This book investigates the elements of contradiction, subversion and ambiguity inhabiting major works of Espronceda, Larra, Rivas and Zorrilla and reveals the politics of their literature through an examination of the cultural context. The book presents Zorrilla's Don Juan Tenorio and Rivas' Don Alvaro as replications of cultural codes in evolution and conflict. The essay on Don Juan Tenorio considers a number of the play's inconsistencies, contradictions and lacunae and explores its popularity as the product of a political agenda. This new interpretation of Don Alvaro permits the reader to...