SOME PAST TRIPOS QUESTIONS ON

Amor de don Perlimplín con Belisa en su jardín

 

 

1.         With reference to El amor de don Perlimplín discuss the effect of the form of the play on the way we understand the content.

2.         How far does El amor de don Perlimplín challenge the views of society about issues of cuckoldry and adultery?

3.         "Don Perlimplín appeals as a character not because he is a figure of fun but because he is pathetic." Discuss.

4.         "Cuckoldry is a matter of social comedy, not of individual tragedy: as such it has the power to instruct." Discuss with reference to El amor de don Perlimplín.

 

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                                               Preparation for the supervision.

 

a) While reading the play, carefully consider in your mind the questions below. Make plenty of notes during your reading, and write out any interesting quotations, as they will help you plan your essay later.

 

            *           What exactly is it that disappoints Belisa about Perlimplín? Is she passionate? Is he?

            *           Are there any other examples of frustration in the play? Write them down. In what ways is frustration an important factor in the way the characters act?

            *           Does this bear any relation to the type of language they use? (Try and give specific examples.)

            *           "Belisa and Perlimplín live entirely in a world of pretence and imagination." Is this true? Why do they act in the way they do?

            *           Is there any justification in the play for saying that Belisa and Perlimplín are just ‘play‑acting’ (inventing a drama)? What would be the relevance of this considering that they are both in fact characters in a play?

            *           Can you think of any social reasons why Belisa and Perlimplín might have been forced into ‘play‑acting’? What is the relevance of this? Do you get a strong feeling that Lorca is criticizing certain aspects of society in this play?

            *           Do you find any characters get ‘stronger’ as the play progresses, that they gain ‘authority’ (give examples to back up your opinion)? It has sometimes been said that in the end Perlimplín becomes the ‘author of his own fiction’. What do you think this means?

 

 

b)Find the following quotations in the text, and read them in context. Who says them? Try and decide what their significance might be (if any) to the themes of the play as a whole:

 

 

            i>        Yo con mis libros tengo bastante.

 

            ii>       Amor, amor.

                        Entre mis muslos cerrados

                        nada como un pez el sol.

 

            iii>      si las cosas no se cubren con toda clase de precauciones... No se descubren nunca. Y sin este tapar y destapar... ¿Qué sería de las pobres gentes?

 

            iv>      yo soy feliz ... Feliz como no tienes idea. He aprendido muchas cosas, y sobre todo puedo imaginarlas...

 

            v>       Yo me doy cuenta de las cosas. Y aunque me hieren profundamente, comprendo que vives en un drama.

 

            vi>      ya estoy fuera del mundo y de la moral ridícula de las gentes.

 

            vii>     se quedó besando apasionadamente sus hermosas trenzas de pelo.

 

            viii>    El olor de su carne le pasa a través de su ropa.

 

            ix>      ¡Belisa ya tiene un alma! ... Yo, en cambio, amaba tu cuerpo nada más... ¡tu cuerpo!

 

 

c) Think about the following questions (which are more past exam questions). How would you address these issues? What examples could you give to back up your arguments?

 

            i>        "Lorca sees love as a destructive force." Discuss with reference to Amor de don Perlimplín.

 

            ii>       "La imaginación fija y da clara vida a fragmentos de la realidad invisible donde se mueve el hombre" (GARCIA LORCA). Discuss with reference to Amor de don Perlimplín.

 

            iii>      "Amor de don Perlimplín is more concerned with inhibition than it is with passion." Discuss.

 

            iv>      Discuss the exploration of illusion and the conventions of theatrical performance in Amor de don Perlimplín. What relevance, if any, does this exploration bear to the critique of social conventions presented in the play?

 

 

d) Now choose any of the questions above, or look up past questions on past papers, write an essay, and hand it in at the Porters’ Lodge, St Catharine’s by 4pm the day before the supervision.