Drawing on anthropology, psychoanalysis, and literary theory, this book uses the image of the trickster to argue for a fresh and original reading of Garcia Lorca's plays, highlighting androgyny, male fantasy, masochism, masquerade and the carnivalesque. The study includes detailed textual analyses of Amor de Don Perlimplin con Belisa en su jardin, Asi que pasan cinco anos and El publico, as well as extensive examination of La zapatera prodigiosa and Bodas de sangre; in addition it makes reference to the lesser known El sueno de la vida, Retablillo de Don Cristobal, Dragon and El loco y la...