Sullivan's indisputable achievement of providing a thought-provoking answer to the centuries-old question of how to recognize a Spanish tragedy when we see one.
Comedia Performance, 2019
Hipogrifo: Revista de literatura y cultura del Siglo de Oro, 2019
Latin American Literature Today, 2016
With the publication of Arboretum, Jotacé López offers his readers two dystopian stories that tak... more With the publication of Arboretum, Jotacé López offers his readers two dystopian stories that take place in an island besieged by the interests of tourism and the coffee industry. These tales
Gestos. Revista de teoría y práctica del teatro hispánico, 2013
Social Justice in Spanish Golden Age Theater, edited by Tania de Miguel Magro, Mina García-Soormally, Erin Cowling, and Glenda Nieto-Cuebas., 2021
Living the Comedia. Essays Celebrating Amy Williamsen, edited by Esther Fernández, and J. Yuri Porras, 2020
Female Amerindians in Early Modern Spanish Theater , edited by Gladys Robalino., 2014