DOS COMEDIAS DE AZORIN.

Edited by Francisco Ugarte. Houghton Mifflin Cos.1952. 164. pp. $2.00.

In selecting two plays of Jose Martinez Ruiz, "Azorin" to Spaniards, Professor Ugarte has made available to American students excellent examples of some of the finest prose of modern Spain.

Azorin has been known through most of his long life as one of the greatest of modern Spanish authors. Although he is most famous for his preciseness of detail and poetic effect in his essays, Azorin did not neglect the theatre.

Comedia del Arte and Old Spain are undoubtedly of Azorin's thirteen plays the best suited for classroom use. The language is clear and natural, free of the regionalisms and the enormous vocabulary and complicated sentence structure of much of Spanish narrative prose. For the second year student this book should be very successful. Following the two plays there are sixteen exercises, each based on a few pages of the Spanish. The notes are well prepared and show an excellent appreciation of the subtleties of both languages and a thorough understanding of the student's difficulties.

Comedia del Arte is a touching picture of the loyalty of a successful young actress to a blind, former stage idol. "Old Spain" has its title from the oft repeated phrase of a rather improbable American whose verisimilitude is not important. He is simply a stylized creation of the author, who uses his materialistic character to contrast with the calm, unchanging Spanish landscape and its contemplative, dignified inhabitants.

In the introduction the student will find ample information about Azorin's career and his place in Spanish letters. Professor Ugarte has provided the teacher with a well made instrument for introducing students to modern Spanish literature.